Podcast appearances and mentions of johnson johnson innovation

In this episode of BioTalk, Rich Bendis sits down with Rachel Rath, the Head of JLABS @ Washington, DC, to discuss her journey and insights on building a thriving ecosystem for life sciences innovation. Rachel shares her academic and professional background, from roles at PCORI and BARDA Blue Knight to leading JLABS @ Washington, DC. She offers an in-depth look at JLABS' national and international footprint, and the significant partnerships with organizations like Children's National, Virginia Tech, and BARDA that strengthen the innovation landscape across the mid-Atlantic.   Tune in as Rachel shares the current priorities at JLABS, highlighting the diversity of its tenant portfolio, which spans MedTech, Pharma, and Integrated Healthcare Solutions. She also discusses how JLABS companies benefit from the support and resources available through Johnson & Johnson, including access to valuable connections, mentorship, and funding opportunities via JJDC.   Located in the heart of the BioHealth Capital Region, JLABS @ Washington, DC is well-positioned to drive collaboration and ecosystem growth. Rachel sheds light on the unique advantages of this strategic location and shares her views on addressing the challenges faced by life science startups, from funding access to investment connectivity, and the vital steps needed to elevate the region's biohealth ecosystem.   Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).   Rachel is responsible for setting the strategic direction and overseeing all operational activities for JLABS @ Washington, DC. Her responsibilities include P&L management, external engagement, innovation sourcing, portfolio management, and operational excellence in collaboration with the team responsible for the site and the region. In addition to managing the business of JLABS, Rachel is responsible for the process of evaluating, selecting and accelerating a strong portfolio of innovators connected to JLABS @ Washington, DC, which supports companies across the broader region.   Prior to this role, Rachel served as the inaugural Director of the BARDA Alliance for Johnson & Johnson Innovation. As BARDA Alliance Director, she was responsible for managing BLUE KNIGHT™, a joint initiative between JLABS and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which aims to stimulate the innovation and incubation of science and technologies. Rachel led the strategic direction, alliance management, and oversight of all operational activities related to BLUE KNIGHT™, including managing the sourcing and selection of high potential companies for JLABS locations and developing global programming including the annual BLUE KNIGHT™ Symposium.   Before joining JLABS, Rachel was the Chief of Staff for the National Evaluation System for health Technology Coordinating Center (NESTcc)—an initiative of the Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC)—that was established with funding from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and was recognized in September 2019 as one of the first collaborative communities with participation by the FDA. Prior to joining NESTcc, Rachel worked at PCORI, helping to launch the Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet), a national effort to engage patients and leverage electronic health data to improve the speed and efficiency of clinical research in the United States.   Rachel received her MBA from Georgetown University and MPH in global health policy from The George Washington University.

In this episode, our host Giovanni Lauricella and our guest Tamir Meiri from Johnson and Johnson discuss corporate venture capital, the differences between corporate venture capital and traditional venture capital, the importance of timing and luck, what an average work week looks like for him, the support one would get from JJDC beyond just money, the different geographies they invest in, how much they typically invest, timing for a startup to actually have the money hit their bank account, and so much more. Tamir Meiri LinkedIn Johnson & Johnson Website Project Medtech Website Giovanni Lauricella LinkedIn Project Medtech LinkedIn

In this episode, Tamir Meiri and Duane Mancini discuss his background and how he became a “geek” of healthcare, the sense of pride in Israel about their healthcare innovation, we do a deep dive into Johnson & Johnson and the different branches, how they evaluate investments, the importance of partnerships to bring innovation to patients, do venture arms of strategics work together, what trends he sees in the industry, the importance of diversity on your board, and so much more. Tamir Meiri LinkedIn Johnson & Johnson Innovation Website Duane Mancini LinkedIn Project Medtech LinkedIn Project Medtech Website

In this episode, Dr. William Hait, Global Head of Johnson & Johnson External Innovation, discusses how the 135 year old company is using the principles of disruption to improve the trajectory of healthcare across the globe. Dr. Hait, who leads a unit comprised of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson, and the company's World Without Disease Accelerator, oversees the creation of transformational new growth platforms. Hosted by Innosight's Josh Suskewicz, they discuss The Innovator's Prescription and how one of the keys to disruption in healthcare is the democratization of products and services enabled by the deskilling of complex medical procedures; eliminating disease through prevention, interception, and cure (including why a focus on prevention is so crucial and so challenging); redefining how we think about disease; the importance of anchor assets; and why the support of leadership at the highest levels is crucial to warding off disruption in incumbent organizations. Listen to learn more about how Johnson & Johnson has positioned itself to actively look for disruption on the horizon, leading to frequent investments in or partnerships with would-be disruptors, a strategy that has helped to turn perceived threats into tangible opportunities for the future of innovation in healthcare. 

