Friday | June 17th 2022
CEO MESSAGE
We were thrilled to lead the BC delegation of 36 companies at BIO San Diego this week, and what a memorable experience it was! It was great to reconnect with so many extraordinary companies and contacts. At the conference, we hosted an International Networking Reception, which garnered 156 registrations from 10 countries. Amongst the attendees we had a number of trade commissioners, investors, and industry leaders ready to make valuable connections. Per the theme of this year’s conference, the possibilities to collaborate and propel this sector forward are “limitless” - and the conference truly reflected this. Congratulations also to Mesintel Therapeutics’s Jonathon Jafari for winning the Coast-to-Coast pitch competition at the conference, earning an invite to BIOTECanada’s Investor Summit in March 2023!
 
With that, we are excited to delve into this week’s updates. There's good news for talent development within our province’s life sciences community. The provincial government together with UBC announced that construction will begin this summer for the School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME) at UBC’s Vancouver campus. The five-storey building is projected to open in 2025, and marks a major step forward in solidifying both UBC and the province of BC as a world-leading biomedical research and innovation hub. Further demonstrating this, UBC’s SBME together with Amgen announced the inaugural 2022 Amgen Golden Ticket at SBME Innovates, providing a launchpad for two promising UBC spin-off ventures, Arrowsmith Genetics and SeraGene.

This week, there are a few accomplishments by incredible women to highlight: congratulations to Dr. Lesley Esford - a stalwart in B.C.’s life sciences community, and past president and CEO of LSBC - who was recently hired by SFU VentureLabs as its new executive director! Kudos to Manon Boisclair on her new role at adMare BioInnovations as Company Creation & Development. And, Invest Vancouver announced it will move into the next phase of its role as the region's economic prosperity leadership service with Jacquie Griffiths as its new president. We also want to mention Genome BC’s new podcast, “Nice Genes!” Hosted by Dr. Kaylee Byers, this podcast explores the world of genomics with humour, expertise, and charm.

In member news, Sonic Incytes announced the inclusion of VelacurTM, the first handheld 3D liver health assessment tool, in a subset of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ open-label extension clinical trial. Sanofi Canada has partnered with MindBeacon, a Cloud MD company, to enable improved access to mental health support for people living with diabetes. And, earlier this month, STEMCELL Technologies and PBS Biotech Inc. announced their supply partnership to make the PBS-MINI Bioreactor available through STEMCELL Technologies for researchers looking to scale up their human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) cultures.
 
We also had the opportunity to visit the Vitacore Industries Inc. mask and respirator production facility in Burnaby to discuss their innovative partnership with Medicom Group around PPE recycling and manufacturing - which is an important milestone. Thank you to the Honourable Raj Chouhan, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and MLA for Burnaby-Edmonds, for joining us!

To close things off, we are looking forward to seeing many of your next week at our Summer Social. Thank you to Acetech for supporting the event. And, don’t forget to mark your calendars for September 22nd, for our 24th Annual LSBC Awards presented by FARRIS, to celebrate the talent and innovation from our sector over the past year.
 
