Life Sciences BC News, February 6, 2025

Our Annual Access to Innovation Conference is less than a month away! Join us on February 26 for a full day of discussion and connect with top life sciences trailblazers. One of BC’s strengths is in nanomedicines, demonstrated by the numerous companies and leading researchers working in the field. Hear from Dr. Llyod Jeffs, who has over 25 years of experience in developing lipid-based nanotherapeutics, as he shares his insights on the future of nanomedicines. Get your tickets today.

Next week, we invite you to our breakfast event in collaboration with Gowling WLG - Preparing for Growth: IP Considerations and Methods of Going Public on February 13, at The Vancouver Club. This event focuses on how the strategic management of IP assets can advance the outcome and valuation of a deal. Register here.

Huge congratulations to CASTL on its open house and reaching a major milestone in bringing biomanufacturing training coast-to-coast as a national initiative. The state-of-the-art training facility welcomed its first trainees this month. Read more.

In case you missed Innovate BC's Road to Web Summit webinar, watch it here. There is lots of good information if you're planning on being involved in the conference that will bring thousands of international innovators, investors, industry leaders and media to our province.

Member Highlights 

InMed Pharmaceuticals announced the selection of an intravitreal (‘IVT’) formulation for INM-089 as a drug candidate to be utilized in the Company’s ongoing development program targeting the treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration (‘AMD’). Read more.

Pender Ventures releases its Canadian Health Tech Funding and Trends Report – 2024 Year in Review. 2024 was another challenging year for Canadian health tech, with venture funding dropping 18% compared to 2023, ending at $700M across 287 deals. Early-stage investments were hit hardest, with funding amounts down 30% and deal counts down 26%. Read more.

NervGen completes first dosing in a subacute cohort of its Phase 1b/2a clinical trial of NVG-291 in spinal cord injury. Read more.

Industry Highlights

Government of Canada signs a bilateral agreement to invest $5.3 million over five years to support personal support workers across the Northwest Territories. Read more.

Kudos

Kudos to IQVIA for ranking first in the Health Care: Pharmacy and Other Services category in Fortune® World’s Most Admired Companies™ list. Read more.

Congratulations to the 17 UBC Faculty of Medicine members honoured with the 2024 Doctors of BC Awards. Read more.

Dr. Roger Y. Wong has received the Dr. Don Rix Award for Physician Leadership, an award that celebrates lifetime achievements and exemplary physician leadership in British Columbia. Congratulations! Read more.

Congratulations to Zucara Therapeutics Inc. for being honoured with Life Sciences Ontario’s Award in Emerging Company of the Year. Read more.

People on the Move

Innovative Medicines Canada welcomes Patrick Hupé as Vice President of Government and Stakeholder Relations. Read more.

MaRS Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Grace Lee Reynolds as CEO and to welcome Helen Angus and Andrew Joyner as new board members. Read more.

Applications Open

Apply for Michael Smith Health Research BC’s Advancing the Use of Evidence in Seniors’ Home and Community Care Program. This funding supports BC researchers and health system users in implementing and evaluating evidence-based interventions to improve seniors' home and community care. The deadline is March 24, 2025. Learn more.

Enter one of EFFERVESCENCE’s four contests to benefit from industry-wide visibility, build new business relationships, and create opportunities for growth in the life sciences field. Apply by February 10, 2025. Learn more.

Apply to EFFERVESCENCE Start-up Pitch Competition for the chance to present your pitch to event participants and judges at marché Bonsecours in Montreal. Increase your start-up’s visibility and gain valuable insights for its growth. The application deadline is February 10, 2025. Learn more.

Submit your nomination for BIOTECanada’s 2025 Gold Leaf Awards to recognize individuals and companies driving innovation, leadership, and impact across Canada’s biotech industry. Winners will be celebrated at BIO International in Boston this June. The submission deadline is March 31, 2025. Learn more.

Applications are open for BIO’s Academic Campus, a program for higher education institutions and research centers offering the Premier Access registration package, which includes discounted rates. Leverage the BIO Partnering™ system to request and schedule meetings with potential partners and gain visibility. Learn more.

