Biotechnology Focus Podcast

Creative Destruction Lab probably conjures up images of exploding beakers and test tubes, or worse a company that demolishes buildings. If you’re a researcher or scientist working on potential new treatment or therapy. If you’re a founder or a fledgling company with IP rights to the next killer technology. And your problem is how to get that product to market. You’ll be interested with what the CDL has to offer. The Creative Destruction Lab is actually an exciting new program that pair startup founders experienced entrepreneurs. The aim is to help innovators transition from science projects to high-growth companies. I had a chance to speak with Ajay Agawal, founder of CDL and he’ll be discussing how the Creative Destruction Lab is helping build successful Canadian biotechnology companies.  

And, that was Dr. Christopher Gemmiti, a regenerative medicine professional, making a pitch before a panel of judges, for his company RedactBio. This was during the Perfect Pitch competition held at the recent Toronto conference The Business of Regenerative Medicine. The conference was a three day event organized by the Commercialization Centre for Regenerative Medicine. Even at the best of days, making a pitch before potential funders can be a daunting, if not un nerving task for any entrepreneur in any industry. But, is there a secret formula for making the perfect pitch? We talked to Michael May, chief executive officer of the CCRM.   I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Biotechnology Focus Podcast.

From September 11th to the 12th this year, Vantage Bio trials will be holding its 2nd annual Canada Talks Pharma conference. The event is an opportunity for professionals in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries to get together, exchange views, and learn about innovative ideas, new technologies, and clinical research methods. Biotechnology Focus spoke with Vatche Bartekian, president and founder of Vantage Bio Trials. Vatche told us what's in store for attendees in this year's Canada Talks Pharma. Have a listen to what he had to say....

In this episode of the Biotechnology Podcast, we report of the successful results of Merck’s anacetrapib trials. Dr. Don Stewart, principal of Canadian biotech firm PlantForm discusses why his company is building a laboratory in Brazil. We also take a look at Mississauga’s new life science strategy.

By now, it’s no longer a surprise for anyone that the medical marijuana market in the country is geared for explosive growth. Recently Canada’s national drug development and commercialization centre has partnered with Vancouver’s Aequus Pharmaceuticals Inc., on a research program aimed at establishing pre-clinical safety and efficacy of select cannabinoid-based therapeutics. I had a chance to speak with Gordon McCauley, president and CEO of the  Centre For Drug Research and Development  or CDRD. And he provided Biotechnology Focus with some insights into his organization’s partnership with Aequus. Have a listen to our conversation….  

CRISPR genome editing could hold the key for treating and curing diseases such as cancer, leukemia, and HIV/AIDS. But However, Dr. J. Keith Joung of Massachusetts General Hospital warns there is growing evidence that CRISPR could alter regions of the genome which researchers are not targeting. What are the consequences? The iconic Canadian rock band Tragically Hip is one of the latest investors in the country’s growing medical marijuana market. We’ve got these and more in this episode of the Biotechnology Podcast… Click on these links to read full stories: RESEARCHERS WARNED OF CRISPR OFF-TARGET EFFECTS THREE U OF G GETS GENOMICS RESEARCH GET $10.7-M SUPPORT TRAGICALLY HIP PARTNERS WITH ONTARIO CANNABIS PRODUCER

In this episode of the Biotechnology Focus Radio, Liam Kaufman, co-founder of Winterlight Labs discusses with us how AI is powering his company’s speech-based diagnostic platform. This platform natural speech to detect and monitor dementia, aphasia, and various cognitive conditions. About Winterlight Labs: WinterLight Labs is developing a proprietary AI diagnostic platform that can objectively assess and monitor cognitive health. The company's platform can analyze natural speech to detect and monitor dementia, aphasia, and various cognitive conditions. Using a short one-minute sample of speech, WinterLight can characterize the speaker's cognitive, acoustic and linguistic state, including lexical diversity, syntactic complexity, semantic content, and articulation. Using samples of a person’s speech, WinterLight’s platform analyzes hundreds of linguistic cues and can detect dementia of the Alzheimer type and other conditions with accuracies between 82% and 100%, as reported in our peer-reviewed academic studies

In this episode of the Biotechnology Focus Radio, we discuss the approval in Spain of Merus Lab's Sintrom medication.   Microbiome research firm Commense licenses from the University of British Columbia, a biotherapeutic for preventing childhood asthma.   The McPeak-Sirois Groupo and the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation launch a program that would boost access to breast cancer research.   And the print and digital edition of the May-June Biotechnology Focus Magazine are out.

