CEO and President, LifeSciences BC |
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As we enter a new month of life science activity in our sector, I am continually struck by the amazing expertise and leadership that we are blessed with in our B.C. Life Sciences ecosystem.
This past week LSBC had the opportunity to participate in some very interesting events. The first one was the Discovery to Commercialization Speaker Series hosted by the UBC Faculty of Medicine and the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute on Building bridges: How researchers came together during COVID-19. I was guest moderator with presentations and discussions with Dr. Mel Krajden, Medical Director, BCCDC Public Health Laboratory and Dr. Lucas Kraft, Research Scientist, AbCellera. It was a very informative discussion, again re-enforcing that leadership that B.C. is playing in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We also participated in the e@UBC Immersion Week which brought together life science thought leaders to discuss a wide variety of topics. I was honoured to moderate a panel discussion on The Future of Patient Care & Opportunities for Life Science Companies in the Innovation Economy with Dr. Darryl Knight, VP Research & Academic Affairs, Providence Health Care Research Institute, Dr. David Granville, Associate Director, Vancouver Coastal Health Research & Institute, Dr. Barb Kinnaird, CEO, Response Biomedical & Board Chair, ACETECH and Dr. Dermot Kelleher, Professor, Department of Medicine, Dean, Faculty of Medicine & Vice President Health, UBC. We covered a wide range of topics from opportunities for collaboration between academia, clinicians, researchers and industry, to advancing the future of patient care, and the importance of data. In addition, each of the leaders shared advice to their “former self”, as they reflected on learnings throughout their career.
Also, this week at LifeSciences BC we, along with BioAlberta and Bioscience Association of Manitoba (BAM) lead the western delegation to the Virtual MedTech Conference where we profiled 20 innovative companies from Western Canada. From B.C., we were pleased to have ARC Medical Devices, XCO Tech and Axolotl Biosciences join us. We would like to thank Global Affairs Canada for partnering with us to ensure that Western Canada is recognized at this large international conference which attracts over 2,000 international delegates. LifeSciences BC was committed from the early days to help execute and plan for our sector’s involvement in this, the world’s largest MedTech Conference.
Today, we hosted a webinar showcasing BioTalent Canada’s Student Work Placement Program-Healthcare (SWPP). Testimonials of the benefits of the program were provided by 3DQue Systems, Chinook Therapeutics & UBC Science Co-op Office. The subsidy covers up to 75% of a student’s work placement to a maximum of $7,500/term. More information about the program can be found here.
Our annual Investor Summit, presented by Lumira Ventures will be held virtually on November 2 & 3, 2020. Annually, this event brings together stakeholders in the life sciences innovation ecosystem for an exciting two days of presentations, panels and company pitches. Information about the event, the presenting companies and how to get tickets, will be forthcoming.
Hope everyone is keeping well and please, reach out to anyone on the LSBC team if we can be of any assistance.
