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WORKING TOGETHER
The official signing of a new Global Alliance that CDRD co-founded alongside five other top translational health research centres from around the world. Photo credit: CDRD
canada leads the Way
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in Bringing the translational research World together
As the costs and risks associated with bringing new drugs or other therapeutic products to market become greater and greater, the various players (including government, academic institutions and granting agencies, translational research organizations, foundations and industry) are looking for new avenues to come together to fill the gaps in the development continuum and effectively de-risk early-stage technologies.
As such, a multitude of translational research initiatives and organizations are being established around the world, working to develop academic health research into new medicines. And until now, these organizations have for the most part, been doing so in isolation of one another.
On January 21 at an event hosted in London, UK. by His Excellency Gordon Campbell, Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, and former Premier of British Columbia, an announcement was made to change all that. Six of the world’s top translational health research
centres, led by Canada’s Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), announced they have come together to form a new Global Alliance of Leading Drug Discovery and Development Centres. The aim of this alliance is to strengthen the international academic and/or not-for-profit drug development and commercialization network to ultimately improve the rate at which academic research is translated into new medicines.
It will be a powerful vehicle in bringing organizations together, leveraging one another’s strengths, and ultimately making for a much more effective global translational research environment. Through it, member organizations will collaborate on mutuallybeneficial projects, share best practices, expertise and resources, and develop common standards and performance measurements – ultimately working together to improve the conversion of global early-stage technology into much needed therapies.
Karimah Es Sabar, president and CEO of CDRD, and the founding chair of the Global Alliance commented, “One of the most important things all the member organizations share is the realization that none of us will be able to fully achieve our goals by working in isolation. With the signing of a groundbreaking agreement, we are officially declaring the launch of the Alliance – a new means to break down borders, share best practices, expertise and resources,” she said. “It will allow us to share rather than duplicate, collaborate rather than compete, strengthen the international academic and drug development and commercialization network, and capitalize on new global opportunities.”
The founding organizations include: The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), Canada; the Lead Discovery Center (LDC), Germany; the Scripps Research Institute, Scripps Florida, United States; the Centre for Drug Design and Discovery (CD3), KU Leuven R&D, Belgium; Medical Research Council Technology (MRC-T), United Kingdom; and Cancer Research Technology, United Kingdom.
All member organizations are fully-integrated translational centres capable of professionally advancing drug discovery projects along the value chain from idea to drug candidate with proof-of-concept. Together, they represent close to 400 experienced drug developers collaborating with tens of thousands of academic scientists around the globe on over 165 highly innovative therapeutic projects targeting significant unmet medical needs. For the biopharmaceutical industry, they represent a major source of innovation. Numerous alliances with many of the industry’s leading global companies have already been established to develop resulting drug candidates further and ultimately make them available to patients.
Dr. Keith Blundy, Cancer Research Technology’s chief executive said, “Cancer Research Technology develops the basic research funded by Cancer Research UK through drug discovery to early clinical development in partnership with global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and its own CRT Pioneer Fund and Cancer Research UK’s Drug Development Office. CRT will potentially make available these resources to the Alliance, but initially the focus is on knowledge and expertise sharing with cooperative projects to follow as a second phase. It is expected that the combined scale of the Alliance will allow it to attract funding to undertake new drug discovery activities with both industry and public funders.”
Dr. Bert Klebl, managing director and chief scientific officer of the Lead Discovery Centre (affiliated with the Max Planck Institutes in Germany) added, “This Alliance of outstanding drug discovery centres will help us to accelerate the translation of academic results into new therapies around the globe. By joining forces and sharing complementary expertise and infrastructure, we will be even more effective in closing the gap between basic research and industry to the benefit of patients.”
Karimah Es Sabar concluded, “These organizations are the pioneers that have already well-established and proven their ability to deliver on our common goal of identifying the most innovative and promising discoveries in academia, and validating and developing them to a stage at which they have a clear commercial pathway in front of them, and are ready to be transitioned to the private sector which is then responsible for taking them to market. What they have all been able to accomplish to date is incredibly impressive; and we at CDRD are very proud to now be partners with each of them.”
