Wow! What a week for BC life sciences, congratulations all round and read below for the news. I am delighted to see that it’s also been a busy week for LSBC member, AbCellera. Not only has the company been recognised at the 2021 Technology Impact Awards, but CEO and founder, Dr. Carl Hansen has been named the EY Entrepreneur of the Year and also recognized for his leadership at this year’s prestigious BC Export Awards. Business in Vancouver notes that the company “is best known for its leading role in the Pandemic Prevention Platform which uses a proprietary technology program to develop “medical countermeasures within 60 days.” It is credited as one of the major breakthroughs in the pandemic.” Congratulations to Carl and to AbCellera. |
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I’m also delighted to see that LSBC Board member, Dr. Pieter Cullis has been recognized for his role in delivering COVID-19 vaccines to the world. Along with his collaborators, Pieter has been awarded the 2021 Prince Mahidol Award for Medicine. As he notes in this Globe and Mail interview, “It’s vital to keep people local … and I think we should be doing more to retain our talent in Canada. Countries that invest in their human capital are always going to do better.”
In terms of cultivating the next generation of skilled talent, BioTalent Canada has programs that can help. The SWPP and similar opportunities offer initiatives to increase the job-readiness of students registered in STEM, healthcare, business, and other programs at Canadian post-secondary institutions. They offer some great wage subsidy programs that cover the cost of a student’s salary by 75% to a maximu m of $7,500. You can learn more in the links below:
Last week I introduced two of our four current SWPP co-op placements. This week I am pleased to give the final shoutout to Tav, our Events and Business Development Assistant, who compiles and formats our Events Newsletter each week, and Megan, our Sponsorship and Membership Assistant, who maintains our member accounts! Visit visit biotalent.ca/Co-opFunds for more details on the program.
BC Tech recently announced the winners of 2021 Technology Impact Awards. The gala returned to an in-person format this year, at Science World, while also broadcasting the event live to the tech community. Tyler Orton of Business in Vancouver wrote a fascinating piece on the 11 winners recognized at annual TIAs – mentioning specifically that unicorns took centre stage, including LSBC member, AbCellera winning the Company of the Year – Anchor Award. Our congratulations to all the winners and finalists, especially LSBC members Canexia Health (also finalists in the BC Export Awards), Thrive Health, STEMCELL Technologies, and Dr. Carl Hansen.
I’d like to congratulate Amplitude Ventures Partner and LSBC Board member, Nancy Harrison, who was awarded the PEAK 2020/2021 Excellence in Industry Award. Congratulations also to STEMCELL Technologies’ Founder, President & CEO – Dr. Allen Eaves on being named to the 2022 Business Laureates of B.C. Hall of Fame!
More congratulations— Sue Paish, CEO of the Digital Technology Supercluster, wins a CEO of the Year award in the Publicly Accountable category.
Also this week, Innovative Medicines Canada introduced their new Chair - Cole Pinnow, President, Pfizer Canada ULC, has been elected Chair of the Board of Directors. I’m also sending congratulations to Microbiome Insights, who recently opened an office in in Ireland to better serve their European clients.
And finally, Giving Tuesday is next week – November 30. Please consider donating to the VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation, as every dollar contributed on that day is being matched by a generous supporter. I also encourage you to support Movember – a cause to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men’s mental health. Our fantastic awards videographer and LSBC member, Brian Calvert of biofilm MEDIA has posted his pledge and you can s upport him here. Go Brian, grow!
-Wendy and the LSBC team
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Preventing diabetes and improving the quality of care and knowledge to treat the Quebecers suffering from this disease is the mission of the CHUM’s Centre d’expertise en diabète (CED), made possible by the financial support of Novo Nordisk ($5M) through a $5 million donation to the Fondation du CHUM.
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Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc. a clinical stage pharmaceutical development company, is pleased to announce that it has received positive feedback at a scientific advice meeting from the United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. The scientific advice meeting was related to the Company’s planned Phase 1/2a stroke study with AP-188 (“N,N-dimethyltryptamine” or “DMT”), a known psychedelic compound that is part of the tryptamine family. READ MORE
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Novo Nordisk today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Dicerna Pharmaceuticals. The acquisition of Dicerna’s ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) platform is a strategic addition to Novo Nordisk’s existing research technology platforms and supports the strategy of using a broad range of technology platforms applicable across all Novo Nordisk’s therapeutic focus areas. READ MORE
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Roche announced that new data from its extensive haematology portfolio will be presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition from 11-14 December 2021. Roche molecules will be featured in more than 90 abstracts, including 17 oral presentations, showcasing new immunotherapies, unique treatment combinations, the application of novel endpoints, and fixed-duration regimens. READ MORE
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On December 1st, Silicon Valley Bank and #GrowTogether will be bringing together a powerhouse panel of Founders, Funders and Influencers to present a bespoke Fundraising Bootcamp, a ‘crash course’ designed to support and inspire women entrepreneurs and founders. Our panel of experts will be sharing their advice and expertise to help you in perfecting the pitch for your next fundraise. READ MORE
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Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC) and Hoffmann-La Roche Limited (Roche Canada) today announced a $50,000 Scholarship in Artificial Intelligence and Population Health for the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH) at the University of Toronto. READ MORE
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Izotropic is pleased to announce that its engineering teams have successfully built and assembled IzoView’s radiation imaging subsystem, and it has been formally certified as safe to operate. This milestone enables the subsystem, which is now taking static images, to be characterized and optimized for 360-degree image acquisition. READ MORE
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We warmly invite you to join a virtual open house at our sites in Vancouver (Canada) and Birmingham (USA) on Wednesday, December 15, 2021. Even in times of COVID-19, we stand for an open and approachable culture. With this virtual open house event, we would like to give you the opportunity to get to know our Vancouver and Birmingham facilities. READ MORE
