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Setting eyes on new heights: cDRD announces first-ever cohort of their Executive institute
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Feldan Therapeutics closes a $12.5 million Series A financing round led by GC, with the participation of Stonebridge Ventures, a South Korean investor, Anges Québec Capital, including members of Anges Québec, and existing investors. Feldan is focused on the development of its pipeline of therapeutic applications based on the Feldan Shuttle, its proprietary peptide-based intracellular delivery technology.
The platform has been successfully used on several cell types – including human primary cells which are the center of most cell therapies – and allowed the delivery of nucleases, transcription factors, and antibodies. The Shuttle can overcome delivery obstacles in the context of therapeutic use by providing a safe and efficient approach that alleviates manipulation complexity and that is associated with low regulatory burden.
Feldan Therapeutics’ mission is to develop regenerative medicine therapeutic applications based on the Feldan Shuttle platform. Feldan Therapeutics has generated a pipeline of clinical applications delineated in two distinct programs, the Natural Killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy and intracellular antibody delivery, that take advantage of the unique characteristics of the Shuttle.
The Feldan Shuttle enables highly efficient delivery of proteins and peptides inside mammalian cells, both in vivo and ex vivo. Proceeds from the current financing round will support preclinical work that will enable the transfer of the technology to clinical trials.
“Our team is thrilled to work with investors and collaborators who share our belief that intracellular delivery of proteins is the future of medicine,” says Francois-Thomas Michaud, chief executive officer and cofounder of Feldan. “We are also delighted to extend our relationship with key partners who will support us in bringing the Feldan Shuttle to clinical trial”.
GC is a long-time leader in South Korean public health and is a world-class stakeholder in the biopharmaceutical industry. This strategic investment complements the current collaboration between the GC group and Feldan in the development of NK cell-based therapeutics. “We believe that the Feldan Shuttle has the potential to accelerate the development of next-generation therapies”, says Yong Jun Huh, the chief executive officer of GC. “As a long-term strategic investor, we are very excited to make an investment in this potentially groundbreaking technology and best-in-class management team”.
To see this story online visit https://biotechnologyfocus.ca/feldantherapeutics-closes-12-5-million-series-afinancing-round/
CDRD Academy ExecutiveInstitue Group
The Centre for Drug Research and Development, Canada’s national life sciences venture, announces the first cohort of the CDRD Academy’s Executive Institute.
Earlier this year, CDRD and Pfizer Canada announced the launch of the Executive Institute under the umbrella of The CDRD Academy. The Institute is a 10-month, focused executive development program open to a limited number of senior-level life sciences professionals annually. It was made possible by a $1M contribution by Pfizer Canada.
After reviewing dozens of applications from across Canada, the Adjudication Committee has selected a cohort of diverse, talented, and forward-thinking individuals that is gender balanced, and represents a variety of personal and professional backgrounds.
“The core of any business is people and supporting and growing our pool of highly-qualified personnel is critical to drive
‘’The CDRD Executive Institute is off to a very strong start,’’ says John Helou, president, Pfizer Canada. ‘’This first cohort of life science executives exemplifies the type of leaders needed for the industry to reach its full potential. We are pleased to help meet the development needs expressed by life sciences industry stakeholders across the country, and to be able to count on the leadership of CDRD to implement concrete measures that will increase the innovative skill level of this vital industry. We are confident that the tailored training and coaching will contribute to the success of many life science organizations in Canada, which is critical for the development of new treatments for unmet medical needs’’.
This course offers a unique opportunity that will further the life sciences community within Canada and potentially bring the sector and consequently, the economy to new heights. The first face-to-face session will happen in Vancouver September 12-13, 2018, with additional workshops to be held in Montreal and Toronto throughout the Winter and Spring 2019.
Canada’s health sciences sector,” says Gordon C. McCauley, president and CEO of CDRD. “Through the CDRD Academy’s Post-Graduate and Undergraduate Institutes, we have seen tremendous success over the past 10 years in helping high-potential scientists be more commercially minded. But, with the addition of the Executive Institute to the CDRD Academy, we are now extending our work to also help high-potential business people lead Canada’s science-based businesses of tomorrow; and ensure Canada has the management talent it needs to lead the life sciences world.”
The CDRD Executive Institute program is delivered in collaboration with the not-forprofit Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). The program has been custom-designed and aims to combine researched and proven best practices/principles with targeted industry topics to take participants on a leadership journey. It will blend in-depth assessments, workshops, simulations, challenging assignments and executive coaching.
