Life Sciences BC News, October 24, 2024

Together with the Creative Destruction Lab, we co-hosted StarFish’s Medical Device Playbook event on October 21, 2024. The event debuted in 2015, and has been hosted in Toronto, Newport Beach, and Boston. On Monday we heard stories of perseverance from companies like Kardium and Redlen (acquired by Canon), highlighting the time, patience, capital, and willpower required to bring deep tech and medical innovations to market. 

Tomorrow is the last day to register for Invest in BC. Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to connect with investors and potential partners from around the globe. We’re excited to elevate the event to a new tier this year. Introducing BIO’s One-on-One partnering™ system to Canada for the first time, there are now over 250 meetings scheduled on the platform.

We're pleased to announce our first panel discussing Models of Partnering in Life Sciences. 

As a long-standing partner, we have worked with McCarthy Tétrault to bring our Speakers Series to the community. Our upcoming event on November 19, 2024, features a National Research Council Canada (NRC) keynote from Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan, VP Life Sciences at NRC as well as our 2024 LSBC Companies to Watch. Join us to learn why these companies caught our attention this year. Register here. 

Do you work in life sciences but don't have a scientific background?

Want to gain a foundational understanding and have more confidence when speaking with colleagues and clients?

Registration for our BioBasics 101 on December 4-5 is now open. Learn more.

Member Highlights 

The de Boer Lab at UBC’s School of Biomedical Engineering recently led a global effort to advance computational models that predict gene expression based on short regulatory DNA sequences. The study was featured in Nature Biotechnology. Read more.

Zymeworks has announced the first patient dosed in its Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating ZW171 in advanced mesothelin-expressing cancers. Read more.

Editas Medicine, Inc. and Genevant Sciences have entered into a collaboration and nonexclusive license agreement to combine Editas Medicine’s CRISPR Cas12a genome editing systems with Genevant’s proprietary LNP technology in the development of in vivo gene editing medicines directed to two undisclosed targets. Read more.

HEALWELL AI Inc. has announced its USD$250,000 strategic investment in Abstractive Health, a healthcare AI company specializing in providing physicians with an automated, accurate, and medically relevant AI assistant. Read more.

Augurex Life Sciences Corp. has launched the 14-3-3η test by ARUP Laboratories, enhancing the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis. Read more.

Alpha-9 Oncology Inc. has announced an oversubscribed $175 million Series C financing to support the progression of its pipeline. Read more.

AbbVie has shared that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved VYALEV™ (foscarbidopa and foslevodopa) as the first and only subcutaneous 24-hour infusion of levodopa-based therapy for the treatment of motor fluctuations in adults with advanced Parkinson’s disease. Read more.

WAT Medical Enterprise has achieved a significant accomplishment: both EmeTerm Smart and HeadaTerm 2 have received Medical Device Licences (MDL) from Health Canada. Read more.

Industry Highlights

The Government of British Columbia has announced that updated vaccines that protect against the latest influenza strains and COVID-19 variants circulating are available for people in B.C. to help protect families, communities, and the healthcare system. Read more.

The Government of Canada, through the National Women’s Health Research Initiative, is investing $13.7M to support 24 research projects that will delve into under-researched areas of women’s and gender diverse people’s health. Read more.

The Government of Canada has appointed Sharon Blady to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. Ms. Blady is an accomplished senior executive with more than 15 years of healthcare, government, and public policy expertise. Read more.

New LSBC Members

Vancouver Pharmaceutical & BioScience Society is a member organization of Pharmaceutical & BioScience Society, International (PBSS), a non-profit professional organization of scientists and other professionals in the life science sector, working in diverse organizations such as the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, instrumentation and scientific product suppliers, academia, government laboratories, and contract research organizations. Learn more.

International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) is a global society of clinicians, regulators, researchers, technologists, and industry partners with a shared vision to translate cell and gene therapy into safe and effective therapies to improve patients' lives worldwide. Learn more.

Kudos

Getinge’s innovative cookbook campaign for heart surgeons, designed to creatively promote surgical dexterity, has recently won two awards: gold in the London International Awards for Pharma & Medical Craft and silver in Svenska Designpriset in the Editorial Book category. Congratulations! Read more.

Congratulations to the GlycoNet research team — Christopher Cairo, Alexey Pchejetski, and Tianlin Guo — for receiving recognition from the University of Alberta's Tech Transfer Office for their 2023 patent on a groundbreaking method to prevent or treat atherosclerosis by targeting specific enzymes involved in early plaque formation. Read more.

