July 23, 2026 - Hello BioLinks readers

This week:

• Ontario joins national securities passport system
• Newsweek report: Canada’s Next Chapter
• Awards Gala – early-bird ends July 31

Photo: Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy and Premier Doug Ford (Evan Mitsui/CBC, 2025)

Ontario Joins National Securities Passport System, Removing Interprovincial Barriers

Great news for Canadian businesses operating in multiple provinces as the Ontario government has announced it will join the Securities Passport system. Ontario was the only holdout, with all other provinces and territories having previously agreed to mutual recognition under the passport system. Now, businesses and investors can access capital markets across all Canadian provinces and territories. Decisions made by one province’s regulator can apply in all other Canadian jurisdictions. Read more (National Post).

Newsweek report: Canada’s Next Chapter Featuring Life Sciences Leaders

Newsweek spoke with 65 CEOs and ministers across life sciences, critical minerals, tourism, defense, energy and technology to explore the central question now facing Canada. Can a country blessed with enviable assets and admired for its character summon the boldness needed to convert its potential into global influence? Interviews included LSBC’s Wendy Hurlburt, and other life sciences leaders such as Tamer Mohamed (Aspect Biosystesm), Tom Madden (Acuitas), James Helliwell (Eupraxia), Carl Hansen (AbCellera), Wendy Zatylny (BIOTECanada), and Kevin Smith (University Health Network). Read the full report.

Get Your Tickets to the Awards Gala Before Early-bird Ends July 31!

Once a year, the community comes together to celebrate. Join us on September 9, 2026, for our annual Awards Gala. This distinguished occasion will leave you and your team inspired as we honour the outstanding achievements of our peers, share the success stories of the past year, and make meaningful connections. Get your tickets before the early-bird deadline here.

Member Highlights 

UBC researchers with colleagues at the University of Toronto make a new discovery that could fundamentally shift how we understand and treat blindness. The team uncovered a pathway to better understand how the eye clears waste. This waste buildup is the cause of many of the world’s leading causes of irreversible blindness, including glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. Read more.

uBriGene launches platform to accelerate the development in vivo CAR-T therapies. One of the barriers to CAR-T therapy has been the cost and scale, this technology will make the therapy more accessible and commercially viable. Read more.

Ecosystem Highlights

Health Canada is working to speed up access to certain medicines by using reviews from trusted international regulators, while continuing to uphold Canada’s standards for safety, quality and effectiveness. Read more.

Kudos

Augurex has been recognized with the ADLM 2026 Immunology Abstract Award, for research on a novel biomarker that helps distinguish axial spondyloarthritis from mechanical back pain. The award-winning abstract was also selected for a featured ePoster discussion, highlighting the scientific and clinical impact of the research. Read more.

People on the Move

Congratulations to Michael Torosian as he steps into the role as Mintz new corporate partner in its Venture Capital & Emerging Companies Practice. Read more.

Applications Open

PacifiCan’s Regional Innovation Ecosystems (RIE) program is available to organizations that help BC small and medium sized enterprises commercialize innovations, grow their businesses, improve productivity and expand into new markets. Applications close September 11, 2026 at 12:00 pm PT. A note for applicants, there will be an information session for the RIE intake on July 21 at 2 pm. Learn more.

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

Membership Spotlight

Cozen O’Connor LLP, an affiliate of Cozen O’Connor, provides exceptional legal services across capital markets and securities, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital, commercial litigation, bankruptcy and restructuring, real estate, family law, and private client services.. Learn more.

Creative Biolabs, integrates in-house innovation with global sourcing to deliver cutting-edge antibody solutions and biotech tools. As an end-to-end CRO partner for advanced biotherapeutic development, they support programs from early discovery to preclinical optimization across antibody, cell, and gene therapy pipelines. Learn more.