ONS members Janet Van Cleave, PhD, of New York University's Rory Meyers College of Nursing in New York City, and Micah Skeens, PhD, RN, CPNP, of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH, the 2020 recipients of the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge in Oncology, join Stephanie Jardine, BSN, RN, oncology clinical specialist at ONS, to discuss how they made their projects a reality using the grant funding and how any nurse can work to make their innovative ideas a reality. Additionally, Van Cleave discusses her Oncology Nursing Foundation-funded study to measure her project's outcomes. The challenge supports the development of nurse-led innovative projects to improve oncology care, including prevention, early detection, treatment, and care for cancer survivors. For more information on the challenge, read the ONS Voice article linked in the episode notes.  Music Credit: "Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod  Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0  Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by January 1, 2023. The planners have no conflicts to disclose and the episode has no commercial support. The faculty for this episode, Dr. Van Cleave and Dr. Skeens, disclosed grant funding from Johnson & Johnson Innovation. Dr. Van Cleave also disclosed grant funding from the Oncology Nursing Foundation and NYU Mega-Grants Initiative. ONS is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.  Episode Notes  Check out these resources from today's episode:  Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  ONS Voice article: Oncology Nursing Society Announces Awardees of Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge in Oncology  ONS Voice article: To Drive Clinical Excellence and Resources, ONS Launches Center for Innovation  Oncology Nursing Podcast Episode 134: Nurse Innovators Increase Access to Biomarker Testing During ONS Hackathon  Oncology Nursing Foundation grant funding   

As Global Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS (JLABS), Melinda Richter fosters the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies external R&D engine and supports the innovation community by creating capital-efficient commercialization models that give early stage companies a big company advantage.Follow Melinda on Twitter.

For more on JLABS, go to https://jlabs.jnjinnovation.com/JLABSNavigator#/As Global Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS (JLABS), Melinda Richter fosters the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies external R&D engine and supports the innovation community by creating capital-efficient commercialization models that give early stage companies a big company advantage. By providing infrastructure, services, educational programs and networks in global hotspots, JLABS is the best place to start a company working in healthcare, with a specific emphasis on Johnson & Johnson’s sectors: consumer, medical device and pharmaceuticals.Prior to joining JLABS, Melinda was Founder and CEO of Prescience International, an award-winning firm dedicated to accelerating research to the patient. Melinda founded Prescience after she had a medical emergency that left her questioning the efficiency and efficacy of the healthcare system. With the tenacity and resolve of a patient looking for a better solution, she set out to create a better model, which now forms the basis for JLABS’ operational infrastructure. Prior to starting Prescience, Melinda held posts across a variety of functional areas with a global corporation, Nortel Networks, in locations such as Research Triangle Park, New York, Toronto, London, Hong Kong and Beijing before arriving in San Francisco. She also initiated, raised capital and secured large corporate deals for several companies in both the life science and technology space. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and a MBA from INSEAD in France. Melinda is an active board member and Treasurer of the California Life Sciences Association (CLSA). 

Innovative solutions at the bedside! Erik is a Registered Nurse at WakeMed ICU, a Johnson and Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellow, and a M.S. Candidate UNC/NCSU Biomedical Engineering. He certainly has a unique way to combine bedside nursing with innovative technology solutions. Enjoy the Podcast

Seema Kumar is the Vice President of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, an organization on a mission to positively impact human health and support entrepreneurs and innovators to develop healthcare solutions that will improve the lives of people around the world. She is a member of the Communications Leadership Council at Johnson & Johnson and works closely with the company’s Chief Scientific Officer and Worldwide Chairman of Pharmaceuticals. Before taking on the role of VP of Innovation, Global Health, and Policy Communications, Seema served as the VP of Global R&D Communications at The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. She holds a Master’s degree in Science Journalism from the University of Maryland, a Bachelor’s degree in Communications, and a graduate diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication from Stella Maris College in Madras, India. Seema joins me today to share her passion for science, technology, and female empowerment. We discuss the continuous rise of women interested in S.T.E.M projects, initiatives, and careers and why Seema believes the current issue is retaining women in S.T.E.M. industries. We discuss the importance of seeing other women at the highest levels of leadership and how it can encourage more women to step out of their comfort zone to climb the corporate ladder. We also discuss the crux of innovation in the corporate world and how the idea for SEEMA Magazine came to fruition. “When men make space for women and champion them and allow them to lead - it makes a big difference.” - Seema Kumar   Today on When She Founded: Seema’s childhood upbringing and how it inspired her passion for science, technology, and female empowerment The rise of the representation of women in S.T.E.M and the current issues Seema believes S.T.E.M industries face Seema’s perspective on why we see a gap of women being represented at the highest levels of leadership The importance of role models and mentorship Why Seema believes it’s critical for men to encourage and champion women to lead The importance of drive, passion, purpose, diversity, and authenticity Understanding when insecurities and vulnerabilities are signs of strength The crux of innovation The motivation behind launching SEEMA Magazine The multiplier effect of increasing the visibility of women Connect with Seema Kumar: Johnson & Johnson Innovation SEEMA Magazine SEEMA Summit Email: info@seema.com Seema Kumar on Instagram Seema Kumar on Facebook Seema Kumar on Twitter   Subscribe, Rate & Share Your Favorite Episodes! Thanks for tuning into today’s episode of When She Founded with your host, Somer Hamrick. If you enjoyed this episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts to subscribe and leave a rating and review. Don’t forget to visit our website, connect with Somer on LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes across social media.

