Life Sciences BC News, September 26, 2024

During Global Biotech week, we joined BIONATION 2024 on September 24-25, which brought together life sciences leaders from across the country who are focused on advancing the sector. Congratulations to BIOTECanada Gold Leaf awardees from BC this year. Dr. Peter Zandstra was awarded the Community Leadership in Research & Innovation and Aspect Biosystems won Biotech Company of the Year. 

Invest in BC brings together investors from all over the world to showcase BC-based companies. This year, our reimagined event will put a strong emphasis on B2B meetings between investors and partnering companies, including global pharmaceutical. We have one more speaking opportunity available for the event.

Last Speaking Opportunity Available for Invest in BC!

We have one Pitch Session Sponsorship spot with a 5 min speaking opportunity available for $6,000 + GST. You will have 5 minutes of flexible session kick-off remarks, and you get to introduce the presenting companies in that session. 

Other benefits include:

• 1 complimentary ticket
• Logo promoted at event and across digital channels
• Verbal recognition at event

If you are interested, please email Joanne Lin at jlin@lifesciencesbc.ca by October 7 to secure the spot!

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 

Aurinia announces that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare has approved voclosporin, a second-generation calcineurin inhibitor, in combination with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) to treat lupus nephritis. Read more.

Genevant Sciences, a leading nucleic acid delivery company with a robust lipid nanoparticle (LNP) patent portfolio and Repair Biotechnologies, a company developing first-in-class therapies announced they have entered into a collaboration and nonexclusive license agreement to develop a novel treatment for atherosclerosis. Read more.

Vertex announces Health Canada acceptence of New Drug Submission for next-in-class triple combination treatment for cystic fibrosis. Read more.

GlycoNet investigators have developed a new diagnostic test that will advance organ transplantation and enable more transplants across blood type barriers, saving more lives. Read more. GlycoNet also announces a collaboration with CQDM to advance drug discovery. The collaboration will focus on developing glycomics-based tools, technologies, and therapeutics. Read more.

Pfizer Canada and BioNTech receive Health Canada approval of omicron KP.2 variant adapted COVID-19 Vaccine. Read more.

Industry Highlights

The Government of Canada and partners, Heart & Stroke and Brain Canada, are investing $10M to establish two new national research networks. These networks will enable cutting-edge research that addresses the most urgent questions and significant gaps in practice for women’s heart and brain health. Read more.

New LSBC Members

ServiceMaster Clean of Vancouver - With over 30 years of janitorial cleaning experience serving the Vancouver region (including Surrey, Maple Ridge, Langley, Port Moody, Coquitlam, New Westminster, White Rock, Delta, Burnaby, Burnaby North, Vancouver, Richmond, North Vancouver and West Vancouver), is a trusted provider of janitorial and cleaning services. Learn more.

Intelligent OMICS - AI for drug discovery: Intellomx identifies and develops optimal drug targets across multiple indications, both in-house and as a fee-for-service. Learn more.

Kudos

Congratulations to the nine UBC Faculty of Medicine staff who have received the UBC President’s Awards for Staff. These awards are issued annually to recognize staff who demonstrate outstanding achievements and excellence within the UBC community. Read more.

Gowling WLG’s Life Sciences team has been crowned Life Sciences Team of the Year at the 2024 Legal Business Awards. The team is recognized for having advised AstraZeneca on a £2.85 billion collaboration and license agreement with Quell Therapeutics. Read more.

Kudos to the inspiring recipients of BioTalent Canada’s inaugural I.D.E.A.L. (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Leadership) Scholarship™ for Canadian biosciences: Obiajulu Udemgba, from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Carter Yott, from Niagara Falls, Ontario. Read more.

People on the Move

Dr. Marc Rivière has been appointed to adMare BioInnovations’s Board of Directors. Dr. Rivière’s experience in funding and supporting companies, along with drug development, will be valuable in supporting adMare’s mission of building companies, ecosystems, and talent in Canadian life sciences. Read more.

Amie Phinney, Ph.D., MBA has joined Stem Cell Network as Vice President of Commercialization and Industry Engagement. Dr. Phinney brings to the team her background in biomedical research, with expertise in business development and scientific collaborations focused on investment readiness. Read more.

Applications Open

Submit your project to the Indo-Pacific Regional Connectivity Envelope call for proposals. This program will support and enable Canadians to build new networks in the Indo-Pacific, strengthen Canada’s voice on priority issues, and create partnerships on behalf of Canada. Apply by October 14! Learn more.

