David Cayea

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥, 𝐌&𝐀 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬: BIOVECTRA 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 Agilent Technologies (𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲: $𝟵𝟮𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻) Biovectra is a leading CDMO based primarily out of Canada and has been owned by HIG Capital since 2019. Team there seems to have done a great job to grow and scale that business over the past 5 years. Minaris Regenerative Medicine 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 Altaris, LLC (𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲: 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱) Minaris, previously Hitachi ATS and prior to that PCT founded by Robert Preti in the late 90s. Actually one of the first Cell & Gene Therapy CDMOs - a move that helps Altaris move further into the CGT space. Dermavant Sciences 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 Organon (𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲: $𝟭.𝟮 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻) Dermavant, focused on developing and commercialising innovative therapeutics in dermatology, has been acquired by Organon. This acquisition seems to align nicely with their overall mission to meet unmet needs in skin health. Bain Capital 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 $𝟮𝟬𝟬 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 Serán BioScience Although not the Primary investor, Bain Capital has invested $200 million into Seran to support the build a new commercial facility in Bend, Oregon. Vivo Capital remains the majority shareholder of Seran. #Investment #LifeSciences #Insights

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INESSS, Quebec HTA, makes WRONG gene therapy recommendation. Twice, Quebec HTA INESSS has diverged from Canada’ Drug Agency HTA committee POSITIVE recommendations for gene therapies, Beqvez and Hemgenix, for treatment of haemophilia B. INESSS agrees safety and efficacy from clinical trials are acceptable. CDA assessing same data recommends drug plans fund while continuing to monitor. This is the right decision and hopefully will allow Canadian patients with haemophilia to have access and open door for gene therapies for other conditions Link to the article: https://lnkd.in/g4EfgG6a

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Dr. Nadege Pelletier, Chief Scientific Officer at Barinthus Biotherapeutics, shares her insights on the cutting-edge development of #immunotherapies targeting chronic #infectiousdiseases and #cancer. Dr. Pelletier delves into the innovative use of targeted antigens through Barinthus Bio's specialized platforms, highlighting the promising #VTP300 project in this exclusive Health and Pharma interview. Dr. Pelletier, discusses the challenges of #hepatitisB treatment despite existing vaccines and the potential of new therapeutic strategies to achieve a functional cure. #hepatitis #infection https://lnkd.in/ds5xsiEk

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Congratulation to Vertex Pharmaceuticals Health Canada Grants Marketing Authorization of First CRISPR/Cas9 Gene-Edited Therapy, CASGEVY® (Exagamglogene Autotemcel), for the Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease and Transfusion-Dependent Beta Thalassemia TORONTO, Sept. 25, 2024 /CNW/ - Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced Health Canada has granted Marketing Authorization for PrCASGEVY® (exagamglogene autotemcel), an autologous genome edited hematopoietic stem cell-based therapy, for the treatment of patients 12 years of age and older with sickle cell disease (SCD) with recurrent vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs) or transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia (TDT). There are an estimated 2,000 patients eligible for CASGEVY in Canada, the majority of whom are living with SCD. "Today's marketing authorization for CASGEVY as Canada's first CRISPR-based gene-editing therapy is a historic moment," said Michael Siauw, General Manager at Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Canada) Incorporated. "We are excited for the potential of this one-time therapy for eligible sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia patients and are working closely with provincial, territorial and federal governments to facilitate access as rapidly as possible." This approval is based on the positive interim results from two global and ongoing clinical trials, CLIMB-121 in SCD and CLIMB-111 in TDT. The primary endpoint of being free from severe VOCs for at least 12 consecutive months or transfusion independence for at least 12 consecutive months was met in both trials. The safety profile is generally consistent with myeloablative conditioning with busulfan and hematopoietic stem cell transplant. https://lnkd.in/e5HA9wzR