#Ep 40. Giro SD: Einstein-Eretz Bio. Parte 1 apresenta quatro startups com diversas soluções de transformação para a área da saúde. Além disso contamos com o depoimento do Fernando Leone, médico urologista de Belo Horizonte, participante da comunidade Saúde Digital On Demand, que contou como o evento da Eretz Bio foi importante e enriquecedor para sua carreira. Cadastre - se gratuitamente no Saúde Digital On Demand Conheça por dentro a nossa comunidade de early adopters da saúde! Lá você pode se atualizar com as tendências e inovações do setor da saúde e além disso você vai aprender na prática com quem está fazendo a diferença e protagonizando a transformação digital da saúde. Clique aqui para conhecer o Saúde Digital On Demand. Não fique para trás! Fique Up To Date no SDOD! Fique por dentro do Podcast - Os entrevistados: O Dr. Guilherme Malaquias e Dr. Victor Bigelli  da startup Aurah , uma assistente virtual especializada no tratamento de dificuldades emocionais cognitivas e comportamentais. A Aurah é um SaaS ( Software as a Service ) e pode ser contratado por empresas, além da assistência a plataforma também coleta dados e gera relatórios detalhados que correlacionam saúde mental, física e qualidade de vida. O segundo entrevistado foi o Paulo Lira,  da Startup Bem, uma Comunidade Saúde e Medicina Preventiva. A startup tem como objetivo conectar pacientes e profissionais de saúde, sendo uma alternativa aos planos de saúde. Os profissionais que se cadastram na plataforma tem um compromisso com a excelência e o impacto social, oferecendo bons serviços a preços acessíveis. O  William Yanaguizawa da SensyMed, foi o terceiro entrevistado do Giro SD: Einstein-Eretz Bio.  A startup nacionalizou a tecnologia de aquecimento de pacientes por ar forçado. Os dispositivos capturam o ar ambiente, filtram, aquecem e impulsionam para uma manta térmica descartável que está sobre o paciente. Essa manta aquece o paciente e combate a hipotermia, proporcionando diversos benefícios durante e após a cirurgia. Além de startups, no Giro SD: Einstein-Eretz Bio tivemos a participação do Rodrigo Rodrigues e da Lívea Barbosa da Johnson & Johnson, falando sobre o programa Johnson & Johnson Innovation   uma oportunidade para startups de saúde do Brasil. A inscrições estão abertas, você pode acessar a página clicando aqui. O último entrevistado do Giro SD Einstein-Eretz Bio 2019 foi o Makoto Ikegame da startup Lenscope, que trata do problema de troca de lentes de óculos de grau, de maneira mais fácil e prática. A startup oferece um serviço que recolhe sua armação em casa, efetua a troca das lentes e devolve ao paciente. Tudo isso através de um site, com precisão e agilidade. Participe do Saúde Digital Podcast Deixe-nos saber o que você achou desse episódio! Você tem alguma dica para dar para o Saúde Digital podcast? Quer sugerir um tema? Sua participação é muito importante! Clique aqui para falar conosco. Você pode falar também diretamente com o host Lorenzo Tomé pelo Instagram, Linkedln ou Telegram no @lorenzotome Música usada no episódio: Music | Fantasy by Declan DP Watch: https://youtu.be/3jUQtevDen0 Download/Stream: https://hypeddit.com/link/9la4ka

Partnership is critical when it comes to innovating in healthcare. Rowan Chapman, PhD, Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, California, understands this implicitly. She discusses JNJ's commitment to innovation and steps everyone can take to innovate. Plus, she shares how hiking across a glacier changed her entire perspective.

Robert Urban has always had a passion for science and healthcare. As the recently retired and former Global Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Robert has been able to work with amazing people and start-ups. Johnson & Johnson Innovation is run as it's own entity within the parent company of J&J. Listen to this episode to hear all about it! If you want to learn more about Robert, check out his LinkedIn: bit.ly/RobertUrban --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hdigh/support

Melinda Richter, Global Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation’s JLABs, enters the ICE House to explain how JNJ is empowering entrepreneurs to bring healthcare ideas from concept to consumer. Melinda shares her journey from growing up in Goodsoil, Saskatchewan to becoming a leader in the start-up culture of life science. Under her stewardship, JLABs has grown to 13 global locations and helped over 450 companies secure $11.6 Billion in financing, including 14 that have tapped the public markets.   Inside the ICE House: https://www.theice.com/podcast/inside-the-ice-house

The public perception of science has shifted over time – what once inspired, now can instill fear and distrust. It’s imperative that we reclaim the narrative back to the heart of what science can be: hopeful and human. This week Seema Kumar, Vice President, Innovation, Global Health, and Policy Communication at Johnson & Johnson Innovation chats with guest host, Greg Matthews, Managing Director, Healthcare Analytics Innovation at W2O, about how this looks, what JNJ Innovation is doing about it, and the King Pop.