Applications are now open for the 2025 VCHRI Investigator Awards. This funding opportunity aims to promote excellence and build health research capacity by supporting clinician-scientists. The registration deadline is October 15, and the application deadline is December 9, 2024. Learn more.

Eureka has announced that The National Research Council Canada has allocated funding for organizations collaborating on international R&D projects in all technological fields. Your project consortium must include at least one Canadian SME and an organization based in one of the Eureka member countries/regions. Apply by October 31. Learn more.

Calls for proposals for GlycoNet’s funding programs are now open! The Collaborative Team Grants fund projects that involve two or more research groups. Register by October 4, and apply by November 4, 2024. The Strategic Initiative Grants fund partner-led or initiated projects that meet partners’ needs. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Learn more.

Apply now for Web Summit Vancouver’s 2025 startup program, ALPHA, which shines a spotlight on early-stage startups with outstanding potential, connecting them with the world’s most influential people and companies. Learn more.

BioTalent Canada is now accepting applications for its 2024-2025 I.D.E.A.L. Bioscience Employer™ Recognition Program. This program celebrates Canadian organizations in the bio-economy who display significant inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility leadership. Learn more.

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

Member Spotlight

The Health and Technology District is a vibrant ecosystem of innovators and entrepreneurs working alongside scientists, clinicians and health-care providers – each representing a range of technologies and research fields.

Co-locating in the Innovation HUB, the District provides a collaborative space where significant advances are made to improve health outcomes, patient experiences and the economics of health care delivery around the world. 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.

Vertex Highlights First Oral Presentation of Phase 3 Clinical Data of the Vanza Triple and New Data on Long-Term Impact of TRIKAFTA® at the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced the first accepted medical presentations of the Phase 3 data on the investigational once daily vanza triple will take place at the NACFC...Read more.

Vertex Announces Health Canada Acceptance of New Drug Submission for Vanzacaftor/Tezacaftor/Deutivacaftor, a Next-in-Class Triple Combination Treatment for Cystic Fibrosis

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) announced that Health Canada has accepted for review its New Drug Submission (NDS) for vanzacaftor/tezacaftor/deutivacaftor...Read more.

Repair Biotechnologies and Genevant Sciences to Collaborate to Develop mRNA-LNP Therapy with First-in-Class Potential to Turn Back Atherosclerosis

Repair Biotechnologies and Genevant Sciences have entered into a collaboration and nonexclusive license agreement to combine Repair’s CDP mRNA technology with Genevant’s proprietary LNP technology...Read more.

AbbVie Announces Positive Topline Results from Phase 3 TEMPO-1 Trial Evaluating Tavapadon as a Monotherapy for Parkinson’s Disease

AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) announced positive topline results from its pivotal Phase 3 TEMPO-1 trial for tavapadon as a monotherapy in early Parkinson’s disease...Read more.

Mesentech Doses First Patients with Investigational Drug MES1022 to Accelerate Healing of Bone Fractures

Mesentech, a biotech company developing novel tissue-selective therapies to treat bone diseases, announced that it has dosed the first patients in its Phase 1 study for MES1022...Read more.

LifeLabs to Honour National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with Educational Initiatives and Community Support

On September 30, LifeLabs will pause operations to recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day...Read more.

IMC Welcomes the Government of Canada’s Announcement on the Launch of Health Emergency Readiness Canada (HERC)

Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC) welcomes the announcement of the federal government’s commitment to safeguarding the health of Canadians through the creation of Health Emergency Readiness Canada (HERC)...Read more.

Getinge’s CE Certificate for ECLS Consumables Reinstated

In March 2023, Getinge’s CE certificate for the consumables HLS and PLS sets used for extracorporeal life support (ECLS) was suspended due to a potential defect in the sterile packaging...Read more.

Evonik Launches EUDRACAP® Colon Functional Capsules for the Targeted Delivery of Oral Drugs

Evonik is expanding its EUDRACAP® portfolio with a new functional, ready-to-fill capsule that enables the delivery of sensitive active ingredients to the ileo-colonic region...Read more.

Cytiva and Pear Bio Empower Personalized Cancer Medicine with Innovative Single-cell Technology

Cytiva, a global leader in life sciences, and Pear Bio, a pioneer in personalized cancer medicine, are collaborating to advance cancer research and personalized treatment…Read more.

New Analysis Demonstrates the Efficacy of RINVOQ® (upadacitinib) in Atopic Dermatitis with Varying Degrees of Severity in Head and Neck Involvement

AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) announced positive results from a new post-hoc analysis from the Measure Up 1 and Measure Up 2 Phase 3 studies...Read more.