Congratulations to TRIUMF, winner of BC Tech’s 2024 Technology Impact Award for Excellence in Industry Innovation. Read more.

People on the Move

InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. has announced the appointment of Dr. Barry Greenberg to its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Greenberg is the Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Translational Center and an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Read more.

Carol-Ann Marnow (she/her/hers) has stepped into her new role as Corporate Relations Manager at Genome British Columbia. Transitioning from her previous position as Program Manager, Digital Technologies, Carol-Ann will provide strategic support to enhance external relations and align Genome British Columbia’s work with government priorities. Read more.

An Van Gerven has been named President of Pfizer Canada ULC. An will be succeeding Najah Sampson, who held the position since May 2022 and has been appointed to lead Pfizer’s Hospital business in the United States. Read more.

Applications Open

Apply now for the Robbins-Ollivier Award for Excellence in Equity: 2024 Competition. The award grants a total of $100,000 to institutional-level initiatives that will challenge the status quo, spark change, and take action to address systemic barriers within the institution research ecosystem. Nominations are due November 5 at 8 PM ET. Learn more.

Submit your abstract for the chance to present at GlycoNet’s upcoming Glyco27 conference! Abstract submissions need to align with one of the following thematic areas: glycomics, glycobiology of disease, tools to drive glycobiology, glycans in immunology, and emerging concepts in glycans. Abstract submissions are due December 2. Learn more.

Nominations for the 2025 Clinical Trials BC Awards are now open. These awards honour individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to strengthening the BC clinical trials ecosystem. Apply by December 3! Learn more.

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

Member Spotlight

Kirke Management Consulting - The Kirke approach is built on the foundation of privacy and data governance; we believe that safeguarding personal data has become critical in a rapidly expanding digital world. As technology advances, data has become a business's most valuable asset and the protection and optimal management of this asset must be a priority. A clear data governance and privacy management strategy enables the organization to use data as a clear competitive advantage.

Kirke Management Consulting was established in 2014 and has helped clients in various industries across North America implement robust data governance and privacy programs ensuring that all members of the organization understand, support, and incorporate best practices and processes in their day-to-day responsibilities. Learn more.

Until next week!

LSBC Team

October 29 & 30 - Life Sciences BC is pleased to announce the 9th annual Invest in BC presented by Lumira Ventures conference.

This highly anticipated event serves as a premier gathering for healthcare innovators in British Columbia, connecting them with global investors. This year we’ve reimagined the conference, offering attendees a dynamic two-day program featuring 30+ company pitches from pre-seed to public.

December 4 & 5 - Life Sciences BC, in partnership with Biotech Primer, is pleased to present BioBasics 101: The Biology of Biotech for the Non-Scientist.

This intensive two-day ‘master course’ is designed to help non-scientists gain a foundational understanding of the science that forms the backbone of biopharma so that you can converse more effectively with colleagues, clients, regulators, and scientists.

Alpha-9 Oncology Inc. Announces $175 Million Oversubscribed Series C Financing to Advance Robust Clinical Pipeline of Radiopharmaceuticals

Alpha-9 Oncology Inc. announced an oversubscribed $175 million Series C financing to support the progression of its pipeline...Read more.

Positive Partial 12-Week Body Weight Results from Lexaria’s GLP-1 Diabetes Animal Study

Lexaria Bioscience Corp., a global innovator in drug delivery platforms announces that it has received partial 12-week (final) body weight results from the recently completed animal study WEIGHT-A24-1 (the “Study”)...Read more.

HEALWELL AI Announces Strategic Investment and Commercialization Agreement with Abstractive Health to Advance Generative AI-Powered Clinical Documentation Solutions

HEALWELL AI Inc. is pleased to announce its USD$250,000 strategic investment in Abstractive Health, a healthcare AI company providing physicians with an automated, accurate and medically relevant AI assistant...Read more.

InMed Appoints Dr. Barry Greenberg, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to its Scientific Advisory Board

InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the appointment of Dr. Barry Greenberg, to its Scientific Advisory Board...Read more.

adMare BioInnovations Celebrates Successes of adMare Tx Accelerator Companies, Concludes Ontario Partnership with MaRS

adMare BioInnovations is proud to celebrate the ongoing success of its National adMare Tx Accelerator program in advancing early-stage Canadian therapeutic (Tx) companies towards successful commercialization...Read more.