In this episode, I interview Rebecca Yu, Head of JLABS Canada.  She was instrumental in setting up Johnson & Johnson Innovation’s first JLABS incubator outside the United States.  JLABS@ Toronto is a partnership with Johnson & Johnson Innovation, The University of Toronto, MaRS Discovery District, MaRS Innovation and the Government of Ontario in Canada.  In this interview, Rebecca talks about how she has overcome roadblocks throughout her career.  From a little girl who came to Canada without speaking a word of English, to become a clinical pharmacist, to be in the field of Government Affairs and to lead JLABS Canada.  It’s truly an honor to have Rebecca on the show.

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 Technologies, Inc. The research projects are for studies of an early stage imaging agent (MK-6240) to be used in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans for assessing the status and progression of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in the brain. What are NFTs exactly, well they are made up of aggregated tau protein and are a hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. According to Dr. Serge Gauthier, Director of the AD & Related Disorders Research Unit of the McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, the ability to visualize and quantify tau in the brain will further facilitate therapeutic research in the field of Alzheimer's disease. Cerveau Technologies  will supply the MK-6240 precursor needed for the initiatives.   Story Our next story takes us to HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, where Appili Therapeutics has announced it is receiving $2,803,148 from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), under the Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF). This funding will enable Appili to take its first drug, ATI-1501 – a taste-masked, oral antibiotic that treats anaerobic infections like Clostridium difficile – through clinical trials, including human clinical trial, and to be ready for market approval.  Of note, the drug is a reformulation of metronidazole, a front-line treatment for anaerobic bacterial infections. Over 10 million metronidazole prescriptions are issued in the U.S. annually. The company hopes to begin these clinical trials this year and is presently manufacturing the clinical batch of ATI-1501 to good manufacturing practices (GMP), the standard required by the Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As for why the company is focused on reformulating metronidazole, well, the bitter taste of these tablets often results in poor patient compliance, which leads to the spread of infections and recurrent infections within the patients. In particular, reluctance to complete the prescribed course of antibiotics is highly problematic among children and the elderly with swallowing issues, who must crush and re-suspend tablets to ingest the metronidazole. The company says that ATI-1501 has been optimized to improve palatability, which should significantly reduce the instances of patient reluctance to take the drug.  How it works is once it is ingested, it kills anaerobic bacteria by interfering with their DNA, leading to bacterial cell death thus clearing up the infection. Story Across the country, in Vancouver BC, Zymeworks Inc. reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted an orphan drug designation to its lead product candidate, ZW25, as a treatment for gastric cancer, including cancer of the gastroesophageal junction. The FDA grants orphan drug designation to biological products that are intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally defined as affecting a patient population of fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. Orphan drug designation provides the sponsor certain financial incentives, including tax credits, the waiver of associated application fees, and a period of marketing exclusivity if the product candidate receives the first marketing approval for the indication for which it has such designation. The drug is currently being evaluated in an adaptive Phase 1 clinical trial in the U.S., based on the company’s Azymetric platform. It is a bispecific antibody that can simultaneously bind two non-overlapping epitopes, known as biparatopic binding, of HER2 resulting in dual HER2 signal blockade, increased binding and removal of HER2 protein from the cell surface, and enhanced effector function. These combined mechanisms of action have led to significant anti-tumor activity in preclinical models. This marks the drugs second orphan drug designation, in addition to ovarian cancer, which was granted last year. Story Last week, BioTalent Canada released its latest labour market report, title Paving the Way. Funded in part by the Government of Canada's Labour Market Integration