Health Canada Grants Marketing Authorization of First CRISPR/Cas9 Gene-Edited Therapy, CASGEVY® (Exagamglogene Autotemcel), for the Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease and Transfusion-Dependent Beta Thalassemia

 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) announced Health Canada has granted Marketing Authorization for PrCASGEVY® (exagamglogene autotemcel)...Read more.

Faculty of Medicine Staff Honoured with 2024 UBC President’s Awards

Nine Faculty of Medicine staff members are among this year’s recipients of the UBC President’s Awards for Staff...Read more.

Pfizer Canada and BioNTech Receive Health Canada Approval of Omicron KP.2 Variant Adapted COVID-19 Vaccine

Pfizer Canada ULC and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX, “BioNTech”) announced that Health Canada has authorized the KP.2 variant adapted COMIRNATY® COVID-19 vaccine for ages 6 months and older...Read more.

Breaking Boundaries in Organ Transplantation with 21st-Century Glycomics

GlycoNet investigators have developed a new diagnostic test that will advance organ transplantation and enable more transplants across blood type barriers, saving more lives...Read more.

CASTL and Asahi KASEI BIOPROCESS Announce New Course: “Essentials of Viral Safety and Clearance”

CASTL is excited to announce the launch of a new course, “Essentials of Viral Safety and Clearance,” offered in partnership with Asahi KASEI BIOPROCESS (AKB)...Read more.

BioTalent Canada Announces First Recipients of the I.D.E.A.L. Scholarship™

BioTalent Canada announces the inspiring recipients of its inaugural I.D.E.A.L. Scholarship™ for Canadian biosciences: Obiajulu Udemgba, from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Carter Yott, from Niagara Falls, Ontario...Read more.

Aurinia Announces Japan Approval of LUPKYNIS® (Voclosporin) to Treat Lupus Nephritis

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare has approved voclosporin, in combination with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) to treat lupus nephritis (LN)...Read more.

Future-proofing Canada’s Biomanufacturing Workforce: National Skills and Training Study Delivers Critical Insights

CASTL, in partnership with BioTalent Canada and Future Skills Centre, shares preliminary findings from its recent market survey, Identifying the Technical Skills and Training Needed to Advance Canadian Biomanufacturing...Read more.

Gowling WLG Crowned Life Sciences Team of the Year at the 2024 Legal Business Awards

Gowling WLG’s Life Sciences team is celebrating success at the 2024 Legal Business Awards after being crowned ‘Life Sciences Team of the Year’...Read more.

President’s Staff Award for Leadership

We are delighted to share that Carmen de Hoog, Director of Strategic Planning & Operations at the School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME), has received The President’s Staff Award for Leadership...Read more.

Variational AI and Rakovina Announce Collaboration

Rakovina Therapeutics Inc., dedicated to developing innovative cancer therapies targeting DDR, announces a collaboration with Variational AI, known for its advanced Enki™ platform for drug discovery...Read more.

$31M Provincial Investment Boosts Canada’s Immuno-Engineering and Biomanufacturing Hub at UBC

UBC researchers at CIEBH have been awarded more than $31.4 million in provincial funding for three projects that will accelerate the development of advanced vaccines and therapeutics in British Columbia…Read more.

AbbVie Receives Positive CHMP Opinion for Mirvetuximab Soravtansine (ELAHERE®) for the Treatment of Certain Adult Ovarian Cancer

AbbVie announced that the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has adopted a positive opinion recommending the authorization of mirvetuximab soravtansine...Read more.

adMare BioInnovations Appoints Marc Rivière to its Board of Directors

 adMare BioInnovations (adMare) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Marc Rivière to its Board of Directors...Read more.

InMed Receives Nasdaq Delisting Notice, and Confirms it has Filed an Appeal and Obtained a Panel Hearing Date

InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that it has timely requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel to appeal the determination by the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC...Read more.

LifeLabs Announces 2024 Family Scholarship Winners

LifeLabs, Canada’s leading medical diagnostic laboratory, is pleased to announce the 2024 LifeLabs Family Scholarship winners...Read more.

RYBREVANT® (Amivantamab-vmjw) Plus Standard of Care Approved in the U.S. as First and Only Targeted Regimen To Cut Risk Of Disease Progression by More Than Half in Second-line EGFR-mutated Advanced Lung Cancer

Johnson & Johnson announced that the U.S.FDA approved RYBREVANT® in combination with standard of care chemotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with non-small cell lung cancer…Read more.