To see this story online visit https://biotechnologyfocus.ca/ setting-eyes-on-new-heights-cdrdannounces-first-ever-cohort-of-theirexecutive-institute/
MaRS and UofT to open a new waterfront innovation centre in Toronto
MaRS Discovery District, together with its partner the University of Toronto, are in the final stages of securing a lease with Menkes Developments Ltd. for a new 24,000-squarefoot hub at Toronto’s Waterfront Innovation Centre. Already under construction, the Waterfront Innovation Centre will create critically needed office space for Toronto’s fast-growing innovation community near the city’s flourishing Discovery District.
“As Toronto becomes a destination for global talent, venture capital and tech corporations, demand for space is at an all-time high. It’s imperative that we develop new innovative and entrepreneurial hubs in communities across the city,” says Yung Wu, CEO of MaRS. “The Waterfront Innovation Centre is the next destination for the city’s growing innovation sector — one that will further solidify Toronto’s standing as a premier tech centre.”
The Waterfront Innovation Centre is planned to open in 2021 and will be developed by Menkes in partnership with Waterfront Toronto. It will create approximately 400,000 square feet of commercial space and potentially accommodate 3,000 workers.
“The University of Toronto is excited to partner with MaRS to help expand Toronto’s rapidly growing startup scene on the city’s waterfront,” says Meric Gertler, UofT president. “It’s a winning combination — MaRS’s world-class suite of innovation programming and expert support for entrepreneurship with the incredible depth and range at U of T.”
“Toronto is experiencing its lowest commercial vacancy rate ever (three per cent), making the city the most sought after market in North America,” Wu says. “Our startups and partners need more space to scale, and this new development is the ideal location for that growth.”
Designed by Toronto’s Sweeny &Co Architects Inc., the Waterfront Innovation Centre will offer high-speed broadband networking (fuelled in part by self-generating solar power), floor-to-ceiling windows and expansive collaboration spaces. The building is also adjacent to Canada’s Sugar Beach and near Sidewalk Labs’s proposed Quayside neighbourhood.
MaRS will be in the HIVE tower and will provide programming and collaborative working space for scaling startups. The Waterfront Innovation Centre is MaRS and UofT’s second real estate partnership. Their first was the MaRS West Tower in 2015. The 780,000-square-foot tower is more than 99.8 per cent full and is currently home to more than 50 startups, as well as companies such as PayPal, Autodesk and the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence.
To see this story online visit https://biotechnologyfocus.ca/marsand-uoft-to-open-a-new-waterfront-innovation-centre-in-toronto/
Replicel and yoFoTo receive all approvals to complete collaborative investment
Vancouver-based RepliCel Life Sciences Inc., a regenerative medicine company developing next-generation technologies in aesthetics and orthopedics, receives the conditional approval required to complete the investment that is part of a previously announced collaboration agreement with YOFOTO focused on commercialization of select RepliCel products in Greater China.
YOFOTO, (China) Health Industry Co. Ltd., has received all the approvals from the Chinese regulatory authorities required to finalize the transaction.
With the required approvals in place, the parties expect to close the investment portion of the Transaction shortly allowing them to then immediately and actively launch their strategic partnership in Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) and RepliCel’s next stage of activity outside of Asia.
The investment portion of the Transaction is a CDN $5,090,000 purchase of common shares at CDN $0.95 per share and will include 20 per cent warrant coverage exercisable at CDN $0.95 per share for a period of two years. The deal structure also includes milestone payments, sales royalties, and a commitment by YOFOTO to finance, over the next five years, the included RepliCel programs and an associated cell processing manufacturing facility in Greater China.
RepliCel believes aesthetic and orthopedic conditions affect approximately one in three people in industrialized nations, including aging/sun-damaged skin, pattern baldness, and chronic tendon degeneration. These conditions, often associated with aging, are caused by a deficit of healthy cells required for normal tissue healing and function.
Additionally, YOFOTO will collaborate with RepliCel on the further development and commercialization of RepliCel’s tendon regeneration cell therapy (RCT-01), skin rejuvenation cell therapy (RCS-01), and its injection technology for dermal applications (RCI-02) (excluding hair-related treatments) in Greater China.
“This investment represents a positive valuation of RepliCel by a commercially successful company having performed significant due diligence,” states RepliCel president and CEO, R. Lee Buckler. “We are very excited about what we have put in place while awaiting the completion of this transaction. Upon the closing of the investment, shareholders should expect to see RepliCel’s programs and activity gain significant momentum over the coming months with a particular focus on bringing its medical device to market. We will provide shareholders with more details on what this means in a comprehensive update as soon as the transaction has closed.”
To see this story online visit https://biotechnologyfocus.ca/repliceland-yofoto-receive-all-approvals-tocomplete-collaborative-investment/