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FSD Pharma Submits a Clinical Trial Protocol to Study the Safety and Efficacy of unbuzzd™  in Acute Alcohol Intoxication. TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 28, 2024 / FSD Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:HUGE)(CSE:HUGE)(FRA:0K9A) ("FSD Pharma"), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to building a portfolio of innovative assets and biotech solutions to address ailments affecting millions worldwide, today confirms the submission of a clinical trial protocol to assess the safety and efficacy of Unbuzzd™ in healthy volunteers (METAL-2 trial). The clinical trial protocol was submitted for review and approval by the institutional review board (IRB) in the USA. Recruitment of healthy volunteers to the trial will begin following approval by the IRB. In the METAL-2 trial, the ability of Unbuzzd™ to help alleviate the effects of acute alcohol intoxication will be studied in a crossover design. "We are thrilled that we have reached this important milestone and that we are now a step closer to assessing the safety and efficacy of Unbuzzd™ in a clinical trial," said Dr. Andrzej Chruscinski, Vice-President of Clinical and Scientific Affairs at FSD Pharma. FSD Pharma is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to building a portfolio of innovative assets and biotech solutions for the treatment of challenging neurodegenerative and metabolic disorders and alcohol misuse disorders with drug candidates in different stages of development. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Lucid Psycheceuticals Inc. ("Lucid"), FSD is focused on the research and development of its lead compound, Lucid-MS (formerly Lucid-21-302) ("Lucid-MS"). Lucid-MS is a patented new chemical entity shown to prevent and reverse myelin degradation, the underlying mechanism of multiple sclerosis, in preclinical models. FSD Pharma has also licensed unbuzzd™, a proprietary formulation of natural ingredients, vitamins, and minerals to help with liver and brain function for the purposes of quickly relieving individuals from the effects of alcohol consumption for use in the consumer recreational sector, to Celly Nutrition Corp. ("Celly Nu") and is entitled to a royalty on the revenue generated by Celly Nu from sales of products created using the technology rights granted under the licensing agreement. FSD Pharma continues its R&D activities to develop novel formulations for alcohol misuse disorders and continues the development of such treatments for use in the healthcare sector. FSD Pharma maintains a portfolio of strategic investments through its wholly-owned subsidiary, FSD Strategic Investments Inc., which represent loans secured by residential or commercial property. #unbuzzd #beverage #alcohol #inebriation #drinking #clinicaltrial #safety #shareholders #update #markets #business #nasdaq #cse #tsx #nyse Zeeshan Saeed Anthony Durkacz Lakshmi P. Kotra Gerry David John Duffy - MBA Dr. Eric Hoskins Zappy Zapolin Sanjiv Chopra Kevin Harrington Ashwini Joshi Dr. Andrzej Chruscinski Eric Rojas + more

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The Pandemic was a real education to Canada, and it's reliance on technologies and companies outside this country. When push came to shove, and the world was competitng for valuable resources to test for Covid, Canada was left out in the cold (literally). We had no access to extraction technologies, and no vaccine capabilities ourselves. DMark Biosciences played a pivotal role in supplying Canada with RNA extraction instrumentation and kits. Our partners of Revvity, MolGen, and Complete Genomics provided instrumentation and kits throughout Canada, where traditional suppliers refused to sell to Canada. Now that Canada is gearing up its vaccine response for the next pandemic, @DMark is here to help again. We have partnered with L7 Informatics for over a decade providing the best Enterprise Science platform available on the planet to manage the data required to enable biomanufacturing. This webinar will help you learn how L7/ESP will speed the time to market for Drugs from development to commercialization, Reduce costs and improve operational efficiencies, and provide a single source of truth for scientific data and process management throughout the product lifecycle management. Whether your field is protein, genomics, multi-omics, research, diagnostics, development or manufacturing, L7 will provide huge value for your scientific life sciences data management.

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Korro will be participating in the 20th Annual Meeting of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society, which will take place in Montreal from October 6-9.   Venkat Krishnamurthy, Ph.D., our Senior Vice President, Head of Platform, will deliver a presentation on KRRO-110, targeting alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (#AATD).   Oral Presentation Details: Title: KRRO-110, an RNA Editing Oligonucleotide For The Treatment Of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD) When: Monday, October 7, 3:20 PM ET   We’re also proud to share two poster presentations by our scientists:   Agya Karki, Ph.D. will present on the purification of human ADAR for evaluating oligo-directed RNA editing (Poster #P133).   Zhiji Ren, Ph.D. will discuss on-target and off-target behaviors of RNA editing oligonucleotides using ADAR1 chimeric eCLIP (Poster #P228).   Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ef2FRJaX #OTS2024 #OligoMeeting #OligoTherapeutics #Oligonucleotide #RNAEditing

