Podcasts about canadian made

Taking control. We don't have a lot of it, but a chance to  take a breath, make changes and continue to push for changes. Even though we have 30 days, let's not take our foot off the gas.  In case you're interested - Kenny's Linkedin post is here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kennyvannucci_buycanadian-shopcanadian-supportcanadian-activity-7291664605431402496-goGh?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAHLzV0B66Ny63xfoPTffiJK3tQ6g2ZDISM  

   Canadian built vehicles do exist and you would be surprised as to what has been manufactured in the Great White North.  We may not have a Canadian company, but we do have Canadian Made products.  Follow AutoLooks as we uncover what vehicles Canada has made and still makes today.

    How is it that Canada is a top producing nation without its own automotive company?  AutoLooks takes a look at how big this industry really is in Canada and the products we make or have made within our boarders.  You may be surprised at how much we have to offer the automotive world. Everett J. #autolooks

For over a decade now, the rescue pups of PAW Patrol have been an obsession for toddlers around the world. And now, the box office is responding too — last week, its second feature film had the largest opening for a Canadian movie in more than a decade. This kids franchise is a big business. And it's Canadian.Barry Hertz is the Globe's deputy Arts editor and Film editor. And he is on the show to talk about the recent success of PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie and how a Canadian toy company struck gold with this brand.Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

This guy finally makes it onto the podcast. Kirk Homenick talks about getting kicked out of London Drugs in his first week, and the long hard road back to being a Canadian made, hand-crafted snack.  shop Hardbite here: https://hardbitechips.com/Find Kirk here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirk-homenick-a19bb71/ Make sure you subscribe to the podcast newsletter here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirk-homenick-a19bb71/  

The last few years have been a boon for RV travel. According to a 2021 survey by Rvezy, more than 72 percent of Canadians surveyed opted for RV travel rather than fly. Its popularity has also been great for the Canadian RV manufacturing industry. This is part two in our series featuring the makes and models that Canadian manufacturers can't build fast enough.

Canadian-Made RVs Part IFrom compact trailers to luxurious motorhomes, Canada's RV industry is as strong as ever with many competitive options.By Jan LeeCanada is well-known for its beautiful scenery, numerous provincial and national parklands, enticing beaches and abundant camping opportunities, which rank it as one of the most popular RV destinations all year. What many don't know, surprisingly, is that Canadian companies build some of the best and best-known RV brands. Todays show was written by Jan Lee Canada's RV industry is relatively small compared to the U.S. market as approximately 90 percent of the models purchased by dealers are imported from south of the border and abroad. Companies like Winnebago, Airstream and Coachman are household names and have set standards for what is referred to as the go-anywhere, anytime recreational vehicle. However, Canadian manufacturers have created their own benchmark for success with the ability to find that sweet spot between ample amenities and fuel efficiency at the gas pump. Eco-conscious materials, aerodynamic designs, and a number of unique amenities have become an even greater incentive among RVers for supporting Canadian RV manufacturers. There are more than a dozen home-grown RV manufacturers in Canada that build a variety of models, ranging from compact teardrop trailers to motorhomes of all classes. One manufacturer has even gained notoriety for its ultra-insulated truck campers, providing yet another way for dedicated RVers to hit the road any time of the year. Listed and described below are five of some of the most popular Canadian RV manufacturers with the details that set their brands apart and why their models are becoming more popular across the country and abroad.

A high-profile visit to Stephenville by German chancellor Olaf Scholz is scheduled for Tuesday. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will sign an agreement with Scholz on the sale of Canadian-made green hydrogen to Germany. John Risley will be on hand when the deal is signed. He's a director with World Energy GH2, which is proposing to build wind farms to power a hydrogen/ammonia plant in Stephenville.

