NC State BTEC’s Post

Day 3 at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization's annual conference! Yesterday our British Columbia Showcase put a spotlight on what makes our sector stand out and why we are making national news. Watch our sector snapshot video for some of the highlights. - We are home to Canada's largest life sciences companies STEMCELL Technologies StarFish Medical Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., to list a few. - Our sector has experienced double digit growth in recent years. - Biotech has attracted >US $13B in private investment over the past decade. - 20% of all Canadian spin-outs are from UBC. - The BC government invests heavily and identifies life sciences as a priority sector. - We are building infrastructure and developing talent to support our growth including in biomanufacturing and clinical trials. - Research innovation is a driving force with technologies developed and commercialized here. For example, we are home to lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology that was a key constituent of early vaccines against COVID-19, and has multiple therapeutic applications. Thanks to support from Pacific Economic Development Canada | Développement économique Canada pour le Pacifique and the BC Provincial Government for helping us to profile BC at #BIO2024 and to biofilm MEDIA for the great work on this video. Wendy Hurlburt Ryan Butt

🎆 Big congratulations to Associate Professor Marco van de Weert on receiving funding from Independent Research Fund Denmark (DFF), 3.155.419 DKK for his project, ”Controlled Microglassification for Therapeutic Proteins”. 🎆 💉 In this project, Marco will investigate how therapeutic proteins that are normally administered by injections can be dispersed in the injection fluid in a more efficient way than today. Some proteins can only be produced as solid materials, because they are unstable in watery solutions over a longer period. 💧 Instead of a process where the solid material is added to a watery solution and then given as injection, the researchers will develop a non-watery fluid containing very small particles (<70 μm), as a solution to keep the protein in its active form over time. To achieve this, Marco will investigate a process called microglassification, a process that can create particles of size needed. 👉 The team will also examine how the production processes will affect the structure of the proteins, how this will affect the biological effect, how the particles will develop when stored and if these solutions can be injected. 👉 Marco is part of the research group Drug Delivery and Biophysics of Biopharmaceuticals here at Department of Pharmacy. #proteins #Career #dkforsk #kbhuni

#ICIQSeminar | 🙌Thank you Prof. Ana Martínez from CIB-CSIC for delivering a seminar about moving a drug from the research laboratory bench to the pharmacy shelf 💊 Not all molecules are drug candidates. This is a pure substance that possess a biological action which may be used or may be not used for therapeutic uses. However, not all drug candidates become a drug medicine, a “pharmaceutical form” constituted of one or more active principles. (https://lnkd.in/dmHC3Crs)   🐁 Prof. Martínez explained the implementation of basic biological assays in the laboratory, as pure molecules with defined chemical structure can be converted into drugs after showing biological activity. (https://lnkd.in/dRw2ks2a)   🧠 Prof. Martínez presented the case study of S14 development, a small molecule described as potential treatments for neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis or Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. (https://lnkd.in/djXgAH-J) 🔵 Also thanks to our seminar sponsor BASF ICERCA - Centres de Recerca de Catalunya | SOMM Alliance | Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST)

In SRI's Biosciences Division, we work to develop next-generation drugs, diagnostics, and technologies to solve urgent medical needs. We're a unique blend of academic and biotech environments with three focus areas — basic research, applied sciences, and translational development. “Because we’re a nonprofit with a mission to make the world a better place, there’s a lot of flexibility in the types of projects we can pursue. We can do earlier stage research that may have higher impact without as much emphasis on the bottom line. And when we collaborate with pharmaceutical companies, it’s truly a co-development process — sharing expertise and innovating together.” said division president Kathlynn Brown. Learn more about us: https://lnkd.in/ejPZDXVz #drugdevelopment #precisionmedicine #biomedical

>> New grant A significant milestone: together with our partners of the FASS – Fast and Accurate Solubility for Sustainability project, we were awarded the prestigious EIC Transition grant amounting € 2.5 M.   This highly competitive grant is a direct follow-up to our previous ERC Proof of concept grant. Its aim is to bring to the market our laboratory instrument for the measurement of the solubility of drug molecules. 🔬 💊   Our consortium is led by EU-OPENSCREEN, the European research infrastructure for early drug discovery and chemical biology. It includes also the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz FHNW and ALPhANOV. We are excited to work with this excellent team!   The project is funded by the European Commission 🇪🇺 and the Secrétariat d’Etat à la formation, à la recherche et à l’innovation SEFRI🇨🇭. We would like to thank the Euresearch team, especially Eva Servoli, for their tremendous help during and after the application process.   If you want to know more, send us a message! 📨   #solubility #laboratoryinstrument #grant #sustainability #pharmaceutical