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

Member Spotlight

Claris Healthcare - Claris provides a platform for the delivery of healthcare into a person’s home. We offer Claris Companion for providing social care – linking family caregivers to isolated senior family members; Claris Continuum provides advanced and flexible remote patient monitoring and helps home care providers manage chronic conditions in the patient’s home. Learn more.

Sherry Niessen - Sherry is currently at Belharra Therapeutics as Head of Platform & Proteomics. She has 20+ years of experience in chemical biology and proteomics. Sherry completed her PhD at The Scripps Research Institute in the laboratory, her MS in Experimental Medicine from McGill University and a BS in Biochemistry from Simon Fraser University. Learn more.

David Nauman - David is a registered Canadian and U.S. patent agent with over 15 years of experience and a background in chemical engineering (BSc) and organic chemistry (PhD). He works primarily with universities, startups, and SMEs focusing on patent-procurement, portfolio management, and IP strategy. Learn more.

Michael Damiani - Michael is a registered Canadian and U.S. patent agent with a PhD in biochemistry. He advises start-ups, early-stage ventures, and established life science and clean-tech companies on patent prosecution, strategy, and portfolio management to protect their innovations in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, wastewater treatment, and biomaterials. Learn more.

Roy Jackson - Dr. Roy Jackson is a highly experienced obstetrician-gynaecologist with over 25 years in the field. He trained at the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of British Columbia. Dr. Jackson has held leadership roles at several hospitals, and served as medical director at both Southern Health Centre and False Creek Surgical Centre. In 1996, he co-founded the Romich Group, focusing on healthcare, real estate, and tech. He mentors entrepreneurs and is an active angel investor. Learn more.

Until next week!

LSBC Team

February 13 - Life Sciences BC's Preparing for Growth: IP Considerations and Methods of Going Public.

This event focuses on intellectual property (IP) in the growth of a company and how the strategic management of IP assets can advance the outcome and valuation of a deal. Learn more about IPs and taking your life sciences company to public from esteemed speakers, Lisa Thorne and Tara Amiri.

February 26 - Join us for our 10th Annual Access to Innovation conference.

This premier full-day gathering welcomes life sciences leaders and trailblazers from academia, research, health institutions, government, and industry to engage in insightful discussions on the ever-evolving trends, developments, and policies shaping British Columbia’s thriving sector.

Rakovina Therapeutics Announces Additional Synthesized Compounds in its AI-Driven Cancer Drug Discovery Program

Rakovina Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company advancing cancer therapies based on DNA-damage response technologies, announces continued advancement of its AI-driven drug discovery program...Read more.

NervGen Completes Dosing of First Subject in Subacute Cohort of its Phase 1b/2a Clinical Trial of NVG-291 in Spinal Cord Injury

NervGen Pharma Corp., a clinical-stage biotech company dedicated to developing neurorestorative therapeutics, announced that the first subject has been enrolled and dosed in the subacute cohort of its Phase 1b/2a...Read more.

Lexaria Biodistribution Study For DehydraTECH GLP-1 is Underway

Lexaria Bioscience Corp., a global innovator in drug delivery platforms, announces that dosing has begun in its fluorescently tagged DehydraTECH-semaglutide (“FTS“) rodent biodistribution study...Read more.

Lexaria Updates its Ongoing Human Study GLP-1-H24-4

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. is pleased to provide progress updates on its Phase 1b, 12-week chronic study GLP-1-H24-4 (the “Study“) underway in Australia...Read more.

United Therapeutics Corporation Announces Full Enrollment of the TETON 1 Study of Inhaled Treprostinil for the Treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

United Therapeutics Corporation, a public benefit corporation, announced full enrollment of the TETON 1 study evaluating the use of Tyvaso® (treprostinil) inhalation solution for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis...Read more.

