021_Theratechnologies Bid Denied, AmorChem KNOCK OUT, & New Commercialization Hub in Sarnia-Lambton

Biotechnology Focus Podcast

Our first story takes us to Southwestern Ontario, where the government of Ontario and Bioindustrial Innovation Canada have partnered to launch a new commercialization hub in Sarnia-Lambton As part of the partnership, the Government of Ontario says it will invest $3 million over four years through the Business Growth Initiative to help build the Centre of

Excellence for the Commercialization of Sustainable Chemistry Innovations at the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park, Canada’s largest clean-tech incubator. The new centre will focus on bridging critical gaps and addressing commercialization challenges facing the industrial biotechnology and manufacturing sectors, including developing expertise, forging commercial partnerships, and accessing risk-capital to help bring discoveries and technologies from the lab to the marketplace. The good news goes further as its expected that 400 high-value jobs will be created at the new site. The region is known for its Biomanufacturing prowess, turning sustainable feedstock — renewable resources such as agricultural and forestry by-products and wastes — into energy, value-added chemicals and materials for use in a variety of everyday products such as plastics, personal care products, automotive parts and food additives. The use of plant-derived chemicals and bio-manufacturing processes can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions when compared to conventional petroleum based production methods. One example of a successful company in this space is BioAmber, a sustainable chemical company in Sarnia that produces plant-derived succinic acid and is able to achieve a 100 per cent reduction in GHGs over conventional methods. Similarly, EcoSynthetix, a Burlington-based renewable chemicals company produces paper coatings while cutting GHG emissions by 63 per cent compared to the norm. The funding for the new centre was previously announced as part of this year’s provincial budget.

In regulatory news coming out of Quebec, the Government there, through its Ministry of Health has denied Theratechnologies bid to have EGRIFTA®, an injectable prescription medicine to reduce the excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected patients with lipodystrophy, added to a list of reimbursed medications. Company CEO and president Luc Tanguay called the decision by the province, which also happens to be the province where EGRIFTA® was discovered, regretful.

“The government is sending a message that supporting research is not a priority,” he said via a release adding that it is quite paradoxical that, after supporting the development of EGRIFTA® through tax credits, the Quebec government will not accept to reimburse it.” The decision, made by the Quebec Minister of Health, Gaétan Barrette, was based on a recommendation by the Institut National d’Excellence en Santé et Services Sociaux(INESSS). Theratechnologies submitted to INESSS a comprehensive dossier which included data that led to public and private reimbursement by a large number of governmental agencies and insurers in Canada and in the United States. INESSS concluded that the decrease of visceral adipose tissue in HIV patients does not constitute a therapeutic advantage. Nevertheless, INESSS did recognize the efficacy EGRIFTA® and the quality of its clinical studies. In response, Theratechnologies did say that despite the decision, they will continue to work with the Ministry and INESSS, and that they will submit to INESSS, within the prescribed timelines, a request for a revision of their decision.

In Cancer Research News, the Movember Foundation, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) and Prostate Cancer Canada are providing $3 million in funding for a new Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate if magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can replace the current standard of care to diagnose prostate cancer. The trial, called PRECISE, will be led by Dr. Laurence Klotz of the Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto, a world leader in the field of prostate cancer research and in the global adoption of active surveillance, a standard practice to monitor patients with low risk prostate cancer. The primary objective of the multi-centre trial is to determine whether MRI imaging can spare some men from undergoing a biopsy and avoid the possible associated side effects. Dr. Klotz discusses the PRECISE TRIAL in the following audio...

Data management and analysis for the trial will be conducted by the Ontario Clinical Oncology Group (OCOG) in the Escarpment Cancer Research Institute, a Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University institute.

