March 24th, 2023

Life Sciences BC seeks to raise the profile of our members and supporters, highlight their achievements, and promote BC's dynamic life sciences ecosystem. If you have news or a story to share, let us know.

SBME’s 5th Annual Symposium

The event will take place on Tuesday, June 13th, and will feature a keynote by Murali Venkatesan, Head of Danaher Equity Ventures, who is passionate about making a positive impact on human health. In addition, it will have research talks from Sara Roccabianca (Michigan State University), Adrien Desjardins (University College London), and Gane Ka-Shu Wong (University of Alberta)...READ MORE

AbCellera and RQ Bio Partner to Accelerate the Advancement of New Therapies for Infectious Disease

AbCellera and RQ Bio announced that they have entered into a strategic collaboration to identify optimal clinical candidates for up to three infectious disease targets selected by RQ Bio, including influenza and cytomegalovirus (CMV). The partnership aims to provide long-lasting infectious diseases medicines to high-risk patients by bringing together RQ Bio’s expertise in infectious diseases and viral evolution with AbCellera’s discovery engine for finding rare, highly potent antibodies...READ MORE

Sernova Announces Abstract on First Cohort of its Phase 1/2 Study Involving Islet Allotransplantation into Pre-vascularized Cell Pouch™ Selected for Oral Podium Presentation at American Diabetes Association 83rd Scientific Sessions 2023 (MAR 22)

Sernova Corp., a clinical- stage company and leader in cell therapeutics, is pleased to announce that an abstract has been selected for an oral podium presentation at the upcoming American Diabetes Association (ADA) 83rd Scientific Sessions, to be held from June 23-26, 2023, in San Diego, CA. It will also be published on the journal Diabetes® website...READ MORE

Algernon Pharmaceuticals Announces Launch of Rights Offering

Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Canadian clinical stage pharmaceutical development company announces it is undertaking a rights offering to raise gross proceeds of approximately $2,416,747 (the “Rights Offering”). The Company will be offering 9,666,988 rights (the “Rights”) to holders (the “Shareholders”) of its Class A common shares (the “Shares”) at the close of business on the record date of March 29, 2023 (the “Record Date”) on the basis of one (1) Right for each one (1) Share held. Each one (1) Right will entitle the holder to subscribe for one unit (a “Unit”) at the subscription price of $0.25 per Unit...READ MORE

Numinus Announces Four Peer-Reviewed Publications from its Chief Clinical Officer in 2023

Numinus Wellness Inc., a mental health care company advancing innovative treatments and safe, evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapies, announced that Reid Robison, Chief Clinical Officer of Numinus, has contributed to studies published in four peer-reviewed papers thus far in 2023 for his work in the treatment of mental health disorders including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety...READ MORE

Notice of Compliance Issued Regarding Rezurock(TM) (belumosudil tablets)

Sanofi Canada announce that Health Canada has issued a Notice of Compliance (“NOC”) for Rezurock™ (belumosudil tablets), for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older with chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after failure of at least two prior lines of systemic therapy. Chronic GVHD is a complication that can occur following allogeneic stem cell transplantation, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. In Chronic GVHD, transplanted immune cells (graft) attack the patient’s cells (host), leading to inflammation and fibrosis in multiple tissues, including skin, mouth, eye, joint, liver, lung, esophagus and gastrointestinal tract...READ MORE

Wex Pharmaceuticals Inc. Enrolls in Korea as Part of the Multinational Phase 2B Clinical Trial Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Halneuron® in the Treatment of Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathic Pain (MAR 21)

WEX Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biotechnology company developing Halneuron® (Tetrodotoxin or TTX) for pain, announced that the first patient in Korea has been enrolled in its multinational Phase 2B clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of Tetrodotoxin in the treatment of Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathic Pain (the “Clinical Trial”). WEX previously and recently announced it had received authorizations from the regulatory authorities of China, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, USA, and Canada to conduct the Clinical Trial in these countries, and enrolment in the Clinical Trial had successfully commenced elsewhere...READ MORE

Aspect Biosystems Receives Over $3.6 Million From the Government of Canada

Aspect Biosystems, a biotechnology company pioneering the development of bioprinted tissue therapeutics, announced that it has received over $3.6 million in funding from the Government of Canada. The federal funding announcement was made at Aspect Biosystems in Vancouver by the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (PacifiCan). The funding was awarded through PacifiCan’s Business Scale-Up and Productivity (BSP) program...READ MORE

First Patient Dosed in Europe in Clairvoyant’s Phase 2b Clinical Trial Exploring Psilocybin Therapy as a Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder

Clairvoyant Therapeutics announce that the first clinical trial participant in Finland enrolled in CLA-PSY-201 has received their first dose of the drug along with Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET). CLA-PSY-201 is the company’s placebo-controlled, randomized, multi-site phase 2b trial exploring psilocybin therapy as a treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD)...READ MORE

Gilead Exercises Option to License Nurix’s IRAK4 Targeted Protein Degrader Development Candidate, NX-0479 (MAR 20)

Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Nurix Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted protein modulation therapies, announced that Gilead has exercised its option to exclusively license Nurix’s investigational targeted protein degrader molecule NX‑0479. This bivalent degrader, designated GS-6791, is the first development candidate resulting from the previously announced Nurix-Gilead collaboration to discover, develop, and commercialize a pipeline of innovative targeted protein degradation therapies...READ MORE

AbCellera Announces Two Presentations on T-Cell Engager Discovery at AACR 2023 (MAR 14)

AbCellera will present the complete characterization of its panel of differentiated CD3-binding antibodies and demonstrate how it enables customized design of T-cell engagers for cancer targets. Additionally, AbCellera will present data on the discovery and characterization of antibodies against MAGE-A4, a validated peptide-MHC (pMHC) target for cancer treatment. Together, these two presentations illustrate how AbCellera’s CD3 panel integrates with its antibody discovery and development engine to streamline T-cell engager development...READ MORE

Government of Canada Improves Access to Affordable and Effective Drugs for Rare Diseases

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, announced measures in support of the first-ever National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Diseases, with an investment of up to $1.5 billion over three years. Through this, we will help increase access to, and affordability of, effective drugs for rare diseases to improve the health of patients across Canada, including children. As part of this overall investment, the Government of Canada will make available up to $1.4 billion to provinces and territories through bilateral agreements. This funding will help provinces and territories improve access to new and emerging drugs, as well as support enhanced access to existing drugs, early diagnosis, and screening for rare diseases...READ MORE

Minister Ng Highlights Support for Women Entrepreneurs During Trip to Toronto (MAR 22)

The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, travelled to Toronto on March 20 to visit local businesses, meet with the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA), participate in Elevate’s Women In Tech event and announce the release of the State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2023: Research Preview, an annual report put out by the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub...READ MORE

Advisory Panel Report on Federal Research Support System Published

Canada is a global leader in research and innovation, and our world-class researchers perform bold, cutting-edge work that benefits us all and will continue to do so for decades to come. But the government also recognizes that in order to cement Canada’s leadership position in science and research, support for the ecosystem must evolve to meet the modern needs of those working to solve the toughest challenges we face today...READ MORE

Government of Canada Invests Over $25.7 Million to Fuel Innovation and Economic Growth in Vancouver (MAR 20)

The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (PacifiCan), announced an investment of over $25.7 million to help 10 Vancouver-based organizations fuel the B.C. economy, create jobs, and develop products that improve lives. This includes over $16.1 million for eight companies through the Business Scale-Up and Productivity program and over $9.6 million for two organizations through the Jobs and Growth Fund...READ MORE

Tax Credit Supports Growth for Digital Media Companies (MAR 16)

Hundreds of companies in B.C. will benefit from an extension of the Province’s Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit, which will reduce costs for technology businesses while growing the sector and supporting a stronger, more innovative economy for British Columbia. As part of Budget 2023, the Province will extend the Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit for another five years. The credit benefits companies, which range from video-game creators to those developing the next iteration of the internet, by lowering the cost of talent and freeing up funds for them to grow...READ MORE

Research Associate, Analytical

Acuitas Therapeutics is seeking a Research Associate.The role holder will be responsible for execution of studies, including physical and chemical characterization of LNP systems, managing and executing analyses, and interpretation/presentation of results. Familiarity with HPLC/UPLC, fluorescence/absorbance spectroscopy, general laboratory/analytical techniques, statistical design of experiments, data modeling, scale-up process development, and/or regulatory aspects of LNP products and raw materials would be an asset.



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Associate I Operator

Evonik Canada is seeking an Associate Operator to work full-time on site at the Burnaby location. This position is responsible for assisting with all aspects of aseptic processes and procedures for pharmaceutical manufacturing (pre- clinical-phase and/or commercial). Evonik offers excellent benefits such as competitive compensation, benefit and pension plans, vacation and time off, and many wellness resources.



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Senior Research Associate, In Vitro Pharmacology

Zymeworks is seeking a Senior Research Associate, In Vitro Pharmacology to work full-time in a hybrid role at their Vancouver facility. The position develops and implements novel methodologies for testing the function of multispecific antibodies as well as

Leading experimental plans to advance therapeutic programs. Zymeworks offers a comprehensive total rewards package, which includes competitive salaries, generous benefits, an outstanding work environment, and excellent opportunities for professional growth. 





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At United Therapeutics, our vision and mission are one. We use our enthusiasm, creativity, and persistence to innovate for the unmet medical needs of our patients and to benefit our other stakeholders. We are bold and unconventional. We have fun, we do good. We are the first publicly-traded biotech or pharmaceutical company to take the form of a public benefit corporation (PBC). Our public benefit purpose is to provide a brighter future for patients through (a) the development of novel pharmaceutical therapies; and (b) technologies that expand the availability of transplantable organs.

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New Beta Innovation Canada Limited (NBI-CA) is a biopharmaceutical manufacturer of hemoglobin-based therapeutics. Their production processes are undergoing validation for rigorous Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements. They have a state-of-the-art facility with custom-designed equipment for commercial-scale production.

They are a committed and innovative team who are passionate about doing great work. Work that has the potential to make a positive impact on animal and human health. They are always on the look-out for creative and passionate people who are eager to contribute to a bigger purpose.

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