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#BioPort Atlantic is Atlantic Canada’s largest life sciences summit ⚗️💉💊 bringing together #stakeholders from across the region to explore opportunities, foster #collaboration, and drive #innovation within the life sciences sector. Bounce is happy to share that our Director, Andy Fisher, will join other esteemed experts on the exciting BioConnect Panel taking place on Wednesday, September 18. Here the panel will discuss how to work with #healthcare systems by providing practical strategies for #Canadian healthcare companies. 💭What are some topics you'd like covered during the panel? Life Sciences Nova Scotia #BioPortAtlantic2024 #BioPort #HealthTech #AtlanticCanada

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🚨 Exciting Announcement! 🚨 Tomorrow in Vancouver, BC our CEO will share a unique perspective on the connection between economic indicators and R&D—and their influence on the development of precision medicine solutions. How can micro and macroeconomic data at the provincial and national levels accelerate innovation and the implementation of precision medicine in oncology? Join us as we explore this critical question. Stay tuned for insights that could redefine how we innovate in healthcare! #PrecisionMedicine #OncologyInnovation #R&D #EconomicIndicators #HealthcareEconomics #InnovationAccelerated #AmpliusBusinessDesign

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🚀 Montréal-based Nomic Bio has secured a massive $42M Series B funding to expand its cutting-edge protein mapping platform! With their technology already in use by over 75 companies, Nomic is set to revolutionize drug development and disease diagnosis. This latest round of investment will help Nomic broaden its platform offerings and boost its commercial operations. Exciting times ahead for the biotech world! What are your thoughts on the future of protein profiling in healthcare? Let us know in the comments below! 💬👇 #Biotech #Healthcare #Innovation #StartupNews #MontrealTech #SeriesB #TechForGood #Startup

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Welcome to Ability Biologics as they join the BIOTECanada's innovative network of companies and organizations driving Canada’s biotech industry forward. Ability Biologics is the premier cell targeting company. Its powerful AbiLeap™ discovery engine combines massively parallel, continuously learning AI with an extensive database of antigen-antibody interactions to generate fully human, IgG-based multi-specific antibodies of exquisite selectivity and affinity. The antibodies respond to environmental signals within the cellular microenvironment, generating logic-gated therapeutics. Ability is dedicated to developing the most potent and selective antibody therapeutics for areas of great unmet need. To learn more visit: https://lnkd.in/gTHYwdje For a full list of BIOTECanada members, visit: https://lnkd.in/dvc8X94n   #newmember #biotechnology #canada #biotech #ecosystem #innovation #Quebec #AI #antibody #cell

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This year’s ESACT was a great snapshot of a rapidly evolving cell and gene therapy (CGT) industry. Our experts Andrea Vervoort, Keara Sutherland, and Oliver Varette highlight 3 standout conference insights: ✔ The need for viral vectors is expected to continue to grow. This necessitates efficient and economical manufacturing methods to meet rising demand while also being mindful of environmental footprints. ✔ Industry leveraging AI/ML to model and optimize manufacturing processes, predict optimal outcomes and improve efficiency. Marinna Madrid, presented an AI/ML model for the automated production of stem cells for personalized regenerative cell therapies. There is also an emphasis on curating datasets and minimizing data silos within organizations. ✔ An excellent talk by Cath Green highlighted the benefits of providing robust biomanufacturing capabilities to academics. This enables important research to reach clinical trials, which is crucial for scenarios such as pandemics. Integrating industry and academia is pivotal for accelerating innovative therapies. Ultimately, CGT manufacturing is undeniably complex, and industry and academia collaboration is the cornerstone for the CGT sector to take transformative strides. #biomanufacturing #ESACT2024 #innovation