GlycoNet and CQDM Collaborate to Boost Drug Discovery and Develop New Health Solutions for Canadians

GlycoNet and CQDM are proud to announce they have entered an agreement to collaborate on advancing drug discovery and development in Canada...Read more.

Manager, Memberships & Sponsorships

The Manager, Memberships & Sponsorships, manages the planning and support of the members and sponsors. With responsibility for securing agreements and contracts, the Manager, Memberships and Sponsorships leads acquisition and retention strategies...Learn more

Technologist

Bodycomp Imaging is looking for a full-time and a part-time technologist at Bodycomp Imaging. Both technologists will be responsible for operating and maintaining DEXA scanners, performing body composition scans, and ensuring accurate and precise data collection...Learn more

Senior Manager, CMC, Quality Control

he Senior Manager, CMC, Quality Control will work flexibly across several small molecule drug development programs with an emphasis on managing outsourced testing and stability program for the cGMP API and drug product (DP) manufacturing and testing campaigns...Learn more

Senior Scientist, CMC, Drug Product

The candidate will be responsible for leading the development of suitable formulations for the in vivo assessment (including for GLP toxicology studies) of novel chemical compounds originating from our Discovery team...Learn more

HR Coordinator/Senior HR Coordinator

The Human Resources Coordinator/Sr. Human Resources Coordinator is responsible for ensuring the entering and coordination of data, documents and processes into the various HR systems in an accurate and timely manner to ensure flawless execution...Learn more

Senior Administrator, Human Resources

The Senior Administrator will be responsible for coordinating recruitment scheduling for executive level positions, scheduling Senior Hire orientations and supporting training events for department heads, supporting contracts and Statements of Work...Learn more

Scientific Liaison and Solutions Lead

We are seeking a highly motivated and scientifically minded individual with a strong background in precision medicine, spatial omics, oncology, and/or pathology to join our team...Learn more

Chief Medical Information Officer

The Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) is responsible for the medical leadership that advances the utilization of technology-enabled information management systems, to ultimately improve quality outcomes for patients within clinical operations across the entire region...Learn more

Chief Executive Officer

The CEO is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the organization including the development and ongoing refinement of organization strategy, business development and revenue generation, structure, product development, partner and client relations...Learn more

Research and Innovation Manager, Data Science

Reporting to the Director, Data Science you will work with the Research and Innovation leadership and the other members of the Data Science team to implement Genome British Columbia’s (Genome BC) Data Science Strategy...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

Center of Excellence Postdoctoral Fellow – Immunogenecity Mitigation and Immunopeptidomics

We are seeking a postdoctoral fellow with previous training in immunology and biochemistry to help develop the next generation of screening tools to identify and quantify the presence of immunogenic sequences, motifs, and structures in candidate therapeutic molecules...Learn more

Associate Scientist – Experimental Immunology

Well-suited applicant will have broad laboratory training, deep scientific curiosity and a positive approach to working in a team-based research environment. This individual will also have a track record of creative problem-solving...Learn more

Associate – Experimental Immunology (12-Month Contract)

The position would involve the cell isolation from primary human tissues, primary cell culture, sample management and tracking and general assay development. Well-suited applicant will have broad laboratory training and a positive approach to working in a team-based research environment...Learn more

Team Lead, Clinical Genotyping

Reporting to the Assistant Laboratory Director, the Team Lead, Clinical Genotyping coordinates and provides work direction to the Clinical Laboratory Drug Resistance Testing and Genotyping team...Learn more

ServiceMaster Clean of Vancouver - With over 30 years of janitorial cleaning experience serving the Vancouver region (including Surrey, Maple Ridge, Langley, Port Moody, Coquitlam, New Westminster, White Rock, Delta, Burnaby, Burnaby North, Vancouver, Richmond, North Vancouver and West Vancouver), you can trust ServiceMaster of Vancouver - Janitorial to provide you with the highest level of janitorial cleaning and service. Learn more.



Intelligent OMICS - AI for drug discovery: Intellomx identifies and develops optimal drug targets across multiple indications, both in-house and as a fee-for-service. Intellomx has developed the next generation of AI/ML for drug discovery, using “Swarm-Based Neural Networks” which enables optimised parallel computing to reveal the hidden biology of disease. This IP-protected in silico approach eliminates many years and millions of dollars of wet lab research to reveal, with high precision, novel drug targets for development of new therapeutic paradigms. Learn more.



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