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Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC) is pleased to announce that Cole C. Pinnow, President, Pfizer Canada ULC, has been elected Chair of its Board of Directors. READ MORE
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Leading science and technology design firm HDR has been recognized as a “pathbreaking North American architecture firm” by design media platform Architizer for winning multiple A+Awards. With categories ranging from concepts to typology, Architizer’s A+Awards famously celebrate global design talent. READ MORE
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Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc. a clinical stage pharmaceutical development company, is pleased to announce that it has received positive feedback from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at its pre-IND (Investigational New Drug) meeting for its investigation of NP-120 (Ifenprodil) for the treatment of small cell lung cancer. READ MORE
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The Health Research Foundation (HRF) of Innovative Medicines Canada today awarded its prestigious Medal of Honour to Dr. Astrid Guttmann at the HRF’s annual stakeholder conference. Dr. Guttmann is a physician and Senior Scientist in the Child Health Evaluative Sciences (CHES) program at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), and a senior scientist and chief science officer at ICES. READ MORE
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The Health Research Foundation (HRF) of Innovative Medicines Canada today awarded its prestigious Medal of Honour to Dr. Astrid Guttmann at the HRF’s annual stakeholder conference. Dr. Guttmann is a physician and Senior Scientist in the Child Health Evaluative Sciences (CHES) program at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), and a senior scientist and chief science officer at ICES. READ MORE
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Carl Hansen, CEO of AbCellera — a British Columbia-based biotechnology firm best known for its leading role in developing an antibody treatment for COVID-19 — is Canada’s EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2021. Selected by an independent panel of judges, Hansen is this year’s national program winner for his commitment to delivering purpose-driven leadership, innovation and long-term value for stakeholders. READ MORE
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BioTalent Canada offers three wage subsidy programs; the Science and Technology Internship Program – Green Jobs, the Science Horizons Youth Internship and the Student Work Placement Program. Find out more about these programs today! READ MORE
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A rare real estate opportunity for lab space at the corner of Union Street and Glen Drive. Currently in the building permit phase, Jerzy’s Corner is a six-storey, 47,000-square-foot building planned for 1101 Union Street in the heart of East Vancouver. READ MORE
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The NDP government stuck to the middle ground with its permanent employer-paid sick day policy, which will take effect on January 1, 2022. READ MORE
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This year we will be selecting a cohort of four, innovative life science companies from Canada to participate in the 6-month long mentoring program (kick-off in February, mentoring engagement March through September 2022), which we anticipate to be a hybrid program with in-person events in Chicago as well as some virtual meetings. Deadline to apply is December 1, 2021. READ MORE
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Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to Canada was established in 1995. They serve in promotion of bilateral relations between Lithuania and Canada in areas of political, cultural, economic cooperation, provides consular services. Their main goal in economic diplomacy area is to connect businesses in both countries (http://ca.mfa.lt/).
Lithuania has everything you need to make your investment go even further: dynamic talent, a competitive, growth-oriented business environment, a strong focus on continued innovation and EU-leading infrastructure (https://investlithuania.com/).
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Izotropic Corporation is the only publicly-traded company commercializing a dedicated Breast CT imaging platform, IzoView, for the more accurate detection of breast cancers. To expedite patient and provider access to IzoView, Izotropic’s initial clinical study for market authorization intends to demonstrate superior performance of diagnostic breast CT imaging over diagnostic mammography procedures and will initiate in Q2 2022. In follow-on clinical studies, Izotropic intends to validate platform applications including breast screening in radiology, treatment planning and monitoring in surgical oncology, and breast reconstruction and implant monitoring in plastic and reconstructive surgery.
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PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBAL HEALTHCARE INNOVATION |
What’s driving innovation in life science and healthcare? SVB is committed to serving the ecosystem by providing industry-leading reports featuring proprietary analysis and targeted outlooks to help companies and investors achieve their goals. Twice a year we publish deep-dive analyses describing fundraising, investment, M&A and IPO activity of private, venture-backed biopharma, medical device and diagnostic/tools companies. Our deep relationships with top life science and healthcare entrepreneurs and investors inform our insights and give us a vantage point unlike any other bank. To find out more about Silicon Valley Bank click here. |
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Looking for a curious Scientist who likes to work in a multi-disciplinary, fast paced environment, make an impact and see research efforts move from the bench to the real world.
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Responsible for the accurate and effective administration of our global equity plans, including SOX compliance in accordance with Zymeworks policies and governing rules and regulations.
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Join an interdisciplinary and innovative team of biologists, chemists, microscopists, engineers, and software developers working closely in state-of-the-art facilities that provide a stimulating environment reflecting an inclusive and welcoming culture.
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Post A Job on the LSBC Website! |
LSBC Membership Discounts on Job Postings
As an LSBC member, your first five job postings EARNS a free repost on BioTalent Canada's The Petri Dish. After your first five reposts, you will also receive 25% off all job postings on The Petri Dish. Want more info? Contact Peter McLoughlin - talent@lifesciencesbc.ca
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