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.

Life Sciences BC News, March 21, 2024

The strength of life sciences cross-border collaboration between the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Western Canada, also known as the Cascadia region, was showcased on March 15 at an event in partnership with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.  

U.S. Ambassador David L. Cohen delivered a keynote on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). As highlighted in our labour market intelligence report, DE&I is well-recognized across the sector as being important to fostering improved business performance and innovation. Formal DE&I programs and data remain opportunities for advancing the benefits of DE&I for BC’s life sciences sector.  

Our President and CEO, Wendy Hurlburt moderated the business panel with insightful discussions from Courtney Billington from Johnson & Johnson, David Llewellyn from STEMCELL Technologies, Scott Phillips from StarFish Medical, David Seymour from Microsoft Vancouver, and Lindsay Williams from Stryker. 

Thank you, Bridgitte Anderson of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada (AmCham Canada) for facilitating this important topic and conversation. 

Congratulations to the latest cohort of our Investor Readiness Program (IRP)! Last week graduates celebrated their accomplishments after six months of educational sessions, goal setting, mentorship, and in some cases, “tough love” from entrepreneurs-in-residence. We are so proud of the growth we’ve seen during this program and can’t wait to see how each company takes their innovation to the next level in the coming months and years.

Next year’s IRP applications will open in late spring, stay tuned for more information and learn more about the program here.  

Member Highlights 

AstraZeneca acquires Fusion Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage oncology company developing radioconjugates as precision medicines. The total transaction value approximates US$2.4 billion and Fusion will become a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca, with operations continuing in Canada and the US. Read more.  

Augurex receives C$5 million in investment from the Pacific Economic Development fund from the Government of Canada. These funds will help commercialize a new autoantibody blood test for earlier detection and better monitoring of rheumatoid arthritis. Read more.  

GuideStar Medical Devices announces exciting results with the successful first clinical use of its flagship device, EpiZact. EpiZact, recently granted U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance, is used as an aide during epidural procedures. Read more. 

LifeLabs, in partnership with Klinrisk, includes the Klinrisk Score, which uses an artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI-ML) approach to help assess the risk of chronic kidney disease. Read more.  

Filament Health has shipped its botanical psilocybin drug candidate, PEX010, to four countries for clinical trials at leading research institutions. PEX010 will be studied in Canada, the United States, Belgium, and Israel, for a range of mental health indications such as cannabis use disorder, depression, anxiety, and alcohol use disorder. Read more. 

Industry Highlights

The Government of Canada invests almost $14 million to drive innovation and economic growth in Vancouver. Seven local businesses and organizations that will receive funding include Augurex, CarboNet, Clarius Mobile Health, FintelConnect, BC Tech Association, Craver Solutions, and QuantoTech Solutions. Read more. 

Kudos

Congratulations to Zymeworks, who celebrated the opening of their Redwood city office in California. Announced on LinkedIn. 

Congratulations to four UBC Medicine researchers on their appointment to Canada Research Chairs:

Anna Blakney, School of Biomedical Engineering, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Nucleic Acid Bioengineering; Kamyar Keramatian, Psychiatry, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Early Intervention in Psychosis/Bipolar Disorder; Yongjin Park, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Integrative Causality Inference of Cancer Mechanisms; and Carolina Tropini, School of Biomedical Engineering, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Quantitative Microbiota Biology for Health Applications. Read more. 

Congratulations to researchers who received CFI Innovation Fund awards this year. Ten projects led by UBC researchers have been awarded $36 million in funding. Read more. 

New Members

The Biologics Manufacturing Centre is an end-to-end biomanufacturing facility, supporting the growth of domestic biomanufacturing production capacity for the future, ensuring that vaccines and other biologics can be safely manufactured in Canada for Canadians. Learn more.

People on the Move

Innovative Medicines Canada welcomes Bettina Hamelin as President. Read more.  

Eyam Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics announces the appointment of Wolfgang Koester to the Board of Directors. Read more.  

Lexaria appoints Nelson Cabatuan as Chief Financial Officer. Read more.  

Santis Health welcomes Avis Favaro, an acclaimed health journalist as a senior advisor. Read more.  

Digital welcomes Elysa Darling as Chief of Staff. Announced on Linkedin.  

Applications Open

CIHR invites all Early Career Researchers interested in pediatric healthcare to apply for a new funding opportunity. Researchers working to identify gaps and address the current critical challenges facing the health and wellness of newborns, children and youth in Canada are welcome to apply. Learn more.  

Canadian public high schools are welcome to apply for one of four C$50,000 grants from Sanofi Canada to enhance scientific learning. Schools across Canada can apply for the Sanofi Biogenius Canada Grants from March 15 to May 15, 2024. Learn more. 

We invite you to explore our expanded list of current life sciences application opportunities on our website by clicking the button below. 

Upcoming LSBC events and programs at-a-glance

April 4 - Our upcoming McCarthy Spotlight Speaking Series is titled "AI Advancing Life Science Innovation."

This second event in the series will feature speakers at the cutting edge of AI, discussing how this powerful tool can be applied to augment human creativity to further innovation. 



April 11 - The Life Sciences BC Showcase Series: Vancouver Island event is a unique opportunity to learn more about developments in the region and what kinds of cutting-edge research and innovation are happening on the Island.

The event will feature a range of sector-leading guest speakers from the ecosystem.

April 25 - We are thrilled to launch our inaugural Digital Health Conference on April 25, 2024. 

This day-long event will connect sector leaders for in-depth discussions on the important role digital health has in the future of healthcare.

Member Spotlight

Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: BHC) is a global company whose mission is to improve people’s lives with our health care products. We develop, manufacture and market a range of pharmaceutical, medical device and over-the-counter products, primarily in the therapeutic areas of eye health, gastroenterology and dermatology. We are delivering on our commitments as we build an innovative company dedicated to advancing global health.

In Canada, the company’s prescription product portfolio is focused on eye health, dermatology and cardio-metabolic conditions. More information can be found at the Company’s website at https://www.bauschhealth.ca. Learn more.

Until next week,

The LSBC team

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Welcome to LSBC!

Biotechnology is a cornerstone of British Columbia's economy, with the region primed for future groundbreaking advances in personalized medicine, gene therapy, and disease prevention, supported by its robust academic and research infrastructure. Marken's entry into Western Canada is strategically aimed at tapping into and supporting this vibrant biotech hub. Located near key biotech and research institutions, Marken offers specialized supply chain support to entities involved in clinical trials and biopharmaceutical development.

With the escalating global demand for precision logistics services, driven by the expansion of clinical trials and biopharmaceutical production, Marken efficiently responds to these complex needs. Marken’s solutions such as cold chain logistics, innovative packaging, and clinical trial supply chain management, address the unique challenges of the sector.

Strategic partnerships with local biotech firms, pharma companies, and research organizations allow Marken to provide customized logistics solutions as well as timely and secure delivery of biological samples, clinical trial materials, and temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals to clients and patients worldwide. By integrating into Canada's dynamic biotech ecosystem and utilizing its transportation network and partnerships, Marken is uniquely positioned to support the biopharmaceutical industry's growth regionally and globally. LEARN MORE.

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