Life Sciences BC News, June 6, 2024

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s International Convention, known to most simply as BIO was an opportunity to showcase BC’s life sciences on the world stage. We were proud to lead a delegation of over 40 BC based organizations to promote interest, investment, partnerships, and more for our world-class sector.

During our international networking reception, we welcomed over 250 life sciences leaders, business professionals, government officials, and other ecosystem champions for a lively evening of connection and conversations in San Diego. Special thanks to Pacific Economic Development Canada and the BC Provincial Government for supporting LSBC at this year's convention. Thank you to our reception sponsors, Acuitas Therapeutics, and Invest Vancouver.

We also had the opportunity to benchmark and learn more about the San Diego area, which is home to one of the largest concentrations of academic and biotechnology institutions in the world. We toured Pfizer's 25-acre campus in La Jolla, California, and Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS in San Diego, which is home to over 40 resident life science startups, with over 140 alumni companies within its network.

Life sciences is a long play, it's not easy, and is capital-intensive. Last week Wendy Hurlburt moderated a panel of sector leaders at the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade's Future of Life Sciences event with a keynote from Gordon McCauley of adMare BioInnovations. The conversation reaffirmed that many are committed to building in BC with goals for a truly sustainable and thriving cluster for years to come.

One important factor in building the sector, as mentioned, is capital. LSBC offers several opportunities for both early and later stage companies to attract investment. Our first is our Investor Readiness Program (IRP), in partnership with NRC IRAP. The program runs from October to March and pairs companies with entrepreneurs-in-residence (EIRs). Coaching, complemented by educational sessions, goal setting, peer-to-peer feedback, and conference opportunities prepare SMEs to become investor-ready. Learn more and apply here.

Our second offering is the Invest in BC conference presented by Lumira Ventures. This year we’re excited to announce the event has been reimagined, offering attendees a dynamic two-day program featuring 30+ company pitches from pre-seed to public, insightful presentations, and engaging panel discussions, as well as on-site meetings arranged through BIO One-on-One Partnering™. Learn more here.

Member Highlights 

Genome BC in partnership with Canadian Blood Services announce British Columbia has been selected as the test bed for a potentially game-changing genomics project to improve kidney transplant outcomes across Canada. This project, funded by Genome British Columbia, Genome Canada, Michael Smith Health Research BC, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, and others, seeks to significantly reduce organ rejection rates, improve patient outcomes and save millions of dollars in healthcare costs. Read more.

Alectos Therapeutics and Biogen have entered into a license and collaboration agreement to develop and commercialize a novel preclinical selective GBA2 inhibitor, AL01811, which has first-in-class potential as an oral disease-modifying treatment for patients with Parkinson’s disease. Read more.

Moderna announces that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved mRESVIA (mRNA-1345), an mRNA respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, becoming the first and only company in the world with two approved mRNA vaccine products. Read more.

The University of British Columbia and its partners announce $140M for Canada’s Immuno-Engineering & Biomanufacturing Hub. This will bolster Canada’s biotech sector and pandemic readiness. Read more.

Bold Therapeutics is excited to share positive Phase 2 results for BOLD-100 in advanced metastatic biliary tract and gastric cancers. This data was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2024 annual meeting on June 1. Read more.

Roche Canada with innovative partners including the Government of New Brunswick is poised to deliver to patients in the province a cancer treatment formulation with the potential to be more accessible and less invasive. Read more.

Industry Highlights

The Government of BC is providing more than $30 million to enhance the high-performance computing infrastructure, also known as supercomputers, at two post-secondary institutions: Simon Fraser University (SFU) and the University of Victoria (UVic). BC has two of Canada’s five national supercomputer sites. Read more.

New LSBC Member

[Student] Ladan Kalani is a research assistant at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, focusing on the epigenetics of cardiovascular health. She hopes to revive the Canadian Epigenetics, Environment and Health Research Consortium (CEEHRC) funding by collaborating with other scientists, policymakers and institutions and direct communication with the public to demonstrate the importance of research in epigenetics.

Kudos

Kudos to Dr. Kaylee Byers, PhD who has been named the Genome BC Scholar for the Implementation Science Scholar Cohort at Simon Fraser University/ UBC Knowledge Exchange. Read more.