A recall by a major baby formula manufacturer in the United States has caused a shortage in that country. And so far, the issues in Canada appear to be related to people hording the product rather than a true shortage. But there's another issue according to Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. He's the Senior Director of the Agri-Food Distribution Lab at Dalhousie University. According to Charlebois, most of the formula in Canada is imported even though we have a large manufacturing plant in Kingston, Ontario. But it is owned by Feihe International, a Chinese company and all of its products are shipped to China. And Charlebois says that's an issue because they are using cow milk that is partially subsidized by Canadian taxpayers through the supply management system. He says it's a protectionist policy with quotas designed to help farmers and food insecurity. But in spite of that, farms are closing in the Maritimes and processessing is moving out of the region. All of this as baby formula is being shipped overseas creating a made in Canada problem that is being ignored by politicians.

Do you find yourself tossing and turning on your old, lumpy mattress? Want to buy something that suits your sleep style? Then take a look at the affordable range from mattress retailer, Direct Bed (+1-905-594-1247) in Hamilton, ON! Go to https://www.directbed.com (https://www.directbed.com) for more information.

W5's Kevin Newman investigates why Rumble, a social media platform started by a Canadian, is attracting the attention of many Republican elites in America, including Donald Trump.   You can see more about this episode here

Kelsey Gallagher, a researcher with Project Ploughshares and co-author of the report

On today's show, the Alberta government isn't too impressed after the Biden administration went to OPEC and asked it to increase oil production. We hear from Energy Minister Sonya Savage. Plus, a new report details how Canadian-made weapons are allegedly fueling the war in Yemen. And, a judge has said the Trudeau government can no longer freeze out pro-development First Nations, ruling if the Liberals are going to consult on projects, they have to consult with everyone.  

The Canadian healthcare system is typically ranked as either the lowest ranked or second lowest ranked performing healthcare system of all developed world nations. Our physicians are great. Our procedures, world class. Then why such a low ranking?According to Dr. Brett Belchetz, the reason why we are so far behind in the rankings is access. Only about half of Canadian doctors work full-time. That is one of the main reasons why Canadians wait so long for care. The perception is that there simply are not enough doctors. In fact, it's because we're not using our doctors properly. Dr. Brett Belchetz is trying to tackle this exact issue. He is the CEO and Co-founder of Maple, Canada's leading virtual care provider connecting patients and healthcare providers like doctors and therapists for online medical visits in minutes. He's also a practicing physician in Toronto, and a Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute. In addition, Brett's passion for healthcare communication and policy have led him to work as an on-air medical expert for CTV and Global News, as well as a contributor to outlets such as the National Post. Previously, Brett worked as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company.It is estimated that about 70% of the visits that people are making to clinics, hospitals and their family doctors can be digitized. Maple is out to enable that. As Maple continues to evolve, it is moving to a proactive model, where they can let patients know the frequency of visits that they need to have. They will tip you off when you need a screening test done or an intervention done. They will have resources available between those healthcare visits. So it's not just see a healthcare provider and you're kind of on your own until the next visit in a month or three months. It's an entire program. Best of all, Dr. Belchetz wants to make this made in Canada healthcare IP the basis of healthcare systems around the world.

New trials for Canadian COVID-19 vaccines are being tested at the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology at the IWK. Find out how you can participate.

Canadian Common Sense - Canada makes headlines for the right reasons Charles discusses a new list where Canada is ranked the best country in the world  Meet the Alberta church that’s at the centre of a covid dispute A discussion on a church in Alberta, that is defying COVID restrictions  Guest - Jonny Wakefield- Reporter at the Edmonton Journal  First made-in-Canada COVID vaccine facing some funding issues A discussion on the issues preventing the first made-in-Canada COVID vaccine from reaching Canadians.  Guest - Brad Sorenson - CEO/President of Providence Therapeutics Immigrants to Canada facing a pandemic-induced delay Guest - Ahmar Khan - Freelance writer  Subscribe to the Charles Adler Tonight podcast to hear more: https://curiouscast.ca/podcast/135/charles-adler-tonight/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are any hunting saddles made in Canada? Today we chat with Canada's first hunting saddle manufacturer Paul Agostini. Find out why he started saddle hunting and what inspired him to begin building his own saddles. To check out his saddles go here: www.facebook.com/stinigear www.instagram.com/stini_gear Today's episode is brought to you by True North Mobile Gear: Go Light. Go Strong. Go True North www.canadiansaddlehunter.com/shop/ols/categories/true-north-mobile-gear For more episodes, great prices on saddle hunting gear and information on upcoming events, go to: www.canadiansaddlehunter.com #saddlehuntingcanada #canadiansaddlehunter #saddlehuntingpodcast