Gemina Laboratories is a bio-tools company. They create and license reagents, components, and designs for use in diagnostics, bio-processing, and laboratory research. Their product catalog is currently comprised of a library of proprietary recombinant proteins, known as dual-affinity probes, consisting of two functional ends, one of which binds to a material surface and the other which binds a target molecule. Gemina’s dual-affinity probes are used to construct functionalized surfaces for target molecule capture, with applications in diagnostic & environmental sensing, purification & filtration, and bioprocessing. Learn more.

Wax-it Histology Services Inc. is a Canadian contract research organization (CRO) specializing in preclinical and translational histology services. Based at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, we support pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic, and clinical research organizations with high-quality tissue processing and pathology solutions. Learn more.

nymble health is a Vancouver-based digital health company delivering automated behavioural support for people living with metabolic conditions, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Delivered entirely through consumer messaging channels, such as SMS and WhatsApp, or via partner API - no app required - nymble provides personalized, evidence-based support between clinical visits, helping patients stay on track with their treatment plans, including GLP-1 therapies. Learn more.

At VitaPulse, they develop clinically informed detection and prediction algorithms for critical illnesses and physiological deterioration that operate on everyday commercial wearable devices. Their goal is to bridge the gap between consumer health technology and clinical care by enabling continuous, non-invasive monitoring that supports earlier detection of disease and more timely intervention of life critical events, such as out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Learn more.

Until next week!

LSBC Team

September 9 - The 28th Annual Life Sciences BC Awards is a distinguished occasion that brings together British Columbia’s vibrant life sciences community to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our peers and recognize the tireless efforts of those who have devoted their careers to advancing health innovations.

November 3-4 - Life Sciences BC is pleased to announce the 11th 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.

New indication in the European Union and the UK offers alternative method of screening especially for women who are not currently participating

A new approval in the European Union and the UK enables self-collected HPV screening, offering a more accessible option to help increase cervical cancer screening participation… Read more.

uBriGene Launches uVivo™ Lentiviral Vector Platform to Accelerate the Development of Next-Generation In Vivo CAR-T Therapies

uBriGene's new uVivo™ platform is designed to advance the development of in vivo CAR-T therapies by supporting more efficient gene delivery…Read more.

Researchers discover the eye’s hidden cleanup system

Researchers have uncovered a hidden cleanup system in the eye, providing new insights that could support the development of treatments for common eye diseases… Read more.

Avantor’s® NuSil® Brand Expands Partnership with the Population Council to Develop Long-Acting HIV Prevention Product

Avantor's NuSil® brand has expanded its collaboration with the Population Council to advance the development of a long-acting option for HIV prevention… Read more.

Johnson & Johnson Receives FDA Market Authorization in the U.S. for its OTTAVA™ Robotic Surgical System

Johnson & Johnson has received U.S. FDA market authorization for its OTTAVA™ Robotic Surgical System. The platform is designed to streamline surgical workflows, with a phased U.S. launch now underway… Read more.

True partnership in Spinal Cord injury Research

Dr. Heather Gainforth is advancing spinal cord injury research by fostering partnerships between researchers and people with lived experience. The work has established guiding principles that are helping make research more collaborative across Canada… Read more.

BeOne Medicines Expands U.S. Manufacturing with Total Investment of More Than $1 Billion to Advance Innovative Cancer Medicines

BeOne Medicines is investing more than $1 billion to expand U.S. manufacturing, increasing capacity to support the development and production of innovative cancer medicines… Read more.

TECVAYLI® + TALVEY® reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 89% and the risk of death by 62% in earlier-line relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma

Johnson & Johnson's TECVAYLI® and TALVEY® combination showed strong results in reducing disease progression and improving survival in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma… Read more.

Post doctoral fellow (Mitacs) – Immunologist/in vivo model development

The candidate will head a multidisciplinary project leading the mechanistic characterization and development of new in vivo models for validated endotoxin-clearance enhancing lipid nanoparticle RNA drugs for treatment of severe bacterial infections… Learn more.

Marketing & Partnerships Manager

This role requires building and nurturing relationships with clinics and referral partners, coordinating clinic onboarding and partnership initiatives, and conducting customer and stakeholder interviews to better understand user and clinic needs... Learn more.

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