***EUbOPEN opens its gates to a library of chemical compounds*** Enabling and unlocking biology in the OPEN (#EUbOPEN), a project of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), is an international consortium which is lead by Prof. Dr. Stefan Knapp from the Goethe-Universität Frankfurt. The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) recognized EUbOPEN as a research highlight in its new brochure “IHI 2023 In Focus“. When developing new medicines, scientists aim to understand the underlying causes of #diseases. To achieve this, they study the role of different #proteins involved in the disease process. This requires chemical compounds that can alter or block the action of individual proteins. By the end of 2023, the EUbOPEN Gateway provided scientists with access to a library of 2300 precisely annotated chemical compounds covering approximately 850 different proteins. The EUbOPEN team’s goal is to create the largest and most deeply characterized open collection of #chemical modulators for protein function. Additionally, 88 high-quality probe compounds, co-developed by academics and #pharmaceutical industries, are now available to the global scientific community. These initiatives empower researchers in academia and industry to design #drugs that target specific disease-related proteins and enhance our understanding of disease mechanisms. You will find further information here: https://lnkd.in/dhu5YA6y

Can Singapore become a global hub for biotech? With government support and strong academic institutions, does Singapore have what it takes to become a global centre for life sciences? DDW’s Diana Spencer explores how the country is turning pioneering science into a successful biotech industry. https://lnkd.in/gWhpbgHz #Biotech #Singapore #LifeSciences

🤝🔬 Today at CPHI in Milan, Paola Vella – Head of Technology Transfer at Humanitas Research Hospital and Humanitas University, participated in a panel discussing how to bring academia’s technological insights into biomanufacturing processes and strategies. "The future of biomanufacturing and therapeutic innovation will emerge from the growing cooperation and cross-fertilization between the pharmaceutical industry and academia. Fostering this cooperation should be a shared mission across the Italian life science network: we need the industry to engage with frontier science, and scientists to be informed by entrepreneurial culture." Moderated by Felice Lopane – Life Science Head and Managing Director at Assolombarda and at Cluster lombardo scienze della vita, the panel also featured Daniela Ubiali – Associate Professor of Fermentation Chemistry and Biotechnology at Università di Pavia; Rosa Maria Moresco – Full Professor of In Vitro Molecular Imaging and Radiopharmaceutical Development at Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca; Maria Pia Abbracchio – Full Professor of Pharmacology at the Università degli Studi di Milano. 🚀 Together, we can drive innovation by merging cutting-edge research with an entrepreneurial mindset. Let’s keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible in life sciences! #HumanitasResearch #Hunimed #PharmaInnovation #LifeSciences

Dear Connections! "World Science Day 2019" marked a significant moment during my bachelor's journey, as I had the privilege to present our team's pioneering hypotheses at the scientific poster presentation competition. Focused on 'New Hypotheses for Breakthrough Innovations in Drug Discovery', the event exemplified the importance of collaboration and innovation in advancing pharmaceutical research. Reflecting on this milestone, I'm reminded of the transformative power of scientific inquiry and its impact on shaping our future. It underscores our commitment to driving scientific progress even during my undergraduate years. Let's continue to honor the spirit of discovery and excellence in scientific endeavor, inspiring the next generation of innovators and problem solvers. Together, we pave the way for a brighter, healthier future. #ThrowbackThursday #WorldScienceDay #DrugDiscovery #Innovation #ScientificResearch"

#DrugDiscovery Bina - Bridge Innovate Nurture Advance Launched a New Track for Drug Discovery. We announce the launch of a new track for drug discovery at Bina. This initiative aims to bring together Weizmann Institute of Science scientists and world-class experts from the #pharmaceutical and #drug development industries, as well as #clinical practice. Harnessing Weizmann’s deep and innovative basic science research into the discovery of #disease #mechanisms and #molecular and #cellular pathways can lead to the development of new targets and #therapeutic agents. We would like to thank our SAB committee for their significant contribution: Isaac Kohlberg from Harvard University, Aya Jakobovits; Opher Shapira, CEO of YEDA - Technology Transfer Company of Weizmann Institute of Science and Irit Sagi, VP Innovation and Technolgy Transfer at the Weizmann Institute. #Innovation #DrugDiscovery #BiomedicalResearch #TranslationalScience #WeizmannInstitute #Bina Sharon Fireman, Merav Marom, Hezi Sztainberg, Ph.D., Opher Shapira, Elik Chapnik, Yael Klionsky, Reut Magor, Orel Yaverbaum, Irit Sagi