Earlier this month, five contenders of the third AmorChem KNOCK OUT™ competition climbed into the ring at a special Lumira-AmorChem hosted event to duke it out against a panel of Heavyweight Champions, or judges for a chance to win a coveted $500,000 financing from AmorChem. All the contenders displayed remarkable courage and agility in the ring, yet only one could stand victorious. In the end, Dr. Anne-Marie Mes-Masson, CRCHUM scientific director at the Institut du cancer de Montréal, for her project focused on the development of small molecule inhibitors of the Ran GTPase, was named the champion. The panel of “champion” judges included: Richard Lesniewski, a pharmaceutical industry veteran formerly from Abbott (AbbVie), GlaxoSmithKline and Madison Vaccines; John Gillard, science entrepreneur formerly from Merck Canada, BioChem Pharma and Aegera Therapeutics; John Bell, scientist-entrepreneur from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the University of Ottawa; and Lloyd Segal, best known as a serial biotech entrepreneur and investor at Persistence Capital Partners and Trimera Capital. Christopher Hall, a renowned radio and newspaper columnist and comedian, was the master of ceremony. Both Elizabeth Douvile and Ines Holzbaur,, general partners at AmorChem which we’ve highlighted in past podacast shows called the competition a success, achieving its goal of increasing the Quebec and Canadian research communities’ awareness of AmorChem and in reaching out to researchers who may not have been aware of the possibility of commercializing aspects of their work.

Among the other competitors were: Dr. John Coles, University of Toronto & Dr. Jason Maynes, The Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto; Dr. Julie Forman Kay, The Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto & Dr. Nahum Sonenberg, McGill University; Dr. Réjean Lapointe, Université de Montréal and CRCHUM & Dr. Sophie Lerouge, École de technologie supérieure and CRCHUM; and Dr. Moutih Rafei, Université de Montréal.

The Lumira-AmorChem conference also highlighted the respective roles of the two venture capital groups in the financing of the life sciences sector, and included presentations from Lumira Capital portfolio companies and from AmorChem’s first spin-off company, Mperia.

Our final stories this week come out of Ottawa where the Government of Canada had two announcements related to supporting Canada’s science community. The first saw Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, launch an independent review of federal funding for fundamental science, to assess the program machinery that is currently in place to support science and scientists in Canada. The scope of the review includes the three granting councils along with certain federally funded organizations such as the Canada Foundation for Innovation. The review will be led by an independent panel of distinguished research leaders and innovators including Dr. David Naylor, former president of the University of Toronto and chair of the panel. Other panelists include: Dr. Robert Birgeneau, former chancellor, University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Martha Crago, Vice-President, Research, Dalhousie University, Mike Lazaridis, co-founder, Quantum Valley Investments, Dr. Claudia Malacrida, Associate Vice-President, Research, University of Lethbridge, Dr. Art McDonald, former director of the Sudbury Neutrino Laboratory, Nobel

Laureate, Dr. Martha Piper, interim president, University of British Columbia, Dr. Rémi Quirion, Chief Scientist, Quebec, Dr. Anne Wilson, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Successful Societies Fellow and professor of psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University

The panel will spend the next six months seeking input from the research community and Canadians on how to optimize support for fundamental science in Canada. The panel will also survey international best practices for funding science and examine whether emerging researchers face barriers that prevent them from achieving career goals. In addition to collecting input from the research community, the panel will also invite Canadians to participate in the review through an online consultation.

In further Canadian Science Policy news Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, has put forward a new Innovation Agenda . Jointly with Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan, and, Minister of Small Business and Tourism Bardish Chagger, the initiative or Agenda will aim at building an inclusive and innovative Canada focused on six areas for action: including promoting an entrepreneurial and creative society, supporting global science excellence, building world-leading clusters and partnerships, growing companies and accelerating clean growth, competing in a digital world and improving ease of doing business.

These six action areas, which form the Innovation Agenda, will be the focus of a summer-longperiod of public engagement that will result in an action plan. Central to this plan will be a call to action to all sectors of society. Minister Bains invited all Canadians to share their ideas on the Agenda, and should watch for the launch of an interactive website that will allow them to offer their suggestions on positioning Canada as a global leader in innovation. In addition, round-table discussions will take place across the country.

That wraps up this weeks show, be sure to You can find us online at www.biotechnologyfocus.ca and follow us on twitter @BiotechFocus check out our latest issue on our website!