Alex talks with Shahin Moghaddam, a man who lost his wife and son when the Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down over Iran in 2020, about a new report released by Iran, and what the families need to feel justice has been served. Next, Alex talks with Marcus Kolga, Journalist for DisInfo and Sr. Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute about the two Michaels (Spavor and Kovrig) going to trial in China, and if we will ever see them again.  And finally, Alex speaks with Nathalie Landry, Executive Vice President of Medicago about their new vaccine that's produced in Canada, and when we should expect it as an option. Lets get talking See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Owner & Baker Hailey McLaughlin of AK Dog Cakes, Custom birthday cakes and dog treats! All of our products are made from 100% All Natural ingredients. Also back by popular demand, Jason Liquorish - Founder Mojo Pet Supplements. Helping dogs that suffer from arthritis, seizures inflammation & anxiety, 100% Canadian Made. Missing Rottweiler in Pelham - Pair of Rottweilers went missing on Feb.18 in the area of Sixteen Rd. and Balfour St. The female has since returned. Missing male answers to name of “Dakota,” 120 lbs., neutered, friendly, long tail. Has had ACL surgery so limps when sore.Please call immediately if seen or found: Sinead, (647) 295-8750.

Clinical trials have begun for another Canadian-made COVID-19 vaccine candidate. How are things going? Jeff Ryman gives us an update in his health headlines.

The Scott Thompson Show Podcast Can we dodge a third wave of the pandemic? Can we keep the variants under tight control? Scott spoke with Dr. Small of Trillium Health Partners, to find out how things look, as we head into the Family Day long weekend. Dr. Lorne Small, Infectious Disease Specialist with Trillium Health Partners, Landline - Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says the province has agreed to purchase two million doses of a COVID-19 vaccines developed by Canada's own Providence Therapeutics. Guest: Brad Sorenson, CEO of Providence Therapeutics - Scott welcomed Tim Powers back to the show to talk about everything from vaccines to potential federal elections to Valentine's Day! Guest: Tim Powers, Vice-Chairman, Summa Strategies, Managing Director of Abacus Data - Reverend Jim returned to the show for his weekly message of hope. Guest: Rev. Jim Carriere of the Good Shepherd in St. Catharines, Ontario See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Power & Politics for Thursday, February 11th with Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister, Chief Science Adviser Mona Nemer, and the Power Panel.

The Scott Thompson Show Podcast  Scott welcomed Tim Powers back to the show for a review of the pandemic response, as well as the Payette fiasco. Tim has an interesting idea for the future of the Governor General position.  Guest: Tim Powers, Vice-Chairman of Summa Strategies, Managing Director of Abacus Data  -  Scott’s daily commentary!  -  Mike Le Coteur joined Scott to give an update on the questions Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced in the House of Commons yesterday, and what to do with the answers.  Guest: Mike Le Couteur, Parliamentary Correspondent for Global News  -  60 adult volunteers at a clinical trial site in Toronto received two shots today as part of the first phase of clinical trials for a made-in-Canada COVID-19 vaccine.  Guest: Brad Sorenson, CEO of Providence Therapeutics  -  Andrew Graham spoke with Scott about the death of Yassin Dabeh, this following the Middlesex-London Health Unit saying it would not be able to confirm whether Dabeh died from COVID-19. The 19-year-old was reported to be the region’s youngest death related to the virus over the weekend. Guest: Andrew Graham, Reporter for Global News Radio in London 980 CFBL Read more from Andrew Graham here: https://globalnews.ca/news/7598442/health-officials-london-teen-death-coronavirus/ - Want more of the Scott Thompson Show? Subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your favourite shows and never miss out! https://curiouscast.ca/podcast/189/the-scott-thompson-show/ Then check out this bonus podcast: https://omny.fm/shows/scott-thompson-show/how-buy-american-will-affect-canadians-real-estate   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connor Curran is the creator and Co-Owner of Local Laundry, a Canadian Made company that uses clothing to bring people together. By harbouring community they aim to create a positive impact on the world around them.Local Laundry aims to build community through their 5 Guiding Pillars:Representing where you come fromSharing stories from the community Collaborating with others who also want to have a positive impactGiving back through local charitiesProducing Canada made clothing70% of all clothing consumed prior to 1980 in Canada, was made in Canada.My conversation with Connor was really inspiring and creates hope for the future of the clothing industry.Connor shared:-what Local Laundry is and the journey of the brand-the environmental implications of the clothing industry and how Local Laundry works to create change-how a small business can have a big impact-ways we can all become better Community Builders-how following your passions helps to build community-his definition of ‘happiness'-the impact community has had on Connor's life personally And of course the Lighting Round Questions:How do you define success?If you were gifted 10 million dollars, what would you do with it?What is one thing that you are grateful for today?For further information, detailed show notes, and to get in contact please visit my website. 