Zymeworks Announces First Patient Dosed in Phase 1 Clinical Trial Evaluating ZW171 in Advanced Mesothelin-Expressing Cancers

Zymeworks Inc. announced that the first patient has been dosed in the first-in-human Phase 1 trial (NCT06523803) to evaluate the safety and tolerability of the investigational therapy ZW171...Read more.

Methadone More Effective for Treatment Retention than Buprenorphine/Naloxone

People with opioid use disorder who received methadone were less likely to discontinue treatment compared with those who received buprenorphine/naloxone, according to a new study involving UBC faculty of medicine researchers...Read more.

MoCA Cognition Expands to the EU with New Innovation Hub in the Netherlands

Montreal-based MoCA Cognition is making its first foray into Europe by establishing an innovation hub in the Netherlands, where it will advance its world-renowned digital assessment tools for neurodegenerative diseases...Read more.

Molecular You Partners with HealthQuest Esoterics to Make Molecular Medicine and Testing Available to Clinics Nationwide

Molecular You and HealthQuest Esoterics have announced a partnership to expand access of Molecular You’s platform to HealthQuest Esoterics’ vast network of providers...Read more.

Editas Medicine and Genevant Sciences to Collaborate to Develop Novel mRNA-LNP Gene Editing Therapeutics

Editas Medicine and Genevant Sciences have entered into a collaboration to combine Editas Medicine’s CRISPR Cas12a genome editing systems with Genevant’s proprietary LNP technology...Read more.

BeiGene Canada Proud National Sponsor of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada’s 2024 Light The Night

BeiGene Canada is honoured to serve as the National Sponsor of Light The Night, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada’s (LLSC) flagship fundraising event...Read more.

Augurex Announces Agreement with ARUP Laboratories to Expand Access to Advanced Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis with the Launch of 14-3-3η (eta) Test

Augurex Life Sciences Corp. announced that ARUP Laboratories, a leading national reference laboratory in the U.S., has launched the 14-3-3η test as part of their diagnostic testing portfolio...Read more.

EmeTerm Smart and HeadaTerm 2 Achieve Health Canada MDL Certification

WAT Medical Enterprise proudly announces a significant achievement: both EmeTerm Smart and HeadaTerm 2 have received Medical Device Licences (MDL) from Health Canada...Read more.

A Community Effort to Optimize Sequence-based Deep Learning Models of Gene Regulation

Dr. Carl de Boer and Abdul Muntakim Rafi recently led a global effort to advance computational models that predict gene expression based on short regulatory DNA sequences. The effort was featured in Nature Biotechnology...Read more.

From Organoid Cultivation to Digital Solutions for Fighting Cancer: The New Medical Science Centre Boasts Remarkable Innovations

The Medical Science Centre of the Faculty of Medicine at VU was opened on 3 October 2024. This marks the most significant investment in medical education infrastructure in Lithuania’s independence history...Read more.

NASA’s Space Healthcare Innovation Programme will Work with Lithuania’s Delta Biosciences

Delta Biosciences, a Lithuanian life sciences company, is the first company in Europe to be selected for NASA’s Space-H accelerator programme, which promotes advanced space-based healthcare technologies...Read more.

U.S. FDA Approves VYALEV™ (foscarbidopa and foslevodopa) for Adults Living with Advanced Parkinson’s Disease

AbbVie announced that the U.S. FDA has approved VYALEV™ as the first and only subcutaneous 24-hour infusion of levodopa-based therapy for the treatment of motor fluctuations in adults with advanced PD...Read more.

Indigenous Communities and Partners Unite to Bridge Gaps in Healthcare Through PATHWAYS Initiative

Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd., Bimaadzwin and Indigenous health policy leaders across Canada, share the reach of its PATHWAYS—Indigenous Health Collaborations—pilot projects…Read more.

Medical Device Playbook Comes to Boston on November 7, 2024

StarFish is excited to bring Medical Device Playbook to Boston, Massachusetts – home of countless MedTech heavyweights and host to one of the most successful MedTech sectors in the US...Read more.

Incyte Announces Health Canada Approval of OPZELURA® (ruxolitinib) Cream for the Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis (AD) and Nonsegmental Vitiligo

Incyte Biosciences Canada announced that Health Canada has granted a Notice of Compliance for OPZELURA® (ruxolitinib (as ruxolitinib phosphate)) cream 1.5%, a non-steroidal topical Janus Kinase (JAK) inhibitor...Read more.

