Friday | October 21st 2022

CEO MESSAGE


This week marks Small Business Week across our province and Canada. The life sciences sector is thriving, and many companies in our ecosystem are small businesses. In fact, just a handful of years ago - in 2018 - approximately 93% of our province’s life sciences companies had fewer than 50 employees, and just over half had fewer than five employees! With this in mind, we are so pleased to see the Government of Canada highlight measures to help Canadian small businesses start up, scale up, and access new markets worldwide. When small businesses thrive, our economy thrives!

 

Member News

 

Roche has announced the launch of its next-generation portfolio SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests (“2.0”) for self-testing and professional use in countries accepting the CE Mark, with distribution slated for the coming weeks.

 

And adMare BioInnovations and Medicine by Design announced their new memorandum of understanding to support translation priorities to help accelerate healthcare innovation in Toronto and across Canada.

 

The UBC Faculty of Medicine and the Centre for Blood Research scientists have received $11.1 million in funding from PacifiCan to advance mRNA vaccine technologies. This investment reflects federal government support for BC’s life sciences sector and its place as a global biotech leader.

 

We are also delighted to announce two new LSBC members, Plasma Innovations Inc. and Xybion Digital Inc. Welcome!

 

Kudos

 

Congratulations to Tom Madden of Acuitas Therapeutics and Euan Ramsay and James Taylor of Precision NanoSystems for being named one of nine Pacific Region winners in Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Awards!

 

People on the Move

 

Dr. Ellie Griffith joined Michael Smith Health Research BC this past week as their Assistant Vice-President, Research programs. Congratulations, Dr. Griffith. Congratulations also to Bryan Buggey, who joins Invest Vancouver as their new Executive Vice President. Additional congratulations to Travis McCready, Head of Life Sciences, Industries Americas, at Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) who has joined the Board of Directors at adMare.

 

Finally, a reminder that we have several exciting industry events on the horizon - including our upcoming Invest in BC event presented by Lumira Ventures. Register online and join us for this annual two-day event that brings together stakeholders in the healthcare innovation ecosystem for company pitches, presentations, panel discussions, and much more!

 

And there are still a few remaining spots available for BioBasics 101: The Biology of Biotech for the Non-Scientist, designed to help non-scientists gain a foundational understanding of the science that forms the backbone of biopharma so they can converse more effectively with colleagues, clients, regulators, and scientists. Click here to register.

 

Until next week,

Wendy and the LSBC team

 


PLATINUM SPONSORS

Health XChange Victoria

Would you like to know how Vancouver Island based health researchers are transforming health care in British Columbia and around the world? Health xChange is on the road again! To grow research capacity on Vancouver Island, Michael Smith Health Research BC is partnering with Island Health and the Victoria Hospitals Foundation for the first Health xChange in Victoria, BC...READ MORE

adMare Appoints Travis McCready to the Board of Directors

adMare BioInnovations welcome Travis McCready, Head of Life Sciences, Industries Americas, at Jones Lang Lasalle, as a new member of its Board of Directors. With more than 25 years of experience leading public, private, and nonprofit ventures, as well as being actively involved in Massachusetts’ life science ecosystem, Travis’ perspective on the industry will be a strong asset for adMare...READ MORE

Steriwave™ Cuts SSI Risk by 47% at Major Hospital

New research presented at the Infection Prevention Society Conference in Bournemouth, UK, shows that adding Steriwave™ nasal photodisinfection to a presurgical bundle including 2% chlorhexidine body wash cloths reduced post-operative surgical site infections by 47% at one of Canada’s largest hospitals, Vancouver General Hospital. Nasal photodisinfection is a quick and simple method of decolonising the nose of dangerous pathogens using a combination of a photosensitizer and a specific wavelength of light...READ MORE

Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Zymeworks Announce Exclusive License Agreement to Develop and Commercialize Zanidatamab, a HER2-Targeted Bispecific Antibody

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc and Zymeworks Inc. announced that Jazz and Zymeworks’ subsidiary, Zymeworks BC Inc., have entered into an exclusive licensing agreement under which Jazz will acquire development and commercialization rights to Zymeworks’ zanidatamab across all indications in the United States, Europe, Japan and all other territories except for those Asia/Pacific territories previously licensed by Zymeworks...READ MORE

Evusheld™ Receives Health Canada Approval for Treatment of Covid-19

AstraZeneca’s Evusheld™ (tixagevimab and cilgavimab), a long-acting antibody combination has received a Notice of Compliance from Health Canada for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and adolescents (≥12 years of age weighing at least 40 kg). This approval follows AstraZeneca’s announcement in April that Evusheld had been approved as a preventative treatment for COVID-19 and is already available across Canada...READ MORE

adMare BioInnovations and Medicine by Design Partner to Support Translation Priorities in the Toronto Life Sciences Ecosystem

adMare BioInnovations and Medicine by Design are pleased to announce their new memorandum of understanding to support translation priorities, which will accelerate health innovation commercialization in the Toronto life sciences ecosystem and in Canada. Medicine by Design is a convergence engine that undertakes transformative, multidisciplinary research in regenerative medicine and advances early-stage translation through strategic collaborations with leading commercialization accelerators...READ MORE

Michael Smith Health Research BC Welcomes Assistant Vice-President, Research Programs

Michael Smith Health Research BC welcomes Dr. Ellie Griffith as the assistant vice-president, research programs, effective immediately. Working alongside the vice-president, research, Ellie will provide ongoing strategic leadership for the research programs portfolio, including assessing the research programs and directing an approach to integrate, improve and enhance program offerings to ensure they reflect and deliver on Health Research BC’s three-year strategy...READ MORE