Program, the report surveyed skilled newcomers, immigrant serving agencies (ISAs) and employers, and made recommendations on how internationally educated professionals (IEPs) can better connect to jobs in Canada’s bio-economy. Key report findings included that internationally educated professionals arrive with the knowledge and skills needed by Canada’s bio-economy, with Two-thirds (67.6%) of those surveyed reporting having a minimum of a master’s degree and over half (56.8%) indicated that they have worked in biotech industry prior to immigrating to Canada. And yet the report also found that many talented newcomers continue to have their skills and experience overlooked by hiring managers. Rob Henderson, president and CEO of BioTalent Canada, says this is quite troubling as ours is a sector that struggles with access to talent, so it should be crucial for businesses to recognize newcomers as an important talent pool. The report highlights some of the obstacles hindering internationally educated professionals from entering into Canada’s biotechnology sector workforce, such as 51.9% saying they were finding it difficult to finding jobs in their own field, and 46.5% saying a lack of Canadian experience was an obstacle.  The report also suggests that Pre-screening for education experience validation may be a solution for skilled IEPs to connect to employers with Biotechnology employers that were surveyed supporting the concept of having access to pre-screened candidates. Moreover, a skills validation process would be an effective method of fast-tracking newcomers to biotech jobs in Canada. The full report is available online, to download a copy or view it, visit  biotalent.ca/PavingtheWay. Story Our final story takes us to Toronto, where Fusion Pharmaceuticals , a company first financially seeded by Fight Against Cancer Innovation Trust (FACIT) Inc., has closed a US$25M Series A financing, with Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC) as the lead investor. Additional, new investors in the Series A round also included venture groups TPG Biotechnology Partners, HealthCap and Genesys Capital, as well as founding investor FACIT.  The financing is also strengthened by HealthCap’s specialized expertise having pioneered a new wave of successful radiotherapeutic companies. Fusion will use the financing proceeds to advance its lead program, FPX-01, into human clinical trials. FPX-01 is an antibody-targeted radiotherapy that seeks out a specific biomarker present on nearly all types of treatment-resistant cancers. Fusion’s technology, targeted alpha-particle emitting radiotherapeutics, combine the precision of molecular targeting agents such as antibodies with the potency of alpha-particle emitting radioisotopes to specifically attack and eradicate cancer cells. Alpha-particle emitting medical isotopes attack cancer cells using multiple mechanisms, including causing the type of DNA damage that the cancer cell cannot easily repair, reducing the likelihood of developing drug resistance. At the same time, alpha particle-emitting agents offer improved safe-handling features and can be administered in conventional cancer treatment facilities unlike previous generations of radiotherapeutics. In addition, Fusion is building its pipeline through access to a centyrin protein targeting platform in two licensing agreements with Janssen Biotech in transactions facilitated by J&J Innovation. The company itself is a spinout from the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC), which is a Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research Centre (CECR) located at McMaster University. The CPDC has facilities and major partnerships in Hamilton, Boston, Toronto and Ottawa. The company also received OICR funding support from its inception. As OICR's commercialization partner, FACIT provided corporate leadership (through its Executive-in-Residence program) as well as seed funding to launch Fusion and to attract the strategic partners, investors and the larger capital infusion necessary to grow the company, and continue its research around radiotherapeutics.   The company is led by Dr. John Valliant, who is the founder of both Fusion and CPDC. He was selected as one of the Canada’s top 40 under 40 in 2010 Well that wraps up another episode of the Biotechnology Focus Podcast. We hope you enjoyed it. Be sure to let us know what you think, and we’re also always looking for story ideas and suggestions for future shows, and of course we’d love to hear from you as well, simply reach out to us via twitter @biotechfocus, or by email at the following email address  press@promotivemedia.ca. And remember, you can also listen to past episodes online via our podcast portal at www.biotechnologyfocus.ca . For all of us here at Biotechnology Focus, thanks for listening.