On World Cancer Day, Terry Fox Foundation and Research Institute Unveil Bold New ‘Finish It’ Brand Platform and a Moving Short Film Featuring Music by The Tragically Hip

Terry Fox Foundation and Terry Fox Research Institute are uniting Canada’s top minds in cancer research to help end cancer as we know it through the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network...Read more.

Merck Canada Urges Canadians to Take Action for their Lung Health with New “Listen Close” Campaign

On World Cancer Day, Merck Canada is launching a new campaign called “Listen Close” to raise awareness for lung cancer and empower Canadians to act for their lung health…Read more.

IQVIA named to the Fortune® World’s Most Admired Companies™ list, ranked No. 1 in its sector for fourth consecutive year

IQVIA, a leading global provider of clinical research services, commercial insights and healthcare intelligence, was named No. 1 in its category on the 2025 Fortune® World’s Most Admired Companies™ list...Read more.

United Therapeutics Corporation Announces FDA Clearance of its Investigational New Drug Application for the UKidney Xenotransplantation Clinical Trial

United Therapeutics Corporation announced that the U.S. FDA has cleared its Investigational New Drug application (IND) to initiate a clinical study of the company’s investigational UKidney™...Read more.

UBC Medicine Community Members Recognized with Doctors of BC Awards

The awards recognize the extraordinary achievements and contributions of physicians, resident doctors and medical students...Read more.

Nova Scotia Shows Leadership in Publicly Reimbursing Pluvicto™ for Eligible Patients with Advanced Prostate Cancer

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. (Novartis) is pleased to announce that, effective February 1, 2025, Nova Scotia is publicly funding Pluvicto™ (lutetium (177Lu) vipivotide tetraxetan injection)...Read more.

Labcorp Expands Regional Laboratory in Raritan, New Jersey

Labcorp, a global leader of innovative and comprehensive laboratory services, announced the expansion of its laboratory in Raritan, New Jersey...Read more.

Innovative Medicines Canada Welcomes Patrick Hupé as Vice President of Government and Stakeholder Relations

Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC) is pleased to welcome Patrick Hupé, M.Sc., MBA, as Vice President of Government and Stakeholder Relations...Read more.

InMed Announces INM-089 Intravitreal Formulation in the Treatment of Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration

InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the selection of an intravitreal (‘IVT’) formulation for INM-089 as a drug candidate to be utilized in the Company’s ongoing development program...Read more.

Canadian Health Tech Funding and Trends Report – 2024 Year in Review

Welcome to our third annual report where we examine the Canadian health tech investment landscape across public and private markets and provide an overview of key current trends we are seeing...Read more.

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Position in Nanomedicine or Chemical Biology

The major focus of this position will be the development of a cutting-edge, externally-funded, world-class research program. Other responsibilities will include teaching nanomedicine/drug delivery or chemical biology and other related topics...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

Detector Product Engineer

In this position you will have a hands-on role in ensuring we fully understand our detector performance. The duties and responsibilities include production validation and application engineering, product verification, problem solving, and more...Learn more

R&D Process Development Engineer

Join our R&D Process Development team in a hands-on position where you will work with semiconductor manufacturing tools, execute advanced data and root cause analyses to develop novel techniques that advance our technology development...Learn more

Hardware Test Engineer

This role is crucial in designing test hardware, maintaining production equipment, troubleshooting issues, and conducting user training to ensure a robust and reliable test system infrastructure...Learn more

Senior Manufacturing Engineer

As a member of the Manufacturing Engineering team, you will be expected to have a wide breadth of knowledge of all production processes and act as the first point of contact for any feedback or problems raised by the manufacturing team...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

Director, Diagnostics Manufacturing

The Director, Diagnostics Manufacturing will be a key driver of Augurex’s commercial success, positioning the company as a leader in autoimmune diagnostics...Learn more

Director, Finance

This role is a steppingstone to the senior leadership team, and an ideal role for an ambitious, hands-on finance professional with a breadth of skills and desire to apply their financial and business acumen in a rapidly growing company...LLearn more

