September 18, 2025 - Hello BioLinks Readers!

This week:

• Opening of New Non-oncology Phase 1 Unit at Mount St. Joseph
• Canada's Clinical Research Workforce Strategy Launches
• CASTL Elevate BC: Opening doors for Youth Careers in Biomanufacturing
•  Awards Tickets Now Closed, Limited Number Available 
•  LSBC 2025-26 Board Announcement

New Non-oncology Phase 1 Clinical Trials Unit at Mount St. Joseph Hospital Opens

This week, a major milestone for BC’s life sciences sector was achieved with the opening of a non-oncology Phase 1 clinical trials unit (CTU) at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in Vancouver. As part of BC’s Life Sciences and Biomanufacturing Strategy, the new unit will address a critical gap in early-stage drug development allowing companies to keep their intellectual property here at home. 

This is also a win for patients, increasing access to life-saving treatments such as antibody treatments, gene therapies and vaccines given to humans for the first time. Announced in 2023, the Province invested more than $4 million to create the CTU. Michael Smith Health Research BC also contributed $1.2 million to further strengthen the province’s clinical trials. Read more.

Canada's Clinical Research Workforce Strategy is Launched

N2, Network of Networks, partners with Clinical Trials BC to launch the first pan-Canadian collaborative effort to strengthen the clinical research workforce. The initiative is focused on aligning job titles, qualifications, and career paths while building a strong professional identity for Clinical Research Professionals (CRPs). CRPs are the operational backbone of the clinical trials ecosystem, and there is an urgent need for this profession in the life sciences ecosystem. Read the strategy here.

CASTL Elevate BC: Opening doors for Youth Careers in Biomanufacturing

We're partnering with CASTL Elevate BC to increase access for young people (ages 15–30) to gain hands-on training, lab experience, and industry placements with leading bioscience employers. The Province, in partnership with the Government of Canada, is funding nearly $2 million over two years to create a workforce development program for unemployed and underemployed youth. Learn more.

 “Through initiatives like CASTL Elevate BC, and the efforts of our sector talent council, LSBC is committed to cultivating a strong, diverse, and future-ready workforce that will sustain and meet the needs of our rapidly growing life sciences ecosystem for decades to come.”

— Wendy Hurlburt

Awards Tickets Now Closed, Limited Number Available 

We’ve closed sales for our Awards Gala on October 2, 2025; however, there are still a very limited number of seats available. Please inquire directly with our Events Manager, Alysia Golka by emailing agolka@lifesciencesbc.ca . We look forward to celebrating with the community in a couple of weeks!

LSBC 2025-26 Board Announcements

Yesterday, at our Annual General Meeting (AGM), we welcomed new Board members Christina Zacharuk, CEO of Research Universities’ Council of British Columbia, and Sandra Wong, Senior Manager, Access and Government Affairs of Pfizer Canada. 
Anne Stevens, VP Business Development of AbCellera and Rajveer Hundal, Partner, PWC Canada continue their respective roles as Board Chair and Treasurer. We are also excited to welcome incoming Vice-Chair, Lana Janes, Co-Founder & COO of Abdera Therapeutics. Read the full slate of board members here.

Thank you to outgoing Board members for your leadership and years of service to LSBC: Bev Holmes, President & CEO, Health Research BC (3 years); David Llewellyn, President and CEO, Trailhead Biosystems (7 years); and Max Blouw, Former President, Research Universities Council of BC (4 years). Read the press release.

Member Highlights 

PHC Ventures and NZ Technologies collaborate to reduce infection risks in health care with touchless systems like HoverTap™ and TIPSO AirPad™. A Living Lab will test and refine these innovations to improve patient and clinician safety and workflow efficiency. Read more.

WAT Medical’s EmeTerm wristband is being tested at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and shows potential to ease chronic nausea and vomiting non‑invasively. Read more.

UBC’s School of Biomedical Engineering releases its 2025-2030 strategic plan. The plan emphasizes: strategic ecosystem engagement, strengthening clinical integration, greater emphasis on research translation and innovation, and building a culture of shared success and belonging. Read the strategic plan here.

Ecosystem Highlights

A new health centre will open in Ucluelet on September 22, 2025, providing team-based primary care, mental health support, and chronic disease management to improve community health. Read more.

BioTalent Canada’s SWPP report shows how the program helps bioscience SMEs access talent, drive innovation, and give students hands-on experience, supporting calls to make it permanent Read more.

UBC’s expanded NP program in Surrey offers modern training facilities to increase nurse practitioner capacity and support local primary care. Read more.

Kudos

Health Research BC alumni earned $40.97M from CIHR to support 45 BC projects tackling mental health, chronic disease, and health equity. Read more.

Congratulations to Dewey Liang, who received the Genome BC Scholarship for his project using machine learning to identify gene signatures that predict cancer patients’ responses to chemotherapy, aiming to personalize treatment and improve outcomes. Read more.

Congratulations to Vertex scientists Dr. Michael Welsh, Jesús González, and Paul Negulescu for receiving the 2025 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award. Their work on Trikafta has transformed cystic fibrosis treatment, improving lung function and life expectancy for patients. Read more.