Coming up on this week’s show: Pfizer partners with a Canadian biotech on a new therapeutic antibody discovery project, Quark Ventures keeps rolling out the dollars and Bloom Burton & Co. to host its first award gala. We have all this and more on this week’s Biotechnology Focus Podcast. Welcome to another episode of Biotechnology Focus Podcast. 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 takes us to TORONTO, ON- where Canadian healthcare investment banking firm Bloom Burton & Co., has announced that it will host its inaugural Award Gala at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto, ON on September 14, 2017. As part of this special event, the firm also plans to recognize Canada’s Healthcare Industry biggest star with its newly minted ‘Bloom Burton Award.’ According to the firm, it plans to bestow this award annually to an individual scientist, inventor, executive, entrepreneur, industry leader, or policy maker who has made the greatest impact in Canada’s innovative healthcare industry. Bloom Burton & Co president Brian Bloom commented that it’s time to celebrate those who advance medical science, attract and provide risk capital, launch new products and companies on the world stage or announce significant monetization events, with The Bloom Burton Award celebrating today’s finest. Nominees will all healthcare subsectors including biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic/imaging, research instrumentation, consumer health, healthcare services or healthcare IT sectors. The judges include respected international leaders in healthcare investment, entrepreneurship and journalism. Among them are Karen Bernstein, Co-Founder and Chairman, BioCentury Inc.; Terrence Connolly, Executive Director, Global Alliances and Business Development, Celgene Corporation; Carl Gordon, Partner and Co-Head of Global Private Equity, OrbiMed Advisors; Andrew Hack, Chief Financial Officer, Editas Medicine; Oleg Nodelman, Founder and Managing Director, EcoR1 Capital; Melinda Richter, Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS; and Avik Roy, Opinion Editor, Forbes; President, The Foundation for Research and Equal Opportunity. narrowed list of three finalists will be announced at the Bloom Burton & Co. Healthcare Investor Conference, taking place May 1-2, 2017. For more information, visit www.bloomburton.com. Story 2 Vancouver-based ProNAi Therapeutics has changed its corporate name to Sierra Oncology. According to company president and CEO Dr. Nick Glover, the name change is about better reflecting the company’s oncology focus, specifically its pipeline of therapies that target the DNA Damage Response (DDR) network. The company believes there is a significant opportunity for therapeutics that target the DDR network to have broad potential in the treatment of cancer. Additionally, the company has successfully in licensed sponsorship of two ongoing Phase 1 clinical trials evaluating its Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) inhibitor, SRA737, from the Cancer Research UK Centre for Drug Development, where it was discovered and initially developed. In accordance with the license agreement for SRA737, a $2.0 million fee is due to CRT Pioneer Fund LP for the achievement of this milestone. According to Glover, SRA737 targets Chk1, a key cell cycle checkpoint and central regulator of the DDR network. The company is concurrently also conducting preclinical research evaluating SRA737 in combination with other DDR agents including PARP inhibitors and Sierra Oncology’s proprietary Cdc7 inhibitor, SRA141, as well as with immuno-oncology therapeutics. Finally, as of January 10th, company shares started trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol ‘SRRA. Story 3 In Venture capital news, Canadian VC-firm Quark Venture Inc. along with its partner, Chinese investment bank GF Securities say they are investing US$25 million in Microbion Corp. through the firm’ss $656-million Global Health Sciences Venture Fund. Microbion, co-located in Vancouver, BC and Bozeman, MT, is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections. Its lead compound, MBN-101, is the first in a new class of products to treat infections by attacking both bacteria and related microbial biofilms. Among other advancements, the investment will go towards enabling Microbion in the initiation and completion of a Phase 1B/2A study in diabetic foot ulcer infections, the study will evaluate both safety and efficacy endpoints including eradication of infections and of biofilms. In 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted MBN-101 Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) and Fast Track designations for adjunctive treatment of moderate and severe diabetic foot ulcer infections. According to Karim Lalji, chairman and CEO of Microbion Pharma Corp, and former Simon Fraser University graduate, that in addition to proceeding with the Phase 1B/2A study, the investment will also allow the company to continue a Phase 2a trial in orthopaedic infections as well as to advance its development of an inhaled formulation of MBN-101 to treat cystic fibrosis related infections. Story 4 Looking at our top R&D news story, Canadian and Australian prostate cancer researchers say they have discovered a key piece in the genetic puzzle of why men born with a BRCA2 mutation may develop aggressive localized cancers that resist treatment and become lethal for up to 50 per cent of patients within five years. Their findings, published online in Nature Communications, show that BRCA2-associated tumours are already pre-set to be aggressive, even before treatment. This is because the genes normally involved in regulating cell growth and division are abnormal in the BRCA2-associated cancers right from the get-go and therefore are resistant to therapy right up front, says co-principal investigator Dr. Robert Bristow, clinician-scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network. He talks about the research in the following audio provided by UHN: Insert audio from video…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXlntpaWtaI In the published study, Dr. Bristow and co-principal investigators Dr. Paul Boutros at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, and prof. Gail Risbridger at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, compared 15 patients with BRCA2-inherited prostate cancer with 500 prostate cancer patients from the general population with non-inherited (sporadic) prostate cancer. In the related study of 500 tumours from Canadian men with non-inherited prostate cancer also published in Nature, Drs. Bristow and Boutros analyses led to the discovery of a new genetic fingerprint that identifies when curable disease may turn aggressive. Although BRCA2-inherited disease affects less than two per cent of men with prostate cancer, Dr. Bristow says the research sets the stage to rethink ways to use other drugs differently to personalize treatment for more men. The next steps are to explore the use of novel therapies to offset the BRCA2-associated aggressiveness earlier on in the treatment of these men and improve survival in an otherwise lethal tumour, and he says this might include different types of chemotherapy or the use of molecular-targeted drugs that specifically target the changes associated with BRCA2 mutation. Funding for this reasearch was provided by the Movember Foundation through Prostate Cancer Canada, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, CPC-GENE, and The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. Story 5 Our final story this week sees drug giant Pfizer entering into a multi-year collaboration with Vancouver-based AbCellera Biologics, Inc. As part of the collaboration, the two sides hope to generate lead antibody candidates using AbCellera’s mAb discovery platform, specifically AbCellera plans to apply its proprietary monoclonal antibody (mAb) screening platform to attempt to discover function-modulating antibodies against undisclosed membrane protein targets. Carl Hansen, founding CEO of AbCellera commented that his company is increasingly being recognized as a leader in high-performance antibody discovery, and this deal validates this fact. He explains that what makes his company’s platform unique is that it is able to screen natural immune repertoires with unparalleled depth unlocking the most challenging discovery programs. Moroever he says this partnership not only reinforces his company’s business strategy but also brings an added benefit through the ability to work closely with the innovative team at Pfizer. Under the terms of the agreement, AbCellera will receive an upfront payment and research support, and will be eligible to receive up to approximately $90 million in contingent milestone payments, as well as tiered mid-to-low single digit royalty payments based on Pfizer’s development and commercialization of antibodies that may be generated under this collaboration. Further terms of the agreement are not disclosed. 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.