  At a recent Mississauga Board of Trade event, we caught up with Canada’s Science Minister, the Hon. Kirsty Duncan. Fresh from her trip to Washington, where she spoke with American scientists and championed the need for greater cross-border collaborative research between Canadian and American scientist, the minister took the time to learn about Mississauga’s new Life Science’s focused development strategy. Ms. Duncan also discussed with Biotechnology Focus why she believes the sector should be in the forefront of Canada’s innovation strategy, her ongoing review of Canada’s science and innovation strategy, and the creation of new science research chair positions. --- That was the Hon. Kirsty Duncan, science minister of Canada, discussing the important roles that the biotechnology and life sciences sectors play in the country’s development, and The review of canada’s science strategy. I hope you enjoyed this week’s show. This is you host, Nestor Arellano, Inviting you to tune in again next week, on the Biotech

Over 1 billion people around the world suffer from "needle phobia." Each year, there are countless people who avoid critical therapies and vaccinations simply because of their fear of hypodermic needles. Vancouver's Microdermics Inc.is determined to change all that with its work on an innovative drug delivery system which promises to be safer, less painful, and more cost-effective than traditional hypodermic needles. In this episode of the Biotechnology Focus Podacst, Rory St. Claire, director of technical operations at Microdermics, talks about the unique features of his company's proposed alternative to a medical tool that has been known to make even grown men cry for more than 160 years.

BDC launches a new program to move the needle on innovation in Canada, Appili Therapeutics snags another IRAP funding round, Prometic completes the filing of its plasminogen Biologics license application with the FDA, plus more in our rundown of the week’s top stories on the Canadian biotech scene!

Construction begins on a new multi-tenant home for young life science companies in Quebec, the Garidner Foundation names its 2017 Canada Gairdner Award winners with two Canadians among the seven winners, and Dr. Alan Bernstein adds another prestigious honour to his long list of accomplishments.

Show Notes: In the news this week, the 2017 federal budget is out and we go one-on-one with BIOTECanada’s Andrew Casey to find out if it delivers on the promise of an Innovation Agenda, the NRC and the Centre for the Commercialization of Antibodies and Biologics (CCAB) colloborate on an antibody development initiative, and Bellus Health divests itself of Thallion Pharmaceuticals. We have all this and more coming up on Biotechnology Focus Radio. Welcome to another episode of Biotechnology Focus Radio. I’m your host Shawn Lawrence, here to give you a rundown of the week’s top stories on the Canadian biotech scene. Story 1 Our first story this week takes us to Vancouver, where Qu Biologics Inc. reports it has identified immune factors (cytokines and growth factors) in the blood of patients with Crohn’s disease that may predict response to its Site Specific Immunomodulators (SSIs) therapy. According to the company, SSIs are a unique platform of immunotherapies designed to restore the body’s innate immune system.