THE MAN BEHIND THE GOOSE | PRIME PEOPLE: DAN PHILLIPS ILLBURY & GOOSEIn this episode, we sit down with the founder of Illbury and Goose.He is the mastermind behind the clothing and lifestyle brand Illbury and Goose. Dan is a big contributor to the Old East Village area and an active member in the London, Ontario community.On top of that, give Dan and Illbury a follow and be sure to show them some love for all the knowledge he dropped in this episode!Illbury + Goose is a nod to Canadian entrepreneurship, family legacy, and the journey of Canadians everywhere. This patriotic concept, established in 1928, is focused on sustaining small businesses everywhere. We represent a movement that supports local, and thinks global. With a commitment to producing superior garments, accessories, and apothecary items right here in Canada, we are redefining what it means to be Canadian.FOLLOW ILLBURY AND GOOSE:WEBSITE: https://www.illburyandgoose.com/IG: https://www.instagram.com/illburyandgoose/FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/illburyandgoose/FOLLOW PRIMETWITTER: http://bit.ly/2AqAwUPINSTAGRAM: http://bit.ly/2AmMNJTFACEBOOK: https://bit.ly/2MFBXn1LINKEDIN: http://bit.ly/2AoQ0IZWEBSITE: https://primebrokerage.ca/

This week Gavin leads the panel with Dave, Tim, American Matt, and Better Andrew. The panel covers a mass shooting in Toronto, the government losing money that's supposed fight terror, an attempted knifing, and more. Intro Hello to all you patriots out there in podcast land and welcome to Episode 143 of Canadian Patriot Podcast, the number one LIVE podcast in Canada. Recorded Monday July 23rd, 2018.   Gavin - business owner, gun enthusiast, hunter, atheist & CCFR Field Officer for the GTA Tim - Sport shooter, owner and operator of Tim’s Good T-Shirts, they’re quite good.  Also the proud descendant of immigrants. We’d love to hear your feedback about the show. Please visit  canadianpatriotpodcast.com/feedback/ or email us at feedback@canadianpatriotpodcast.com A version of the show is Available on Stitcher at and iTunes http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=77508&refid=stpr and iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/canadian-patriot-podcast/id1067964521?mt=2 Check the podcast out on http://facebook.com/canadianpatriotpodcast and Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/canadianpatriotpodcast/ We need your help! To support the show visit https://www.patreon.com/cpp and become a patreon. You can get a better quality version of the show for just $1 per episode. The more you pledge the better the rewards are. Show your not a communist  buy a CPP T-Shirt, for just $19.99 + shipping and theft. Visit the http://canadianpatriotpodcast.com home page and follow the link on the right.   Arrowhead Coffee Arrowhead Coffee is Owned and Operated by Canadian Armed Forces Veterans. They love our Country, the True North Strong and Free, their family and friends. Join Arrowhead Coffee on their hunt for the perfect brew to raise morale and bring that feeling of home to you, no matter where you are. A portion of all profits helps Canadian Armed Forces Members, Veterans and their Families. What Are We Drinking Gavin - Sailor Jerry & Coke Zero Dave - inferior Andrew’s home brew Tim - 40 Creek Copper Pot and Reverse Osmosis Water American Matt - Budweiser American Lager Better Andrew - Somersby   News Greektown Shooting