Dr. Joshua N. Awoke has been named the 2025 J. Andrew McKee Fellow in Type 1 Diabetes by Stem Cell Network and Breakthrough T1D. His UBC research explores islet hormone building blocks as biomarkers to improve early detection, monitoring, and treatment of T1D. Read more.

IQVIA received the inaugural WCG Pinnacle Award for Excellence in Site Relationships, recognizing its strong partnerships with clinical trial sites and commitment to improving research outcomes. Read more.

People on the Move

BioTalent Canada has named Chelsea Platzke, Head of People and Strategy at the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) in Saskatoon, the new Chair of its Board of Directors. Read more.

Applications Open

Apply now to pitch your health science startup at the 2026 OBIO Investment Summit in Toronto, Feb 3–5. Connect with global investors in therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health, and gain one-on-one meetings, networking, and exposure. Early consideration deadline: October 1, 2025. Learn more.

Letters of Intent for Genome BC’s DAIA 2 program are due September 25. BC researchers can secure up to $250,000 per project to advance genomics research using integrated health data, with secure access to HDPBC for linking and analyzing clinical, administrative, and genomics data. Learn more.

UBC students, staff or faculty members are invited to apply for UBC’s Venture Founder Program. As part of the 16-session program, you will participate in experiential workshops to define and validate your venture opportunity, gain support from experienced mentors, and cover foundational and operational topics to establish a viable startup company. Learn more.

See our expanded list of current life sciences opportunities on our website.

Member Spotlight

ICORD - is a world leading health research centre focused on spinal cord injury. From the lab-based cellular level of understanding injury to rehabilitation and recovery, our researchers are dedicated to the development and translation of more effective strategies to promote prevention, functional recovery, and improved quality of life after spinal cord injury. Learn more

Until next week!

LSBC Team

October 7 - Join us for Blakes Breakfast Speaking Series: Resilience: Current Uncertainty, and Forward Planning

This session brings together BC’s life sciences community for insight, strategy, and connection. The Blakes Breakfast Speaking Series will feature experts discussing market trends, resilience, and forward planning, with opportunities to engage both in person over breakfast and online via live chat.

October 28 - 29 - Join us for our 10th Annual Invest in BC presented by Lumira Ventures



Life Sciences BC is pleased to announce the 10th annual Invest in BC presented by Lumira Ventures. This highly anticipated event serves as a premier gathering for life sciences innovators in British Columbia, connecting them with investors and potential partners locally, nationally, and around the world.

Johnson & Johnson To Showcase Industry-Leading Neuropsychiatry Innovations at the 2025 Psych Congress Annual Meeting

Johnson & Johnson will present 21 abstracts at the 2025 Psych Congress, highlighting new SPRAVATO® data, updates on major depression, and schizophrenia relapse insights, showcasing their commitment to mental health innovation...Read more

Labcorp Completes Acquisition of Select Assets of BioReference Health's Innovative Oncology and Related Clinical Testing Services Businesses

Labcorp acquired BioReference Health’s U.S. oncology and clinical testing assets for up to $225M, expanding its oncology portfolio. BioReference retains core testing operations and the 4Kscore® test...Read more

Icotrokinra Shows Superiority to Deucravacitinib in First Reported Head-to-head Trials Reinforcing Promise of Novel Targeted Oral Peptide for Treatment of Plaque Psoriasis

Johnson & Johnson’s icotrokinra outperformed deucravacitinib in Phase 3 plaque psoriasis trials, showing superior skin clearance and sustained safety...Read more

EmeTerm Wearable Device Under Clinical Study at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center Shows Promise for Chronic Nausea Patients

A clinical study at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center is evaluating WAT Medical’s EmeTerm wristband, which shows potential in easing chronic nausea and vomiting for patients with gastric disorders like gastroparesis...Read more

Kakao Healthcare Corp and Providence Health Care Ventures Announce Strategic AI Collaboration

Kakao Healthcare and Providence Health Care Ventures collaborated to advance secure, AI-driven digital health tools for SMEs using privacy-enhancing technologies...Read more

Principal Immunoengineer – Protein Design & Immunogenicity (Large Molecule Discovery)

You will lead translational efforts in protein design with a mission to eliminate or reduce immunogenicity in large molecule therapeutics. This pivotal role bridges experimental immunology and computational science to ensure novel biologics are safe and effective from the outset...Learn more.

Manager, Memberships & Sponsorships

This role will manage the portfolio of the members and sponsors. With responsibility for securing agreements, the Manager, Memberships and Sponsorships leads acquisition and retention strategies and the research of members’ and sponsors’ needs and opportunities...Learn more.

Scientist - Structural Biology 

This position supports comprehensive molecular insights and structure-based design for drug-target assessment, mechanism of action, protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions, as well as protein engineering to facilitate drug discovery across various therapeutic areas...Learn more.

Research Assistant, In Vivo Pharmacology 

Seeking an experienced research assistant to work in the Preclinical Group, reporting to the Senior Research Scientist, Preclinical. The research assistant will be responsible for conducting and supporting in vivo/in vitro studies to characterize the pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics/distribution...Learn more.

Research Associate I, Translational Biology & Pharmacology

The successful candidate will spend the majority of their time performing, analyzing, and interpreting endpoint assays to support in vivo pharmacology workflows, generating critical data to inform go/no-go decisions in platform development and preclinical drug discovery activities...Learn more.

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