GSK and The Pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) Successfully Finalize Negotiations for JEMPERLI for the Treatment of Patients with Recurrent or Advanced dMMR/MSI-H Endometrial Cancer

GSK is pleased to announce it has successfully completed negotiations with the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) for Jemperli (dostarlimab for injection) in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel...Read more.

New Research Sheds Light on how People with Autism Visually Experience Faces

A new study led by UBC Faculty of Medicine researchers has found that many people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a unique visual experience with the faces around them…Read more.

An Van Gerven Is Appointed President of Pfizer Canada

An Van Gerven has been named President of Pfizer Canada. An will be succeeding Najah Sampson, who held the position since May 2022 and has been appointed to lead Pfizer’s Hospital business in the US...Read more.

Data Science and Pharmacokinetic Modeling Scientist

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Data Science and Pharmacokinetic Modeling Scientist to cover a maternity period of not less than 12 months to maintain and evolve our programs designed to deliver appropriate, robust and defensible data in a readily understandable manner...Learn more

Industry Relations Associate

The industry relations associate reports to the manager, industry & business development and leads various pipelines of the society’s revenue generation activities such as ISCT Annual and Regional Conferences...Learn more

Research Associate 1 or 2, Biology

We are seeking Research Associate 1 or 2, Biology with experience in brain slice electrophysiology to join our team for a nine-month contract...Learn more

Training and Education Specialist

 The specialist is responsible for working with Global Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to plan, coordinate, and execute training programs for professionals within the cell and gene therapy sector...Learn more

Manager, Supply Chain

We are seeking a Manager, Supply Chain, who will be working directly with our VP Commercial Operations in leading Augurex’s manufacturing operations, optimizing supply chain processes and ensuring compliance with our Quality Management System...Learn more

Senior Animal Care Technician (18 month contract)

The Sr. Animal Care Technician reports to the Director, In Vivo Resources and is responsible for the various technical procedures that support the scientific research conducted during the execution of in vivo studies and the general husbandry and care of animals in Genevant’s Core Facility...Learn more

Vice President, Business Development

NanoVation Therapeutics (NTx) is looking for a collaborative and results-driven Vice President, Business Development to lead our business development and marketing portfolios...Learn more

Regulatory Affairs Associate

We are currently seeking for a dynamic Regulatory Affairs Associate who will be responsible to register and maintain regulatory approvals in the global markets that the RAMP products are sold in to support the core purpose of saving lives globally...Learn more

Specialist, Quality Assurance

We are seeking a Quality Assurance Specialist to be responsible for implementing and maintaining Augurex’s electronic Quality Management System (eQMS) in accordance with regulatory requirements, industry standards, internal quality requirements and specifications...Learn more

Sr. Manager, Regulatory Affairs

We are seeking a Sr. Manager, Regulatory Affairs to be responsible for working directly with our Global Head of Product R&D and external regulatory consultants on the FDA 510(k) submission for SPINEstat®...Learn more

Vancouver Pharmaceutical & BioScience Society (PBSS) is a member organization of Pharmaceutical & BioScience Society, International (PBSS) a non-profit professional organization of scientists and other professionals in the life science sector, working in diverse organizations such as the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, instrumentation and scientific product suppliers, academia, government laboratories, and contract research organizations.

PBSS has 5000+ members and is active through five member organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, the San Diego Area, Boston, Vancouver, and Korea, some of the largest life science clusters in the world. Learn more.

Established in 1992, the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) is a global society of clinicians, regulators, researchers, technologists, and industry partners with a shared vision to translate cell and gene therapy into safe and effective therapies to improve patients' lives worldwide.

ISCT is the global leader focused on pre-clinical and translational aspects of developing cell and gene-based therapeutics, thereby advancing scientific research into innovative treatments for patients. ISCT offers a unique collaborative environment that addresses three key areas of translation: Academia, Regulatory, and Commercialization. Through strong relationships with global regulatory agencies, academic institutions, and industry partners, ISCT drives the advancement of research into a standard of care.

Comprising over 4,000 cell and gene therapy experts across five geographic regions and representation from over 60 countries, ISCT members are part of a global community of peers, thought leaders, and organizations invested in cell and gene therapy translation. For more information about the society, key initiatives, and upcoming meetings, please visit isctglobal.org, @ISCTglobal. Learn more.



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