http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/danforth-logan-shooting-1.4757409   Fund to fight gangs and guns, untouched https://ipolitics.ca/2018/07/04/fund-to-fight-guns-and-gangs-untouched-despite-surge-in-shootings/   Ottawa Loses track of 3.1 billion meant to fight terror https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-loses-track-of-31-billion-meant-to-fight-terror/article11629983/   Canadian Made “assault rifle” turns up in Terrorist Hands https://nationalpost.com/news/canadian-made-assault-rifle-turns-up-in-hands-of-terrorists-as-turkey-warns-of-weapons-being-diverted   Attempted knife attack on ceremonial guard https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/man-with-knife-stopped-as-he-tried-to-attack-ceremonial-guard-on-parliament-hill   Leaf Blower Blowup https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/west-island-gazette/leaf-blower-blowup-becomes-citys-embarrassment-beaconsfield-mayor   Taxes will rise if Canadians want pharmacare https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-national-pharmacare-taxes-budget-kevin-page-1.4747827?cmp=FB_Post_News   End of Cap & Trade https://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2018/07/premier-doug-ford-announces-the-end-of-the-cap-and-trade-carbon-tax-era-in-ontario.html   Doug Ford jons with Saskatchewan to fight against Carbon Tax   https://business.financialpost.com/commodities/energy/ontario-saskatchewan-premiers-join-together-to-oppose-federal-carbon-plan?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1532018601 Asylum Seeker Menu Options http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/asylum-seekers-treatment-at-canadian-borders-1.4747890?cmp=FB_Post_News   Trudeau Nanny Salary Increase https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/government-sets-full-time-salary-range-for-justin-trudeaus-nanny?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1532281273   Petitions Oneclearvoice.ca http://oneclearvoice.ca/   E-1608 https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-1608 Rapid Fire Feedback From: ToddSubject: Free to PeeMessage Body:Good show.  I was busting a nut laughing at your discussion on “Native” hunting with drones..... like their ancestors.  You know how you get 40of them in a telephone booth........Tell them the owned it once.Looking forward to next week   Outro (3 minutes) BA - www.betterandrew.biz or www.andar.ca Andrew - https://ragnaroktactical.ca/ Tim - facebook.com/timsgoodtshirts Matt - instagram.com/mcversamax Benny- bennylewis.ca or Facebook Visit us at www.canadianpatriotpodcast.com like us on Facebook at www.facebook.comcanadianpatriotpodcast We value your opinions so please visit www.canadianpatriotpodcast.com/feedback/ or email us at feedback@canadianpatriotpodcast.com and let us know what you think.   and remember “You are the True North Strong and Free”   Music used under Creative Commons licenses The last ones by Jahzzar http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/Smoke_Factory/The_last_ones Epic by Bensound http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/epic  

Pure Air Experts Hour, Saturday, January 21st 2017, with President of Pure Air Experts, Jeff McArthur. 

Pure Air Experts Hour, Saturday, December 17th 2016, with President of Pure Air Experts, Jeff McArthur. 

Pure Air Experts Hour, Saturday, November 5th 2016, with President of Pure Air Experts, Jeff McArthur. 