Senior Research Associate II, In Vitro Biology

The In Vitro Biology group is responsible for the in vitro functional characterization and advancement of Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) therapeutic candidates and platform technologies...Learn more

Procurement manager

The Procurement Manager will be responsible for overseeing the sourcing and purchasing of critical materials, services, and technologies. The candidate will be responsible for managing relationships with Contract Research Organizations (CROs) and other critical vendors...Learn more

Post Doctoral Fellow

We are seeking a Biologist with experience in immunology, oncology and/or molecular biology to work across multiple program areas for the development of novel therapeutics...Learn more

Animal Care Technician

Reporting to the Scientist, In Vivo, you will play a crucial role in supporting various research programs by providing essential technical support and expertise...Learn more

Associate, Histology

Reporting to the Scientist II, you will conduct routine histology, perform immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry assays and analyze histological images to support our various preclinical programs...Learn more

Associate II, In Vivo

Reporting to the Director, In Vivo Sciences, you will be responsible for performing surgical procedures and ensuring the highest level of animal care. This role offers the exceptional chance to broaden your technical expertise in animal surgery...Learn more

Senior Scientist, Cryopreservation Process Development

In this pivotal role, you will develop and optimize packaging processes, with a key focus on cryogenic preservation, formulation, stability, and shipping logistics to ensure the integrity and viability of our BTTs across all stages of operation...Learn more

Manager, Quality Control Microbiology

Reporting to the CTOO, you will oversee and execute essential activities to ensure microbial control across materials, environments, and processes for Aspect’s bioprinted tissue therapeutics...Learn more

Senior Health Economist

In this role, you will conduct critical economic analyses, quantitative/qualitative health economics and health services research, develop and execute analytic models for economic evaluation, use research and design tools, and prepare and present your reports...Learn more

Indigenous Pathways Project Coordinator (Contract Position)

The Indigenous Pathways Project Coordinator is responsible for leading project management of Indigenous pathways into genomics programs, coordinating projects and portfolio efforts related to SING Canada initiatives, and managing Indigenous governance initiatives...Learn more

Research Associate, Translational Biology & Pharmacology

The successful candidate will help design, plan, execute and analyze in vivo studies for target validation and preclinical research activities. Candidates will rely on their organizational skills and expertise to manage multiple pharmacology activities...Learn more

Research Associate I, In Vitro Biology

The In Vitro Biology is responsible for the in vitro functional characterization and advancement of Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) therapeutic candidates and platform technologies. The candidate supports pipeline program advancement and contributes to platform technology improvements and innovation...Learn more

Senior Site Reliability Engineer

Design, develop, and maintain tools, pipelines, and infrastructure to streamline continuous software delivery for internal scientific software, support computing clusters and web applications, oversee research-supporting software, and manage standardized development environments...Learn more

Research Assistant – Lab Coordinator

The role primarily focus on maintaining the daily operational functions of the laboratory, ensuring the delivery of consistent and reliable lab services. The candidate will assist with the recruitment and enrolment of ongoing industry, grant funded and Investigator-initiated clinical trials...Learn more

Director, Business Operations

This role drives operational efficiency, strategic planning, and cross-functional collaboration. The individual will oversee core business processes, lead initiatives to optimize workflows, and ensure alignment with corporate goals, compliance standards, and financial objectives...Learn more

Director, Medical Affairs

This role is responsible for defining and implementing KOL strategies to develop and maintain positive KOL endorsement and product champions for Eupraxia in all aspects of Ep104 use. The role will also lead Eupraxia medical education initiatives and conference activities...Learn more

Laboratory Technician

The Laboratory Technician will conduct accurate diagnostic specimen testing and reporting, reinforcing our position as a pioneer in autoimmune diagnostics. This role demands meticulous attention to detail and a commitment to quality and efficiency to uphold our high standards...Learn more

Education Engagement Coordinator

Customer-focused, highly organized Education Engagement Coordinator to expand the reach and impact of our Geneskool® program. You excel at building relationships and will connect educators, host institutions and volunteers with engaging life sciences experiences...Learn more

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