Zymeworks, ProMetic Life Sciences, Innovative Targeting Solutions all back in the news again; Saskatchewan researchers make a breakthrough on a devastating pig virus, and healthcare behemoth GE partners with STEMCELL Technologies.We have this and more on this week’s Biotechnology Focus Podcast! Welcome to Biotechnology Focus Podcast. I’m your host Shawn Lawrence. Story 1 We kick things off this week in the prairies, where in less than a year, University of Saskatchewan (U of S) scientists have developed and tested a prototype vaccine that could protect the North American swine industry from a virus that has killed more than eight million pigs and cost more than $400 million in lost income since 2013. The Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) hit the U.S. in 2013 and spread to Canada in 2014. It is a coronavirus, a virus group which includes important emerging human diseases such as SARS and MERS. It was first discovered in Europe, and has become increasingly problematic in Asian countries. Occurring only in pigs, PEDV can kill up to 100 per cent of infected piglets. Using its new containment Level 3 facility, the Universtiy of Saskatchewan Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) quickly launched a vaccine development project. The project has resulted in a prototype vaccine that protects 100 per cent of the piglets who have received it, according to  Dr. Volker Gerdts, VIDO-InterVac’s research director. The successful vaccine results have since triggered the interest of several animal health companies including Huvepharma, which has partnered with VIDO-InterVac to develop the technology for commercial production in North America. With the support of the swine industry, the vaccine is now undergoing field testing in Saskatchewan, as well as in Manitoba where it is being used to help protect piglets from a recent PEDV outbreak. VIDO-InterVac director Andrew Potter said such a project wouldn’t be possible without this facility, adding that “This is a perfect example of why InterVac was constructed – it is one of the only facilities available internationally with the capacity to conduct vaccine development and testing on this scale for emerging infectious diseases and It helps Canada remain prepared to quickly respond to outbreaks like this,” he said. The PEDV vaccine development project has been supported by a variety of funders including the Government of Saskatchewan (ADF), Sask Pork, and the Canadian Swine Health Network. Story 2 The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given Toronto’s Trillium Therapeutics Inc. the go-ahead to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial for its lead drug candidate, TTI-621 (SIRPaFc), in solid tumours and mycosis fungoides. Trillium is developing TTI-621 as a novel checkpoint inhibitor of the innate immune system, and the drug is currently being evaluated in an ongoing Phase 1 dose escalation study in patients with relapsed or refractory hematologic malignancies. Patient enrollment in the Phase 1 trial is anticipated to commence by year end. The trial will be multicenter and open-label, with TTI-621 being delivered to patients with relapsed and refractory, percutaneously-accessible cancers by intratumoral injection that increase in dose and dosing frequency to characterize safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and preliminary evidence of antitumour activity. In addition, detailed evaluation of serial, on-treatment tumor biopsies of both injected and non-injected cancer lesions will help characterize tumor microenvironment changes anticipated with CD47 blockade. Story 3 As part of its strategy to leverage and attract investor interest to Québec’s life sciences sector, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ has made a $15 million investment in Genesys Capital’s latest venture fund Genesys Ventures III. The fund itself will used to back companies at the seed-stage, considered by many in the industry the valley of death, to help these companies advance technologies and products for unmet medical needs. Genesys Capital is one of the largest Canadian-based venture capital firms exclusively focused on the life sciences industry. Of note, Knight Therapeutics Inc., a specialized biopharmaceutical company based in Montreal, QC is also committing $1 million to Canadian-based life sciences venture capital fund Genesys Ventures III LP. For Knight the investment is the eighth life sciences equity fund investment Knight has made to date, having committed over $125 million. In terms of the Genesys Ventures III fund, Genesys Capital says it has closed $90 million of its $125 million target for the fund, while Managing director Damian Lamb adds that the firm expects to reach its goal for Genesys Ventures III early next year. Should the fund reach this target, it would be the largest Genesys has raised in its 16-year history. Story 4 Zymeworks is back in the news this week as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for its lead product ZW25 as a treatment for certain HER2-expressing cancers. ZW25 is a novel bi-specific antibody, developed using the company’s Azymetric™ platform, to target two different epitopes (bi-paratopic targeting) of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) proteinThe protein is known to be over-expressed on the surface of many tumour types, including certain breast, gastric, lung, and ovarian cancers. ZW25 will be evaluated in the clinic for safety as well as efficacy in patients with tumours with low to moderate levels of HER2 expression. The company anticipates it will begin a Phase 1 clinical trial for ZW25 in late August of this year. Additionally, last week  the FDA granted Orphan Drug Designation to ZW25 and a second product, ZW33 for the treatment of ovarian cancer. ZW33 is a drug-conjugated version of ZW25 that is currently in development in preparation for an IND filing in early 2017. Orphan designation qualifies Zymeworks for a number of development incentives, including tax credits for clinical testing and marketing exclusivity for a period of seven years if ZW25 