Thursday | June 18, 2020
BioLinks

Welcome to our newly formatted LifeSciences BC newsletter!

With the support and valuable contribution from Coast Communications we decided it was time for a redo of our weekly newsletter. We hope you enjoy the updated content and as always, would love to hear from you! Please share your life science news with us by sending it to sogilvie@lifesciencesbc.ca .
An Update from CEO Wendy Hurlburt
Welcome to our new BioLinks! After some consideration we acknowledged that we needed to freshen things up and launch a newer version of BioLinks. Our reader data shows it is the go to industry newsletter for our sector, widely read, with a global subscriber base and we wanted to ensure we kept it that way!

To make this transition happen we had some generous support from Tamara and her team at Coast Communications in the design and layout of this new edition of BioLinks. We couldn't have done it without them and we hope you like it!

From time to time you will be hearing directly from me with news of the organization and what we have been up to. Often we find ourselves so busy with our activities and community engagement that we forget to share it with our members, our most important audience!

In the last few weeks we have spoken with Hon. Michelle Mungall, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development & Competitiveness about our sector and the importance of it's contribution to the overall economy of BC. We further discussed the best way forward to grow the sector with then Deputy Minister, MJEDC, Fazil Mihlar who has been very supportive of the life sciences file, and we very much thank him for that support. He has moved on to another Ministry and we will miss him!

As a very welcome nod to our vibrant and hard working sector, I was informed that Minister Mungall gave a very enthusiastic shout-out to LifeSciences BC at her Surrey Board of Trade Zoom Meeting - which you can watch here . It is clear from our recent meetings that we have the attention of government, as they solicit ideas from us to build the economy back up from COVID. And we have lots of ideas and are very much at the ready, to offer a path forward for our ecosystem to not only thrive, but flourish!

I also participated in a number of BC events showcasing our thriving ecosystem, that you can view at your leisure by clicking the links in the LSBC in the Community section below.

Hope you enjoy the latest BioLinks and please feel free to reach out to any of our team with your news and events!

Have a healthy and safe summer,
Wendy Hurlburt,
President & CEO LifeSciences B
Platinum Sponsors
LSBC in the Community
LSBC Participation
Recently, Wendy Hurlburt, President & CEO of LifeSciences BC, was a guest judge for  BC Science Fair Foundation Youth Innovation Showcase (YIS) ; the final competition of young innovators chosen from multiple fairs throughout BC and Yukon over the past year.  To learn more about  BC's Science Fair Foundation , please follow the  link , and for further information on the  Youth Innovation Showcase (YIS) , please follow the   link  .

  • BIO 2020 Virtual Conference: This year BIO is virtual and as part of the week-long conference LSBC hosted a BC Event with Deputy Minister Fazil Mihlar of the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Competitiveness. The BC event was captured on Zoom and you can watch it here.

  • VANTECH Angel Network: Wendy was guest host and moderator for a Life Science presentation on the Future of Life Science and HealthTech on June 3rd. Discussed was "What the future holds for the Life Sciences sector" that included an overview of the trends in the sector observed globally and in Canada - and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on this sector. You can view the discussion here.
FAST 50 PROGRAM
Deloitte’s FAST 50 Program - Sponsored by RBC
Categories:

  • Enterprise 15 – Open to companies with a minimum revenue of $10 million in 2016 and a minimum revenue of $25 million in 2019.

  • Technology Fast 50 – Represents Canada’s 50 fastest-growing technology companies by revenue-growth percentage over their last four years of operation

  • Companies to watch – Highlights Canadian technology companies with the potential to be future Technology Fast 50™ candidates

Timeline :
  • July 31 application deadline
  • August 31 interviews end
  • September Regional judging
  • October in National Judging
  • NOVEMBER 18th Winners are announced

LSBC Member News
Neoleukin Therapeutics to Host Investor R&D Showcase Highlighting De Novo Protein Therapeutics
SEATTLE, June 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc., “Neoleukin” (NASDAQ:NLTX), a biopharmaceutical company utilizing sophisticated computational methods to design de novo protein therapeutics, today announced it will host a virtual Investor R&D Showcase on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time / 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time. READ MORE
Bold Therapeutics Expands COVID-19 Consortium
VANCOUVER, BC, June 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Bold Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has expanded its COVID-19 collaborations to include four more academic researchers: François Jean, PhD and Ted Steiner, MD, both researchers from the University of British Columbia... READ MORE
First Patient Dosed with A9T-1101 First Product Candidate in Alpha-9 Theranostics Pipeline Initiates Clinical Testing
Vancouver, Canada, June 16, 2020 : Alpha-9 Theranostics Inc, a radiopharmaceutical company developing unique technology for imaging and treatment of metastatic cancer, today announced that the first patient in a Phase I/II clinical trial of its neuroendocrine tumour imaging agent A9T-1101 was scanned at BC Cancer, one of Canada’s premier cancer research and treatment centres.  READ MORE
Microdermics Inc. Seeks to Commercialize Microneedle Drug Delivery & BioSensing Technology
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, June 17, 2020 – Microdermics, a medical device company commercializing a novel microneedle delivery and biosensing platform, seeks strategic M&A or technology out-licensing opportunities with Pharma, cosmetic, and Biotech companies for its microneedle platforms. READ MORE
Gold Sponsors
LSBC Member Spotlight
Wendy Hurlburt, President & CEO, LifeSciences BC
 Presents LifeSciences BC's Newest Member

LifeSciences BC would like to welcome 3DQue as a new member in our Association. Visit their Website

Industry News
U.K. endorses dexamethasone in COVID-19 hours after
groundbreaking data release
June 16, 2020 | Eric Sagonowsky  , Fierce Pharma | Right on the heels of data showing the decades-old, inexpensive steroid dexamethasone can reduce COVID-19 deaths among hospitalized patients requiring oxygen, the U.K. government granted a world-first approval.  READ MORE
AstraZeneca to supply Europe with up to 400 million doses of Oxford University's vaccine at no profit
AstraZeneca has reached an agreement with Europe's Inclusive Vaccines Alliance (IVA), spearheaded by Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands, to supply up to 400 million doses of the University of Oxford's COVID-19 vaccine, with deliveries starting by the end of 2020. READ MORE
Health News
A Conversation with Dr. Bonnie Henry: How the Invisible Infrastructure of Public Health Offers Hope in a Pandemic
Hear from Dr. Bonnie Henry and Dr. Dermot Kelleher, Dean of the UBC Faculty of Medicine, as they explore the meaning of public health, and how many of its lesser-known aspects are crucial to how we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.  READ MORE
Up to 45 percent of SARS-CoV-2 infections may be asymptomatic
June 12, 2020 | Scripps Research Institute | Asymptomatic infections may have played a significant role in the early and ongoing spread of COVID-19 and highlight the need for expansive testing and contact tracing to mitigate the pandemic. READ MORE
Coronavirus social-contact curbs 'put adolescents at risk'
June 13, 2020 | By Philippa Roxby, Health reporter BBC | Reduced face-to-face contact among teenagers and their friends during the pandemic could have damaging long-term consequences, neuroscientists say. READ MORE
Silver Sponsors
Job Board
Bronze Sponsors
Posting A JOB on the LSBC Website
Did you know  LifeSciences BC's Job Board  gets approximately 60,000 visitors a month?

LSBC Membership Discounts on Job Postings
 
As an LSBC member, your first five job postings EARNS a free repost on Biotalent'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? 

Please contact Sue Callaghan: talent@lifesciencesbc.ca