In the news this week, the launch of NeuroCDRD – a new initiative to accelerate development of treatments for neuro diseases; OICR researchers invent a new molecular barcode technology; and Aurinia Phramceuticals prices a US$150.5 million public offering of common shares. We have all this and more coming up on Biotechnology Focus Radio. Story 1 Our first story this week highlights Calgary, AB’s Oncolytics Biotech® Inc. The company has entered into a collaborative research project  with cancer charity Myeloma UK and multi-national biotech firm, Celgene.  In the joint initiative Myeloma UK has launched MUK eleven, a first-of-its-kind immunotherapy trial that aims to modulate the immune system to target myeloma. The Phase 1b trial will study Oncolytics immuno-viral therapy and lead product REOLYSIN®, in combination with Celgene Corporation's immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs), Imnovid® (pomalidomide) or Revlimid® (lenalidomide), as a rescue treatment in relapsing myeloma patients. MUK eleven’s chief investigator Gor

Coming up on Biotechnology Focus Radio: The launch of a new Canadian Regenerative Medicine Alliance, Canada’s House of Commons passes the Genetic Discrimination Act Bill S-201, and a One-Two Punch that May Floor the Worst Infections by stopping antibiotic drug resistance. Welcome to another episode of Biotechnology Focus Radio. I’m your host Shawn Lawrence, here to give you a rundown of this week’s top stories on the Canadian biotech scene. Our first story this week takes us to Toronto, where Antibe Therapeutics Inc. reports it has signed an exclusive licensing and distribution agreement with a pharmaceutical company, Laboratories Acbel SA (Acbel), for its lead product ATB-346. ATB-346 is an anti-inflammatory drug, designed to spare the gastrointestinal tract of the ulcers and bleeding normally associated with NSAIDs. The agreement covers distribution in Greece, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Algeria and Jordan. Antibe will receive an upfront, non-dilutive payment of $1.1 million, and is entitled to rece

Ahead on Biotechnology Focus Radio : Bellus Health back in the game with a new therapeutic asset, BC Cancer Agency scientists make two breakthrough discoveries, and RepliCel Life Sciences gets by with a little help from its friends. We have this and more in store for you on this week’s show. Welcome to another episode of Biotechnology Focus Radio. I’m your host Shawn Lawrence, here to give you a rundown of this week’s top stories on the Canadian biotech scene.   Our first story this week takes us to CALGARY, AB where a team of Canadian physicians and researchers are believed to be the first in the world to have used gene therapy to treat a patient with Fabry disease, a rare inherited enzyme deficiency that can damage major organs and shorten lifespan. Specifically, people with the disease have a gene called GLA that doesn’t function as it should; as a result their bodies are unable to make the correct version of a particular enzyme that breaks down a fat called Gb3. A buildup of Gb3 can lead to problems in th

Coming up on Biotechnology Focus Radio :  Toronto’s Fusion Pharmaceuticals closes a US$25M Series A financing round led by Johnson & Johnson Innovation and BioTalent Canada releases Paving the Way, its latest labour market report. We have this and much more for you on this week’s show. Welcome to another episode of Biotechnology Focus Radio. I’m your host Shawn Lawrence, here to give you a rundown of this week’s top stories on the Canadian biotech scene. Story 1 Our first story this week has roots in Canada’s two biggest cities, with Enigma Biomedical Group, a Toronto based company focusing enhancing access to key technologies particularily those dealing with molecular imaging and medicine, reaching a clinical research agreement with the McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging in Montreal, in support of multiple projects to take place over the next several years. As part of the agreement, Enigma will provide funding for various research projects, and through its US entity Cerveau Technologi

Coming up on Biotechnology Focus Radio : The future of made-in-Canada CAR-T cells looks bright, Roche Canada and Merck each launch their own individual collaborative cancer research initiatives, and using immunotherapies to kill brain cancer Welcome to another episode of Biotechnology Focus Radio. I’m your host Shawn Lawrence, here to give you a rundown of this week’s top stories on the Canadian biotech scene. As you can tell by our teaser intro, cancer research and new initiatives into new therapies to tackle the disease figure prominently in our news headlines this week, and this is not a coincidence as February happens to be National Cancer Prevention Awareness Month. Story 1 On that note, our first story takes us to Ottawa, ON, where a team of researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) have made a discovery, featured in Nature, center around a promising combination of immunotherapies that are able to deliver a one-two punch to brain cancer tumours in mice.  Led by Dr. Robert Korneluk