Congratulations to Canary Medical for being named a 2024 Best of Sensors Awards finalist by Sensors Converge and Fierce Electronics. Read more.

Congratulations to BioTalent Canada for being certified as a Great Place to Work® for five years. This recognition is a testament to the hard work and enthusiasm of a team dedicated to creating a strong and resilient bio-economy in Canada. Read more.

People on the Move

Join us in celebrating Doris Grant, who has just assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer at Life Sciences Nova Scotia. Sean Awalt gracefully passes the torch to Doris. Read more.

Applications Open

The expedited Avian Influenza One Health Research funding opportunity, led by the CIHR Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies, is now open. Researchers from across biological, medical, animal health, environmental sciences, and social sciences disciplines are encouraged to apply by July 11, 2024. Learn more.

The Terry Fox Research Institute, through its Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (MOHCCN), is excited to announce the launch of the Patient Voices in Research Initiative, a new funding opportunity for cancer researchers that has been fully designed by cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. Learn more.

Startup Canada's 2024 Startup Global Pitch Competition is open to early-stage entrepreneurs looking to export their products or services outside of Canada. 10 finalists will compete for their chance to win from a cash prize pool of $70,000. Applications are open until June 11 or until pitch spots are full. Learn more.

Successfully commercialize your innovative technologies with API's Life Sciences Venture Coaching Program. Tailored specifically for Canadian life science entrepreneurs, this intensive four-month online program offers comprehensive support to ventures in the conceptualizing to validating stages. Apply by June 10, 2024. Learn more.

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

Member Spotlight

Molecular You is driving the personalized medicine revolution with advanced health analytics using multi-omic biomarkers. Our phenomics, genomics, metabolomics, proteomics and exposomics combine to provide high accuracy and predictability in support of the drug discovery and development processes.

More specifically, Molecular You health intelligence provides valuable insights related to biological pathways, effectiveness of drug performance, efficacy and safety over time and the identification of co-morbidity risk. Because our intelligence is RWD, it can also be used as supplemental patient information in the development process. In the early drug discovery process, Molecular You can provide valuable insights related to biological pathways in humans for target selection and validation, stratify patient populations from responders and non-responders for more efficient drug development.

The Molecular You database is consistently growing with new data that can and will be used to provide both short and long term value to the drug discovery process. Learn more.

Until next week!

LSBC Team

June 18 - Join us for our Blakes Breakfast Speaking Series: Tips, Traps & Trends in Company Formation,  on Tuesday, June 18 from 8:00 AM until 9:30 AM PT.

Demystify the process of company creation, understand the importance of IP, and learn about some of the tips and potential pitfalls from a legal perspective.

September 10 - Join us on September 10, 2024, as we celebrate excellence in life sciences at the 26th Annual Life Sciences BC Awards, presented by Farris.

This distinguished occasion 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.

Precision matching for kidney transplants: BC project targets reduced rejections and elimination of need for lifelong medication 

British Columbia has been selected as the test bed for a potentially game-changing genomics project to improve kidney transplant outcomes across Canada in partnership with Canadian Blood Services — the national coordinator of transplant services… Read more.

Biogen and Alectos Therapeutics Announce License and Collaboration Agreement for AL01811, a Novel GBA2 Inhibitor for the Potential Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease 

Biogen and Alectos Therapeutics have entered into a license and collaboration agreement to develop and commercialize a novel preclinical selective GBA2 inhibitor, AL01811, which has first-in-class potential as an oral disease modifying treatment for patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD)… Read more.

Moderna Receives U.S. FDA Approval for RSV Vaccine mRESVIA(R) 

Moderna announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved mRESVIA (mRNA-1345), an mRNA respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, to protect adults aged 60 years and older from lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV infection... Read more.

Filament Health Announces Authorization Of Phase 2 Clinical Trial For PEX010 In The Treatment of Methamphetamine Use Disorder

Filament Health announced Health Canada and the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) authorization for a Phase 2 clinical trial of PEX010, Filament’s botanical psilocybin drug candidate, for the treatment of methamphetamine use disorder (“MAUD”)…Read more.