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Zucara Therapeutics Doses First Subject in Phase 1 Trial of ZT-01 |
Phase 1 Trial to Evaluate ZT-01 for the Prevention of Insulin-Induced Hypoglycemia in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes
Toronto, Canada, September 29, 2020 – Zucara Therapeutics Inc., a diabetes life sciences company developing the first once-daily therapeutic to prevent insulin-induced hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels), today announced that it has dosed the first subject in its Phase 1 trial of ZT-01. READ MORE
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Aurinia Completes Final Patient Treatment in AUDREY Phase 2/3 Clinical Trial of Voclosporin Ophthalmic Solution for Dry Eye Syndrome |
September 28, 2020 – VICTORIA, British Columbia–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUPH / TSX:AUP) (Aurinia or the Company), a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing voclosporin across multiple autoimmune conditions, today announced that the last patient study visit has occurred in the Phase 2/3 AUDREY™ clinical study evaluating voclosporin ophthalmic solution (VOS) for the potential treatment of dry eye syndrome (DES). READ MORE
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ImmunoFlex™ Welcomes Dr. David MacDonald as
Chief Technology Officer
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VANCOUVER, B.C. September 28, 2020/ ImmunoFlex™, a life sciences company developing clinically validated, pharmaceutical grade health products based on advancements in genomics research, today announced the appointment of Dr. David MacDonald to its executive team. READ MORE
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Virogin Biotech Announces Completion of $62 Million in
Series C Financing
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Vancouver, Canada – Virogin Biotech is pleased to announce the completion of its Series C round of financing for a total of $62 million USD on September 20, 2020. READ MORE
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Learn more about the CPDC-adMare Radiopharmaceutical Initiative (CARI) |
You’re Cordially Invited To A Webinar
Learn more about the CPDC-adMare Radiopharmaceutical Initiative (CARI)
If you are an academic researcher or a biotech company looking to pave the road to successful commercialization of your radiopharmaceutical innovation, join us on October 15th, 2020. READ MORE
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Canada signs deal with AstraZeneca for 20M doses of COVID vaccine candidate |
September 25, 2020 |By Charlie Pinkerton | Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday that the federal government has reached an agreement with AstraZeneca, the company responsible for what’s widely considered one of the leading vaccine candidates against COVID-19. READ MORE
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D-Wave’s 5,000-qubit quantum computing platform handles 1 million variables |
D-Wave today launched its next-generation quantum computing platform available via its Leap quantum cloud service. The company calls Advantage “the first quantum computer built for business.” In that vein, D-Wave today also debuted Launch, a jump-start program for businesses that want to begin building hybrid quantum applications. READ MORE
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Tweaking a person’s DNA could provide hearing to those born without it, but not everyone thinks deafness needs to be ‘cured’
When Jessica Chaikof was born in February 1995, doctors at an Atlanta hospital placed a pair of headphones on her, piping sounds into her newborn ears while an electrode stuck to her tiny head measured her brain’s response to the noise. Her parents, Melissa and Elliot, held their breath. READ MORE
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Public health experts are learning from Canada’s anti-mask protests |
The first effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 will likely become available within the next year, but their impact on global health will depend on public acceptance and uptake. Winning that trust won’t be easy if recent protests over face coverings are any indication. However, health experts are drawing important lessons from the anti-mask movement, too. READ MORE
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Artron BioResearch Inc. was founded in Burnaby in 2002 by a team of talented and experienced professionals and scientists. With state-of-art R&D and manufacture facilities, Artron is well known for developing and manufacturing, in a large-scale, a great array of high quality antibodies, antigens and critical components of RDT products for direct application in lateral flow tests (LFT) (fertility hormones, tumor markers, drugs of abuse, cardiac markers, infectious diseases, genetically modified organisms, etc), as well as other applications (chemiluminescence test, ELISA and research-based immunoassays).
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Zucara Therapeutics is developing ZT-01, a first-in-class, once-daily therapeutic to prevent insulin-induced hypoglycemia in patients using insulin therapy. ZT-01 is designed to inhibit somatostatin, a pancreatic hormone that impairs the glucagon response to hypoglycemia in people with insulin dependent diabetes. ZT-01 restores glucagon secretion to prevent hypoglycemia, which could dramatically change diabetes disease management and improve both patient health and quality of life.
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Update: Student Work Placement Program now open to healthcare placements |
The Student Work Placement Program is now accepting applications for healthcare placements. Canada’s healthcare industry has a growing need to produce job-ready healthcare workers. There are 1,500 open spots available in 2020-21. WEBSITE
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Posting 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: Sue Callaghan - talent@lifesciencesbc.ca
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Membership Benefits Program
COST SAVINGS FOR OUR MEMBERS
As a LifeSciences BC member, organizations and their employees can benefit from significant savings on a range of business and personal services, thanks to our Membership Benefits Program partnerships. You can locate the cost savings program suited to you needs here.
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