On this week’s show…A Canadian made Ebola vaccine enters the next phase of clinical trials, a major Canadian generics company goes into restructuring mode, a young VC fund based in Vancouver makes it known it wants to be a major player on the life sciences investment scene and two Canadian biotech company’s hit endpoints in their clinical trials, good news for one company and bad news for the other. We have this and more on this week’s show! Welcome to another episode of Biotechnology Focus Podcast. I’m your host Shawn Lawrence, hear to bring you a rundown of this week’s top stories on the Canadian biotech scene. Story 1 The Ebola outbreak of the last three years has winded down, but that hasn’t stopped researchers in their quest to develop new vaccines to treat it. In fact, a promising Ebola vaccine originally developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada is set to begin the next phase of clinical trials later this fall. As part of this next phase, the vaccine, VSV-EBOV, will be tested on volunteers seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The goal of this new trial is to test evidence on the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness at building a protective immune response among HIV-positive people. According to Dr. Cécile Tremblay, who led the development of the protocol for this study, the reason for this approach is that it is particularly important to study the effectiveness of the vaccine in vulnerable populations, such as those living with HIV, because often these populations because of their compromised immune systems are most at-risk during outbreaks. The new study will build on existing results that demonstrate the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness. This includes promising results from Phase 1 trials in Canada conducted in 2014, a Phase 2 trial on front-line health workers, and a Phase 3 ring-vaccination trial in Guinea during the Ebola outbreak. Initial results from the ring-vaccination trial in Guinea were originally published in The Lancet in July 2015, with final results expected later in fall 2016. The new study is to be managed by the Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN), with trial sites in Ottawa, Montreal, Senegal and Burkina Faso. Principal investigator Dr. Tremblay (Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montreal) and coordinating principal investigator Dr. Joanne Langley (Dalhousie University) will co-lead the Canada-Africa collaborative research team. The first Canadian vaccinations are anticipated for November 2016, with trials beginning in Africa next year. Story 2 Citing pressures related to pricing, regulatory and market instability, generic drugmaker Pharmascience Inc. says it is cutting 90 positions at its Montreal head office in a restructuring move.  Dr. David Goodman, CEO of the company said it was a very difficult decision to make forced on by external factors such as pricing and regulatory pressures that have recently led to increased market instability; mainly in Quebec, the rest of Canada and globally.tFounded in 1983, ,the company currently ranks as one of the largest pharmaceutical employer’s in Quebec with over 1,500 employees. It makes more than 2,000 generic, over-the-counter and other prescriptions drugs, including 45 million prescriptions that are filled annually in Canada. In the interim, the company hopes these changes will allow it to retain a competitive edge and remain an industry leader. This is the first major layoff in the company’s history. Story 3 In clinical trial news, OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals has very recently released new but disappointing data from its Phase 3 ENSPIRIT trial of custirsen for advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). According to the company, the trial did not meet its primary endpoint of demonstrating a statistically significant improvement in overall survival for patients treated with custirsen in combination with docetaxel compared to docetaxel alone.  The median overall survival for the custirsen arm was 9.0 months versus 7.9 months for the control arm with a hazard ratio of 0.915 (one-sided p=0.178).  Safety results were consistent with those observed in previous trials of custirsen in combination with chemotherapy. The trial enrolled 664 patients at approximately 50 sites globally. According to Scott Cormack, president and CEO of OncoGenex, following negative results of previous custirsen trials, an early final analysis of the ENSPIRIT trial was conducted in an effort to conserve capital and extend the company’s cash runway. He adds that the company expects data on its other candidate, apatorsen, which is currently being evaluated in the Phase 2 Borealis-2 study for the treatment of bladder cancer, by the end of the month. OncoGenex is continuing to work with MTS Health Partners who has been advising the company in the exploration of strategic alternatives since mid-August. Story 4 Our next story highlights how Artificial intelligence could prove to be a useful drug discovery tool, as the Ontario Brain Institute (OBI) and the Movement Disorders Clinic (MDC) at Toronto’s University Health Network (UHN) have embarked on Canada’s first ever Parkinson’s disease research project, in a unique twist using the recently launched IBM Watson for Drug Discovery. IBM Watson is the first commercially available cognitive computing capability and has been lauded as a tool that will lead to a new era in computing. The system, delivered