$140M for UBC-led research hub to accelerate drug development and biomanufacturing

Federal investment in Canada’s Immuno-Engineering and Biomanufacturing Hub projects will bolster domestic biotech sector, readiness to respond to future health threats… Read more.

Expanded clinic will deliver more mental-health, addictions care for people in the DTES

An expanded Hope to Health clinic will help more people with complex health, mental-health and addiction challenges in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES)…Read more.

Bold Therapeutics Announces Positive Phase 2 Safety and Efficacy Results for BOLD-100 in Advanced Metastatic Biliary Tract and Gastric Cancers at ASCO 2024

Bold Therapeutics announced positive Phase 2 safety and efficacy results for the company's lead asset BOLD-100 in the treatment of advanced metastatic biliary tract cancer (BTC) and gastric cancer (GC) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago, IL…  Read more.

Innovative partnership aims to offer less invasive cancer treatment for New Brunswick patients

Horizon Health Network (Horizon), through an innovative partnership with Roche Canada, the New Brunswick Extra-Mural Program, the Government of New Brunswick and ResearchNB, and with the support of the Vitalité Health Network, is poised to deliver to patients in the province a cancer treatment formulation with the potential to be more accessible and less invasive…Read more.

BioTalent Canada Celebrates Five Years of Being Certified as a Great Place to Work

For the fifth consecutive year, BioTalent Canada has been honoured with the distinction of being certified as a Great Place to Work®. This recognition is a testament to the hard work and enthusiasm of a team dedicated to creating a strong and resilient bio-economy in Canada…Read more.

Events Specialist (Co-op)

Life Sciences BC is looking for an enthusiastic new co-op student to assist with preparations and execution of both in-person and virtual events. With several scheduled events happening between September and December, this role will offer a varied mix of tasks and projects and will provide fantastic experience for the chosen candidate to see how a professional industry association operates. This position will report to the Manager, Events...Learn more

Scientist/Sr. Scientist Experimental Immunology

This is a wet-lab focused position that involves the design and implementation of a new immunology-focused research program. The ideal candidate will have a deep foundational understanding of immunology with a background in immune ontogeny, virology, or vaccinology preferred...Learn more

Manager, Lab Operations

The Manager, Lab Operations will be responsible for managing the lab operations team, working with individuals and leadership in R&D to understand laboratory needs, securing and maintaining required Material Transfer Agreements, licenses and permits...Learn more

Scientist, Immunology- BC Cancer Research- Vancouver

The BC Cancer Research Institute is seeking a Research Scientist at the Assistant or Associate Professor level, to develop an independent research program in the general areas of basic and translational immunology, immunotherapy and cancer biology...Learn more

Associate Director, Immunology

The responsibilities of the Associate Director, Immunology include working with a team of researchers to develop a sustainable pipeline in immunology, supporting the attainment of departmental goals, and more...Learn more

Associate Scientist, In Vitro Biology

Zymeworks is seeking an Associate Scientist to join the In Vitro Biology group within the ADC Therapeutic Development department. The In Vitro Biology group is responsible for the in vitro functional characterization and advancement of Antibody Drug Conjugate therapeutic candidates...Learn more

Scientist, Cancer Biology, BC Cancer Research- Vancouver

The BC Cancer Research Institute is seeking an outstanding candidate for a full-time position at the rank of Scientist at the BCCRI. The BCCRI is a research institute of the University of British Columbia and the Provincial Health Services Authority...Learn more

Scientist, Proteomics -BC Cancer Research -Vancouver

The BC Cancer Research Institute is seeking a Research Scientist at the Assistant Professor level, to develop an independent research program in the general areas of biological mass spectrometry and proteomics for biomarker and target identification, or protein function analysis in cancer...Learn more

Senior Research Associate I, Antibody Discovery & Engineering

Zymeworks is seeking a Senior Research Associate I to join the Antibody Discovery and Engineering group (ADE) within the ADC Therapeutic Development department. The ADE group is responsible for the discovery of therapeutic antibodies against tumor-associated antigens for the treatment of cancer...Learn more

Accountant

Xenon Pharmaceuticals is seeking an Accountant to support our Finance team across the different functions within the department. This is a great opportunity for an individual who enjoys working on a variety of tasks as key responsibilities for this position span across our accounts payable, finance, and general accounting functions...Learn more

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