and/or ZW33 is approved for this indication. Story 5 The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), Thermo Fisher Scientific and Queen’s University are collaborating on a research study to help bring more targeted diagnosis and treatment to breast cancer patients in the future. The study, led by Dr. John Bartlett, director of OICR’s Transformative Pathology Program, and Dr. Harriet Feilotter, Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Queen’s University, aims to identify mutations and copy number changes found in breast cancer samples and establish whether these abnormalities correlate with on-market drugs, available clinical trials or published studies. OICR-affiliated researchers and collaborators at Queen’s University and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre will process the same breast cancer samples to establish whether the results are reproducible at different sites. This study will also characterize more than 400 additional retrospective breast cancer samples supporting ongoing clinical research efforts of Dr. Bartlett’s team at OICR, which strives to improve the clinical management of the disease. Collaborators Drs. Martin Yaffe and Arun Seth at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre will provide laboratory space and additional technical support for the study. Dr. Yaffe is also co-leader of OICR’s Smarter Imaging and Imaging Translation Programs. The study will use Thermo Fisher’s Oncomine Comprehensive Assay, a targeted, next-generation sequencing (NGS) research tool that analyzes 143 genes relevant to cancer and which is the NGS assay used for the NCI-MATCH study in the United States. The data generated can be further studied with the Oncomine Knowledgebase Reporter, which is a curated set of published evidence that matches driver genetic variants with relevant information, such as on-market drugs, available clinical trials, or published studies. The findings of the OICR study will be used to assess the technology and could inform subsequent clinical trials. Drs. Feilotter and Bartlett have also engaged six laboratories in Ontario, including at Hamilton Health Sciences, London Health Sciences Centre, Ottawa General Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Sudbury Health Science North and University Health Network to look at the robustness and reproducibility of the assay across different cancer samples. This collaboration could extend the findings of this study beyond breast cancer to other common cancers. Story 6 Vancouver’s Innovative Targeting Solutions has teamed up with yet another major life science company, this time striking a research collaboration deal with Janssen Biotech, Inc. (Janssen), through Johnson & Johnson Innovation.  The deal will allow Janssen to utilize Innovative Targeting Solutions' proprietary HuTARG™ research platform to discover antibody candidates useful for modulating immune responses in autoimmunity or cancer. The HuTARG™ protein engineering platform is able to engineer both T-cell receptors and fully human antibodies that bind major histocompatibility complex (MHC)/peptide complexes displaying fragments of intracellular proteins of interest.  Essentially, it allows researchers to generate and engineer fully human antibodies. The technology underlying the platform is based upon the natural process of V(D)J recombination, employed by the human immune system to produce a diverse repertoire of antibodies. Details of the collaboration including the specific targets, number of targets, and specific therapeutic indications have not yet been disclosed nor have financial details. In June, ITS announced a research collaboration with Merck, to utilize the HuTARG™ research platform to help identify and develop biologic therapeutic candidates directed towards targets that have historically been a challenge for biologic therapies, and just two weeks ago, ITS also partnered with another Vancouver-based company known for its own string of deals with pharma, Zymeworks. Other disclosed ITS collaborators include Novartis and Amgen. Story 7 A few months ago, Biotechnology Focus spoke with Phil Vanek (of GE Healthcare) and Michael May (of CCRM) about BridGE@CCRM, the centre they co-created at the MaRS West Towere to help accelerate the creation of cellular therapeutic tools. Now GE is taking another step in its mission to bring the right infrastructure to the global cell therapy industry, with another unique partnership here in Canada, signing an exclusive licensing agreement with Vancouver-based STEMCELL Technologies Inc., to develop and commercialize cGMP grade versions of STEMCELL’s T-Cell reagents for the isolation, activation, and culture of T-cells in clinical applications. Both parties say these reagents are critical tools in the development and manufacturing of cell and gene therapies intended for administration to patients. The following proprietary reagents from STEMCELL Technologies will be qualified as cGMP-grade materials and licensed by GE Healthcare:  ImmunoCult™ Human CD3/CD28 T-Cell Activator, ImmunoCult™ Human CD3/CD28/CD2 T-Cell Activator, EasySep™ Release Human CD3 Positive Selection Kit and the ImmunoCult™–XF T-Cell Expansion Medium. According to Allen Eaves, president and CEO of STEMCELL Technologies Inc. this partnership with GE will give STI customers the confidence of a path to the clinic with a suite of critical cGMP grade T-cell reagents as well as help the industry evolve and make these promising therapies, such as CAR-T cells and TCR-engineered T cells, a clinical reality. The agreement closely follows GE’s acquisition of Biosafe Group SA, as well as many other investments in the space to make available a turnkey, scalable, flexible manufacturing solution that will enable access to these critical therapies. With that we’ve come to the end of this week’s program. We hope you enjoyed it. A big thanks to our production manager Laskey Hart and the rest of the Biotechnology Focus team. You can find past episodes online at www.biotechnologyfocus.ca and we’re 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.