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Vancouver has been named the top life sciences startup ecosystem in Canada by innovation policy advisory and research firm, Startup Genome. Ranking #21 in the world, Vancouver is the only Canadian city to reach the top 25, ahead of Toronto-Waterloo, Montreal, Edmonton and Quebec City. This is probably not news to us here in the life sciences community in BC, but it is nice to have external validation! Bravo to everyone!
External validation also arrived from our virtual investor summit last week, Invest in BC. Not only were more than 400 people registered from 32 countries around the world, but activity on the platform post-event has remained high. The latest stats showed that over 270 people were active on the platform the day after the event, with 468 total visits logged between then and earlier this week. Pitch session recordings remain available for 30 days so it’s good to see potential investors doing due diligence. |
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As a follow up, I sat down with Business in Vancouver publisher and editor-in-chief, Kirk LaPointe earlier this week to talk about investment in BC life sciences. We talked about BC’s record investments recently and also the reach generated by our virtual platform that extended across five continents and 32 countries. You can listen to this and more in the podcast here.
LSBC member, Evonik Healthcare welcomed a Canadian delegation including federal Minister for Innovation, Science and Industry, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, and the Canadian Ambassador to Germany and Special Envoy to the European Union and Europe, Honourable Stéphane Dion this week. Hosted at the company’s Darmstadt, Germany site the delegation discussed ongoing lipid nanoparticle tech held at its Vancouver laboratories. Earlier this year, Minister Champagne visited with other LSBC members in Vancouver to discuss biomanufacturing. He also provided an opening message for our annual life sciences magazine; you can read what he says about investment and biomanufacturing on page 5.
Congratulations to LSBC Board member, Jennifer Cudlipp who became LSBC member, LifeLabs COO this week. Congratulations also to Dr. Karen Gelmon; LSBC member, BC Cancer announced her as winner of this year’s Doctors of BC Terry Fox Medal. She’ll be awarded with this honour at the virtual BC Cancer Summit, taking place Nov. 18 to 20.
LSBC member, UBC Faculty of Medicine also celebrates their professor, Dr. Connie Eaves, who received the 2021 award for Outstanding Achievements in Cancer Research from the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance (CCRA).
LSBC would like to extend a warm welcome to incoming board chair, Kirsten Sutton, who takes over from Brent Cameron at Greater Vancouver Board of Trade this month.
Two media mentions of interest this week; The Tyee has an article on a recent film release that documents the development of the COVID-19 vaccines around the world. Filmed during the pandemic, its creators had to juggle with remote captures over Zoom and other social distancing issues, similar to how LSBC member, Brian Calvert and the biofilm MEDIA crew captured our awards videos over the summer.
And did you know that disposable rubber and nitrile gloves can be recycled into flooring? An initiative at St. Paul’s Hospital has done just that, where the Transfusion Lab set up a recycling collection box via the TerraCycle Zero Waste Box program. Read more about this ingenious program here.
-Wendy and the LSBC team
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Zymeworks Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing multifunctional biotherapeutics, today announced that management will participate in three upcoming investor conferences. READ MORE
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The Terry Fox Medal recognizes individuals conducting clinical practice, research, or teaching/education who have achieved national or international recognition based on a number of criteria. BC Cancer is delighted to share that Dr. Karen Gelmon is this year’s recipient of this prestigious award. READ MORE
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This Canadian wellness platform’s update makes them a leading one-stop-shop solely for individuals to directly interact with wellness providers. PromptHealth 2.0 allows users to discover, learn, and connect with wellness providers in user-friendly formats, including voice memos, texts, articles and events, before connecting with them. READ MORE
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LifeLabs is pleased to announce the appointment of Jennifer Cudlipp to Chief Operating Officer (COO) effective immediately. As COO, Jennifer will be accountable for all areas of operations at LifeLabs including lab operations, client services, supply chain, employee health and safety and environmental sustainability, logistics and specimen management, medical science and quality management, agile transformation and business continuity. READ MORE
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Wendy Hurlburt, CEO and President of Life Sciences BC, discusses the reasons behind the booming investment climate for British Columbia life sciences firms and the challenges for start-ups as they build scale. She is in conversation with BIV publisher and editor-in-chief Kirk LaPointe. READ MORE
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The Office of the Vice-President, Health is pleased to announce that the competition for the 2021 UBC Health Awards and Scholarships is now open. These awards and scholarships recognize the academic and research excellence of faculty and students from various health disciplines at UBC as well as the achievements of health educators, professionals, and community partners across BC. READ MORE
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This year we will be selecting a cohort of four, innovative life science companies from Canada to participate in the 6-month long mentoring program (kick-off in February, mentoring engagement March through September 2022), which we anticipate to be a hybrid program with in-person events in Chicago as well as some virtual meetings. Deadline to apply is December 1, 2021. READ MORE
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The DeepDyve Digital Library: a platform that is designed to make it easy and affordable for research organizations to discover, access, organize, and collaborate on peer-reviewed papers. But it’s an innovation that was nearly a decade in the making. READ MORE
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Coast Communications is a team of in-house corporate communications professionals and top-notch associates who have over 75 years of experience in corporate communications, public relations and public affairs. They offer a full-range of services, from strategic planning to ongoing support, including event planning, media relations, consultation and engagement, writing and more. They also provide issue and crisis communication support 24/7. If there is a threat to your corporate reputation, be it a privacy breach or cyber attack, environmental issue or HR challenge, please contact Coast Communications and Public Affairs.
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ICORD is a world leading health research centre focused on spinal cord injury. From the lab-based cellular level of understanding injury to rehabilitation and recovery, their researchers are dedicated to the development and translation of more effective strategies to promote prevention, functional recovery, and improved quality of life after spinal cord injury.
ICORD research is anything from cellular to community level research that addresses a question concerning the promotion of improved functional outcomes and quality of life for people with spinal cord injury. ICORD’s research activities span the continuum from basic, preclinical discovery, to human-based discovery, to acute clinical interventions, to chronic care and rehabilitation, to community integration and participation.
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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. |
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The successful applicant will work full-time under the direction and supervision of both the Principal Investigator and the Laboratory Research and Operations manager.
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Process Development Associates are responsible for conducting scientific data-driven bioprocess development in a fast-paced environment that leads to efficient, robust and scalable protein production processes and their transfer to manufacturing.
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The position of Scientist – Protein Biochemistry is to participate in all aspects of discovery, lead optimization and pre-clinical development to advance novel biologics from the discovery phase into the clinic.
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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 Peter McLoughlin - talent@lifesciencesbc.ca
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