Friday | October 23, 2020
CEO and President, LifeSciences BC
CEO REPORT
In the Community
At LifeSciences BC we are well into our Fall community activities with much happening throughout the Province. In the last several months it is clear the world’s attention has turned to medical innovation and the impact on patient care and health outcomes. On behalf of LSBC and our sector, I have recently participated in some conferences on health innovation, the future of patient care, scaling companies and the opportunities for leveraging health data. Adding our voice to the discussion, and by raising awareness of B.C.'s life science innovation and the important role our sector is playing in addressing the challenges faced by COVID-19, highlights our remarkable life science products and services we are developing, while participating in the overall economic recovery and competitiveness of our Province.

LSBC Events
LifeSciences BC Provincial (virtual) Showcase series kicks off next week in Prince George on Thursday, October 29th with a great line up of speakers from UNBC, Northern Health and Silicon Valley Bank. More information can be found here.  

November 2nd & 3rd is our Annual LifeSciences BC Investor Summit, presented by Lumira Ventures. In addition to the 33 companies presenting, there are several interesting sessions planned, including a panel on “Investment in BC Life Sciences: Present & Future Challenges & Opportunities” with leaders from across North America participating. For ticket purchase, event sessions, and presentation highlights, please click here.

Funding Opportunities
There were some recently funding announcements are included below:
  • Praxis SCI Accelerate Program - applications are now open. More information can be found here.
  • MSFHR has their Match Funding Opportunities program which you can find out more by clicking here
  • The University of Northern BC also has posted helpful information on Research Funding Opportunities click here.
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) - Research Tools and Instruments grants program which closes October 25 - click here for more detail.
  • MITACS Accelerate Program for Students, Postdocs, Professor and Business internships - more detail provided here.

Please don’t hesitate to keep us up to date with your events, programs and news that we can share with our all our members and stakeholders around the world. As you can see, we are fully committed to participating in the broader community in ways that will advance, bring awareness to and inform key audiences like government, policy makers and funders of the talent and extraordinary expertise in our life science cluster, is everyday, at LSBC.
Platinum Sponsors
LSBC MEMBER NEWS
Neoleukin Therapeutics Appoints Holly K. Vance as General Counsel
SEATTLE, Oct. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc., “Neoleukin” (NASDAQ:NLTX), a biopharmaceutical company utilizing sophisticated computational methods to design de novo protein therapeutics, today announced the appointment of Holly K. Vance as General Counsel. READ MORE
Sonic Incytes Announces FDA Clearance and US Launch of VelacurTM to Help Manage Emerging Health Crisis
Vancouver, Canada, October 20, 2020 – Sonic Incytes Medical Corporation is pleased to announce the US commercial release of VelacurTM, the world’s first handheld 3D liver health assessment tool with diagnostic accuracy comparable to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The introduction and availability of this breakthrough solution will pave the way for healthcare practitioners to better assess and manage fatty liver disease, an emerging global health crisis. READ MORE
Symvivo Corporation receives funding for COVID-19 Vaccine Program
BURNABY, British Columbia, October 20, 2020 – Symvivo Corporation today announced that it is receiving advisory services and funding of up to $2.8 million from the National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to support the clinical advancement of bacTRL-Spike™, the company’s oral, room temperature-stable DNA vaccine candidate for the prevention of COVID-19. READ MORE
Praxis SCI Accelerate Program – Applications Now Open
October 20, 2020 – Vancouver, BC – Praxis #SCIAccelerate – applications are now open! Our program looks for post-prototype #spinalcordinjury innovations impacting quality of life, and #healthtech #medtech with greater reach beyond #SCI. READ MORE
Kintara and the Global Coalition for Adaptive Research Execute Agreement for VAL-083’s Participation in the GBM AGILE Registrational Study
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Kintara Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTRA) (“Kintara” or the “Company”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new solid tumor cancer therapies, announced today the execution of an agreement with the Global Coalition for Adaptive Research (GCAR) for VAL-083’s participation in GCAR’s Glioblastoma Adaptive Global Innovative Learning Environment (GBM AGILE) Study. READ MORE
iCo Therapeutics Inc. Announces That Oral Amphotericin B (iCo-019) Results Will Be Highlighted During the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Virtual Meeting October 26 - November 3rd, 2020
Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – October 21, 2020) – iCo Therapeutics Inc. (TSXV: ICO) (OTCQB: ICOTF) (“iCo” or “the Company”) and its subsidiary, iCo Therapeutics Australia Pty Ltd., announced today that two poster presentations regarding iCo’s Oral Amphotericin B technology (iCo-019) will be highlighted at the AAPS 2020 PharmSci 360 Virtual Meeting October 26 – November 5, 2020. READ MORE
Aurinia Presents Voclosporin Efficacy and Pharmacokinetic Data from Integrated Analysis of AURA-LV and AURORA Pivotal Trials at ASN Kidney Week 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 indications, today announced that integrated efficacy and pharmacokinetic (PK) data from Aurinia’s AURA-LV and AURORA pivotal trials of voclosporin in lupus nephritis (LN) were presented. READ MORE
Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, Announced Today Precision NanoSystems Will Receive $18.2 Million from the Government of Canada to Develop an RNA Vaccine
for COVID-19
Vancouver BC. Precision Nanosystems, Inc. (PNI), a global leader in technologies and solutions in genetic medicine, announced today that it has received a commitment of up to $18.2 million in support from the Government of Canada under the Innovation, Science and Economic Development’s (ISED) Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. READ MORE
LSBC SECTOR NEWS
Roche drops $500M into new global operations hub, with 500 jobs to follow
October 20, 2020 | by Kyle Blankenship, Fierce Pharma | After watching its rheumatoid arthritis med Actemra go up on in flames in COIVD-19 trials, Swiss drugmaker Roche opted to sign an August antibody manufacturing pact with Regeneron. Now, seeking to get its manufacturing house in order, Roche is splashing the pot on a new global operations hub in Canada. READ MORE
Long Covid: Who is more likely to get it?
October 21, 2020 | By James Gallagher, Health & Science Correspondent, BBC Health News | The study, seen by the BBC, estimates one in 20 people are sick for least eight weeks.
The research at King's College London also showed being female, excess weight and asthma raised the risk. READ MORE
Psychologists worry about mental health in first full
COVID-19 winter
October 21, 2020 | By: Melissa Couto Zuber, The Canadian Press| Psychologists have worried about the mental health toll of rising COVID-19 cases and tightened restrictions for months — add in the shorter days and colder weather of the approaching season, and we could be in for what one expert called a "long, dark winter." READ MORE
PMPRB New Guidelines Released
October 23, 2020 | Ottawa, Ontario| New PMPRB Guidelines were released today, you can read the full report here. READ MORE
Gold Sponsors
BrevisRefero helps their Innovator members shortlist the best Providers faster and more efficiently, with auto-normalized proposal data available to make effective outsourcing decisions. BrevisRefero accelerates outsourcing decisions through its innovative online Request for Proposal (RFP) platform that connects biopharma Innovator companies with a global network of Providers for a range of typical industry services such as GMP manufacturing, clinical trials, advanced therapies, lab services and much more.


Innotech Medical Industries Corp. (iMi) is an innovative medical device company established as an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)/ Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) with an in-house Research & Development (R&D) and manufacturing in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. Our expertise is providing the SMART X-Ray medical imaging solutions for both hardware and software, for both the veterinary and human medical market. Innotech is proudly ISO 13485:2016 certified.


Silver Sponsors
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
LSBC Job Board
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
Bronze Sponsors
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
LSBC Member Benefits
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.