Gene Therapy Luxturna® now Reimbursed in Quebec for People with Previously Untreatable Inherited Vision Loss¹

Novartis Canada announce Luxturna® (voretigene neparvovec) is available to Quebec patients with vision loss due to inherited retinal dystrophy caused by confirmed biallelic RPE65 mutations under the province’s public health plan. This announcement follows a positive reimbursement recommendation from the INESS recognizing the need for treatment options to slow the progression of the disease...READ MORE

Qu Biologics to Receive Additional Funding to Support Innovative New Treatment to Restore Innate Immune Function in the Elderly

Qu Biologics Inc., is pleased to announce that it is receiving advisory services and research and development funding of up to $6,659,050 from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program to support the implementation and completion of a Phase II randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of QBKPN SSI, a first-in-class immune modulator designed to optimize immunity and barrier function in the lungs...READ MORE

Takeda Releases Report on the Importance of Defining Rare Disease in Canada

Takeda Canada Inc released its Defining Rare Disease in Canada: Lessons from G20 Nations report. The report highlights the need to develop a single, pan-Canadian definition of a rare disease to help accelerate and support the launch of Canada’s Rare Disease strategy. As Canada takes meaningful steps toward developing a national strategy for rare diseases, it remains one of a few G20 nations lacking a public and consistent definition of rare disease...READ MORE

VGH Designated a Using Blood Wisely hospital

Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) designated as a Using Blood Wisely hospital, an initiative of Choosing Wisely Canada and Canadian Blood Services. Awarded in August, the Using Blood Wisely designation symbolizes VGH’s commitment to red blood cell stewardship and the continuous pursuit of quality improvement...READ MORE

Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Initiates Phase 2 Study in Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Phase 2 clinical-stage biotechnology company with an innovative drug delivery technology platform, announced the initiation of a Phase 2 trial of EP-104IAR in adult patients afflicted with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a rare disease that restricts the ability to swallow food and greatly impacts quality of life...READ MORE

Roche to Introduce its Next-Generation Portfolio of SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Tests (“2.0”) Under CE Mark for Self-Test and Professional Use

Roche announced the launch of its next-generation portfolio SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests (“2.0”) for self-testing and professional use in countries accepting the CE Mark. Distribution of the new rapid test portfolio is projected to begin in the coming weeks...READ MORE

INDUSTRY NEWS

Vancouver Company to Provide Mass Gen with VR

PrecisionOS has announced a collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to augment the Combined Orthopedic Residency Program (CORP) with immersive Virtual Reality training. Faculty members of MGH/CORP will work with PrecisionOS over the next three years to jointly develop new VR foot/ankle and hand/wrist training, while using current PrecisionOS training modules to help residents further develop their surgical skills in other areas...READ MORE

GOLD SPONSORS

Quality Assurance Associate




At Gemina Labs, we are working together to change the way biosensing solutions are developed. We value collaboration, hard work, diversity, and creativity and are interested in exceptional candidates to join our growing team. We are looking for a Quality Assurance Associate to support our growing organization.


Responsibilities include: Maintain document control, non-conformance and corrective and preventative action systems. Provide design review and risk assessment input. Prepares and/or reviews draft SOPs/Quality Records/protocols/reports as needed. Ensure work is in compliance with GLP, GMP and established SOPs, where applicable. Communicates with suppliers, contract manufacturers and internal departments for any document issues.






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Manager, Partnerships and Memberships



The Manager, Partnerships & Memberships manages the planning and implementation of the principal sponsors, partners & members and retention strategies, including researching sponsors, partners & membership needs and opportunities, and securing contracts. They will also manage general services and communications to existing sponsors, partners & members to keep LSBC top of mind. The role will also oversee the management of the organization’s public job board.


To fill this position, we are looking for an energetic and positive individual that is efficient, great with details and solutions-oriented, and who enjoys working in a fast-paced environment. 








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Research Associate II, Protein Engineering



Zymeworks is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation bispecific and multifunctional biotherapeutics, initially focused on the treatment of cancer.


The Research Associate will provide hands-on support for protein engineering efforts from discovery through to candidate selection of novel therapeutics. The ideal candidate will have a background in protein biochemistry and/or structural biology, be able to interact across functional groups, and capable of working in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.


This position will report to the Associate Scientist, Protein Engineering and will be based in our labs in Vancouver BC.





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SILVER SPONSORS
New Member Welcome

The GelMA Company is a biotechnology start-up that specializes in manufacturing GelMA, a versatile biomaterial with a track record of bioprinting success. Their GelMA, known as Okagel, was developed at the University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus. This patented technology produces GelMA that is sterile, higher quality, and always consistent from batch-to-batch. The GelMA Company’s mission is to make biomedical research accessible to all through fairly-traded, high-quality GelMA biomaterials.










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Member Spotlight

BC Tech is a non-profit dedicated to making British Columbia the best place to grow and scale a tech company. We pursue this mission by: Supporting BC Tech companies to grow and scale into the anchor companies of tomorrow, supporting non-tech businesses to adopt technology to increase resilience and accelerate growth, and attracting more talent into tech and increasing the diversity of BC’s tech talent pool.












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BRONZE SPONSORS
Post a Job on the LSBC Website!

LSBC Membership Discounts on Job Postings

 

As an LSBC member, your first five job postings EARN a free repost on BioTalent Canada's The Petri Dish. After your first five posts, you will also receive 25% off all job postings on The Petri Dish. Want more info? Contact talent@lifesciencesbc.ca.

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