Until next week,

Wendy and the LSBC team
PLATINUM SPONSORS
Boehringer Ingelheim Signs Option to Acquire Trutino Biosciences
Boehringer Ingelheim announced the signing of an option to acquire Trutino Biosciences Inc., a San Diego-based biotech company. Trutino Biosciences is a pre-clinical stage biotech company dedicated to the discovery and development of next-generation cytokine therapies to treat immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases...READ MORE
Sanofi Canada Furthers Commitment to Canadians Living with Diabetes Through Mental Health Resources Provided by MindBeacon
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, diabetes care has been significantly impacted by the reduction in access to healthcare programs and services, resulting in a majority of people with diabetes experiencing mental health problems. Although 40 per cent of Canadians living with diabetes say that mental health checks have been an important aspect of their care since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, only two percent have a mental health practitioner or social worker on their care team, according to research commissioned by Sanofi Canada...READ MORE
Novartis creates Online Resource for Practitioners
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. has launched the Novartis Pro Portal, a comprehensive digital resource for healthcare practitioners. Developed in collaboration with over 120 physicians, the Pro gives healthcare professionals access to tailored, real-time support, digital knowledge and resources to improve their daily practice and drive progress for patients across Canada...READ MORE
Investing in Biomedical Engineering will Bolster British Columbians’ Health
Students studying at the forefront of biomedical engineering will soon have a new learning environment for the school of biomedical engineering at the University of British Columbia. “These bright students are shaping the future of health care, here in B.C. and around the world,” said Anne Kang, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training. “These are the future professionals who will push the boundary of medical innovation and ensure that we have access to life-changing medical advancements...READ MORE
Sonic Incytes Announces Velacur™️ Use in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ Open-Label Extension Clinical Trial
Sonic Incytes Medical Corp. is pleased to announce the inclusion of VelacurTM — the first handheld 3D liver health assessment tool—in a subset of Madrigal Pharmaceutical’s MAESTRO NAFLD-1 Phase 3 Open Label Extension study of resmetirom (MGL-3196-18). As part of this Madrigal study, a subset of patients will undergo VelacurTM imaging at baseline (Day 1), Week 16 and Week 52, to evaluate their liver stiffness and attenuation...READ MORE
UBC’s School of Biomedical Engineering and Amgen Bring the Amgen Golden Ticket to Canada
UBC’s School of Biomedical Engineering and Amgen are pleased to announce the inaugural 2022 Amgen Golden Ticket at SBME Innovates, providing a launchpad for two promising UBC spin-off ventures, Arrowsmith Genetics (AGx) and SeraGene. SBME is the first Canadian organization to host the Amgen Golden Ticket program. As the sponsor, Amgen provides mentorship to two teams selected by UBC for the period of one year...READ MORE
Takeda’s Dengue Vaccine Candidate Provides Continued Protection Against Dengue Fever Through 4.5 Years in Pivotal Clinical Trial
Takeda announced that its dengue vaccine candidate, TAK-003, prevented 84% of hospitalized dengue cases and 61% of symptomatic dengue cases, with no important safety risks identified, in the overall population including both seropositive and seronegative individuals through four and a half years (54 months) after vaccination in the pivotal Phase 3 Tetravalent Immunization against Dengue Efficacy Study trial. These data were presented on June 9, 2022, at the 8th Northern European Conference on Travel Medicine, with plans to feature the results at additional upcoming conferences...READ MORE
STEMCELL Technologies and PBS Biotech Partner to Enable Robust Scale Up of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell 3D Cultures
STEMCELL Technologies Inc. and PBS Biotech Inc. have announced their supply partnership to make the PBS-MINI Bioreactor available through STEMCELL Technologies for researchers looking to scale up their human pluripotent stem cell cultures. By enabling the reliable and scalable suspension culture of hPSCs, this partnership will help scientists obtain the quantity and quality of cells needed to advance their research...READ MORE
INDUSTRY NEWS
Curatio Wins Award for Youth Mental Health Platform
A B.C. company is among the winners of the World Economic Forum’s Youth Mental Challenge, which is run by Salesforce and UNICEF. Curatio, in partnership with Ontario-based company, OPTT, is one of 14 winners who were chosen to create innovative solutions to address youth mental health...READ MORE
Jacquie Griffiths to Become Invest Vancouver President; Flaks to Be Appointed as a Member on the Invest Vancouver Board and Assume Role as a Special Advisor
This July 1, Invest Vancouver will accelerate into the next phase of its role as the region’s economic prosperity leadership service with Jacquie Griffiths at the helm as the service’s new president. “Over the last 18 months, David Flaks and Jacquie Griffiths have taken Invest Vancouver from a conceptual idea to the region’s ‘go-to’ economic development leadership service...READ MORE
BC invests $25M Into New School of Biomedical Engineering Facility
Since 2017, the UBC School of Biomedical Engineering offers undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 500 students annually. However, the school currently operates classes and labs in 24 buildings scattered across UBC’s Vancouver campus. UBC is building a new purpose-built facility for the school, aided by this $25 million grant from the Government of British Columbia. The province’s investment will result in better health care for all British Columbians...READ MORE
Innovative PPE and Mask Recycling: Medicom Partners with British Columbia’s Vitacore to Help Reshape the Industry
Quebec-based AMD Medicom Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers and distributors of personal protective equipment, is excited to announce a new partnership with Vitacore Industries Inc., a British Columbia-based company that manufactures surgical masks and respirators. This partnership will encompass the manufacture and distribution of Vitacore respirators in new markets, including the US, as well as collaboration on innovative PPE recycling program developed by Vitacore...READ MORE
GOLD SPONSORS

Event 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 7 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.



Partnerships and Memberships Specialist Co-op

 Life Sciences BC is looking for an enthusiastic new co-op student to help maximize potential revenue opportunities and lead generation throughout the term. 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, Partnerships and Membership.



Executive Director, Trial Operations

The Executive Director, Trial Operations will have proven leadership ability in a fast paced, multi-location environment and interact with all levels of internal staff, as well as external stakeholders, including, but not limited to CRO’s, Key Opinion Leaders and Advisory Boards and Committees. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with the ability to plan and execute at the program level and to lead, coach and mentor a growing team.

SILVER SPONSORS
Mesintel has developed a proprietary target discovery platform that incorporates their extensive knowledge of mesenchymal progenitor (MP) biology. The platform is designed to accelerate the development of therapeutics centered around the key role MPs play in driving disease. They are seeking opportunities to propel collaborative discovery and development partnerships, and seed funding to advance internal programs and platform capabilities.

Alectos Therapeutics is a privately held pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of human disease. They focus on preclinical drug development, target validation, and IND-enabling studies. Alectos develops innovative new strategies to address medical conditions for which there are no effective treatments.


BRONZE SPONSORS
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 talent@lifesciencesbc.ca