through the cloud, analyzes high volumes of data, understands complex questions posed in natural language, and proposes evidence-based answers. Further, Watson continuously learns, gaining in value and knowledge over time, from previous interactions. Drawing from its body of nearly 31 million sources of relevant literature, IBM’s cloud-based cognitive enterprise solution analyzes scientific knowledge and data using machine learning and natural language processing. MDC researchers, along with members of the Informatics and Analytics team at OBI, say they will use Watson to accelerate the drug discovery process and determine which drugs could potentially be re-purposed in the fight against Parkinson’s disease. Currently, bringing a drug to market takes nearly 10 years and approximately $2.6 billion. Beyond that, 88 percent of new drugs fail in Phase 1 because of a lack of efficacy and safety. As Lauren O’Donnell, vice president, IBM Watson Health Life Sciences puts it, drug researchers today are challenged by the sheer volume and pace of emerging data. Watson for Drug Discovery can change that, by empowering researchers with cognitive tools that will help to speed drug discovery, and increase the likelihood of bringing effective therapies more rapidly to patients. Dr. Lorraine Kalia, a movement disorders neurologist and neuroscientist at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre at UHN, agrees that cognitive technology like IBM Watson has the potential to make discoveries that can directly impact the health of Canadians. She says that the platform will give her team the ability to look at connections that researchers might not have found without dedicating weeks or months of time include identifying compounds for the disease. Story 5 You might remember that in an earlier episode we told you about a rare disease that turns human tissue to bone, and an innovative company based in Quebec called Clementia Pharmaceuticals that is working to find a cure. Well just this month, Clementia has released top-line results from its Phase 2 clinical trial investigating palovarotene, a retinoic acid receptor gamma agonist (RAR?), for the treatment of this debilitating disease fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive or (FOP). FOP is an extremely rare but serious disease in which an accumulation of heterotopic ossification (HO, extraskeletal bone) in muscle and soft tissue progressively restricts movement by locking joints leading to loss of function, physical disability, and risk of early death. Several positive trends were detected in the 40-subject placebo-controlled trial, including palovarotene-related reductions in the proportion of subjects who developed new HO, reductions in volume of new HO, reductions in patient-reported pain associated with flare-ups, and reductions in the time to resolution of FOP-related flare-ups though none reached statistical significance. Additionally, Palovarotene was well-tolerated, with all subjects completing the 12-week trial and enrolling into the open-label extension trial. The full results of the trial are expected to be published next year. In the meantime, Clementia says it will continue to gather important additional data in the Phase 2 extension trial and in the ongoing observational Natural History Study. Data from these studies will inform the design of a Phase 3 registration trial, which is expected to start in 2017. Story 6 Fresh off its most recent hiring of Karimah Es Sabar as its new CEO, Quark Venture, a Vancouver-based venture capital firm has launched a new US$500-million ($656 million) biotechnology fund with China’s GF Securities. The fund called the Global Health Sciences Venture Fund will invest globally in a diversified portfolio of biotechnology and health sciences companies. It is already being called by some the largest of its kind in Canada. Impressively,   investments have already started with the first close of US$100 million. Moreover , Quark Venture also recently announced a US$30 million investment in Vancouver-based MSI (Methylation Sciences Inc.), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, that is advancing a therapy for adjunctive treatment of Major Depressive Disorder. Es Sabar says she hopes to use the fund to help support world biotechnology and health sciences companies that are driving game changing innovations in drug development, medical devices, health IT and emerging convergent technologies. She adds that the decision to make Vancouver the headquarters for Quark Venture and the Global Health Sciences Venture Fund, validates Canadian innovation, while recognizing the strength of both province’s and nation’s life science industry, as well as the quality of its technologies. With that we’ve come to the end of another program.  A big thanks to our technical director and production manager Laskey Hart and to the rest of the Biotechnology Focus research team. Be sure to check back next week to see all the latest news happening on the Canadian biotech scene. And if you like our show, you can also listen to past episodes online via our podcast portal at www.biotechnologyfocus.ca .We’re also always looking for your feedback, story ideas and suggestions so we’d love to hear from you. Simply reach out to us on twitter: @BiotechFocus  or by email Biotechnology_focus@promotive.net.  For all of us here at Biotechnology Focus, thank you for listening.

Pure Air Experts Hour, Saturday October 1, 2016 with President of Pure Air Experts, Jeff McArthur.