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Radiant Biotherapeutics Secures $35M to Advance Therapeutic Platform for Life-threatening Diseases Radiant Biotherapeutics, a Toronto-based pre-clinical biotechnology startup developing an advanced antibody platform to offer life-changing therapies for patients with life-threatening diseases, has secured $35 million in Series A funding round to fuel growth and advance its platform for clinics. Led by Art Fratamico and Jo Hulme, the company’s platform offers diverse biologics to help fight difficult-to-treat illnesses such as infectious diseases, auto-immune, and cancer, allowing healthcare professionals to unlock cures for patients. The funding round was led by Amplitude Ventures and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with significant contributions from BDC Capital, the investment wing of the Business Development Bank of Canada, and abrdn Inc.’s managed @abrdn. Existing investors Alexandria Venture Investments, Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP), and FACIT also joined the round. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gV_kpZfm #fundingnews #FundingOpportunity #StartupFunding #StartupSuccess #HealthcareNews #HealthcareFunding #nextdigitalhealth #Wi4 #vineetagrawal

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Members of the Nanoscope Therapeutics Inc. leadership team will participate in one-on-one meetings with investors at the 2024 Leerink Partners Biopharma Private Company Connect, being held virtually on June 25-26, 2024. Participating will be CEO & Co-Founder Sulagna Bhattacharya, President & Co-Founder Samarendra Mohanty, Chief Medical Officer Samuel B Barone, MD, CFO Michael Marquez and VP Strategy & Business Development Jared Stephens. Nanoscope Therapeutics is developing gene-agnostic, sight-restoring optogenetic therapies for the millions of patients blinded by inherited retinal diseases, for which no cure exists. The company’s lead asset, MCO-010, recently announced the 100-week data from the RESTORE Phase 2b/3 multicenter, randomized, double-masked, sham-controlled clinical trial in the U.S. for retinitis pigmentosa (NCT04945772). The company has also recently completed the Phase 2 STARLIGHT trial of MCO-010 therapy in patients with Stargardt disease (NCT05417126 ). MCO-010 has received FDA fast-track designations and FDA orphan drug designations for both retinitis pigmentosa and Stargardt disease. Preclinical assets include non-viral laser-delivered MCO-020 gene therapy for geographic atrophies secondary to AMD. For more information visit nanostherapeutics.com #biotechnology #ophthalmology #genetherapy https://lnkd.in/gJkhm4d3

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Certainly, it is a great honour to be recognized by Canada's Drug Agency. But I think it is very important to recognize the two key elements which created the possibility of this award. One: I am very fortunate to be the proxy representing member companies who have strongly endorsed and supported BIOTECanada's constructive and proactive approach to public policy development. Two: as an industry, we can be constructive and positive, but without an equally engaged partner on the other side, we can achieve very little. In this context, this award is also a recognition of the Canada's Drug Agency team's constructiveness and openness. With two equally engaged and constructive parties, significant advancements in healthcare for Canadians can be produced. This is the important win.

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The field of ALS research is witnessing an exciting breakthrough with Tofersen, a new therapy aimed at patients with SOD1 gene mutations. Our latest article article explores how Tofersen could revolutionize the treatment landscape for ALS, particularly in Canada, where the potential for genetic testing and personalized medicine is just beginning to unfold. For healthcare professionals, researchers, and anyone touched by ALS, understanding these developments is crucial. Let’s push the boundaries of what’s possible in ALS care and work together towards a future where this disease is no longer a death sentence. Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3WN2DrA #Tofersen #GeneticTesting #EndALS #ALSResearch #ALSActionCanada

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𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚 𝐋𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐃𝐂 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐤 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 After a significant collaboration that began with a $100 million deal in December 2021, ArriVent BioPharma is now officially licensing an innovative antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) from Aarvik Therapeutics. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬: • Aarvik was responsible for the discovery and preclinical development, while ArriVent was set to take over at the human trials stage. • Though the exact upfront payment was not disclosed, Aarvik stands to gain up to $100 million, including research funding, option fees, milestone payments, and potential royalties. • The drug, based on Aarvik’s unique modular platform, is a next-generation ADC designed to advance oncology treatments. “Our advanced protein engineering technologies and ADC drug development expertise are paving the way for next-generation, best-in-class oncology therapies,” said Jagath Reddy Junutula, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Aarvik. ArriVent also recently 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 $175 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐏𝐎 and remains focused on bringing innovative drugs from China to Western markets, including securing rights to Allist Pharmaceuticals' EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor furmonertinib in 2021. Stay tuned for the updates on this collaboration. #Biotech #Oncology #ADC #DrugDevelopment #PharmaNews

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