For additional information on the Global Alliance of Leading Drug Discovery and Development Centres, please visit: www.drugdevelopmentalliance.org “One of the most important things all the member organizations share is the realization that none of us will be able to fully achieve our goals by working in isolation. With the signing of a groundbreaking agreement, we are officially declaring the launch of the Alliance – a new means to break down borders, share best practices, expertise and resources.”
To see this story online visit http://biotechnologyfocus.ca/ canada-leads-the-way-inbringing-the-translationalresearch-world-together/
Microarray Kit Kinexus Bioinformatics Corporation has released its first KinexTM antibody microarray kit with its latest generation KAM-850 chip. The new antibody microarray is capable of tracking the levels and functional states of hundreds of diverse proteins in human and animal cell and tissue specimens and features more than 330 phosphosite- and 540 pan-specific antibody probes. This provides researchers with a reliable proteomics tool to study changes in cell signaling proteins that occur in response to a range of treatments, drugs, toxins, pathological and other experimental conditions. The KAM-850 chip now provides for the broadest coverage of protein kinase and protein phosphatases targets and their regulatory phosphorylation sites. Discoveries made using the KinexTM microarray kit can be quickly validated by Kinexus with its custom KinetworksTM immunoblotting services and compared with the results from hundreds of thousands of measurements of protein expression and phosphorylation from thousands of other model systems with the company’s open-access KiNETTM databases and SigNET knowledgebases. To follow-up with detailed characterization of biomarker leads in large specimen sets, Kinexus offers custom reverse lysate microarrays services. Web: www.kinexus.ca
Reagents and Solvents Thermo
Fisher Scientific Inc. introduces its new and improved AcroSeal® packaging designed for air- and moisture-sensitive Acros Organics reagents and solvents. The new packaging better maintains chemical integrity, reducing the cost associated with purchasing replacement products. Ideal for aggressive solvents and reagents, the adhesive-free AcroSeal packaging significantly reduces the rate of moisture uptake and the risk of contamination in tests comparing tetrahyrofuran in the new AcroSeal packaging and in a competitor’s packaging. It features an innovative, patent-pending quadrant septum, developed from a polymeric elastomer coated with inert fluoropolymer. With multiple layers, the septum holds its shape and forms a superior re-seal after puncturing to withdraw chemicals. With a large surface area, the convenient quadrant-style screw cap provides easier access to larger volumes of solvent and supports multiple punctures to the septum, further minimizing contamination risk. Extra-dry solvents, including methanol, acetonitrile, dichloromethane and methyl sulfoxide, are available with the packaging. This extends across three different grades: standard grade solvents, which are suitable for most applications; molecular sieves grade solvents, which have been stored over molecular sieves for prolonged shelf life; and finally supreme grade solvents, which have been filtered through 0.2 micron filters. Web: www.acros.com.
Freezer The new Eco VIP KM-DU73Y1E -86°C upright freezer from Panasonic has a capacity of 728 litres and is ideal for sample storage within hospitals, biomedical research institutes and biopharmaceutical laboratories. In comparison to other widely used, -86°C freezers of this size, the KMDU73Y1E can help to reduce electrical running costs by up to 50 per cent. This efficiency is achieved with the use of natural refrigerants, advanced Panasonic refrigeration technology and VIP PLUS vacuum panel insulation. As well as energy savings, VIP PLUS insulation panels save 30 per cent floor space compared to conventionally insulated upright freezers. The combination of the above features with Panasonic’s control technology provides improved cooling performance and excellent insulation characteristics and door-open recovery times. A streamlined cooling system provides even greater reliability for the security of valuable and often irreplaceable samples. Web: www.panasonic.eu/biomedical
Analyzer Mettler Toledo announces the launch of a dedicated thermogravi-
metric analyzer, TGA 1. This highly sensitive instrument facilitates the characterization of plastics, elastomers, thermosets and many more materials. The TGA 1 measures up to 50 million resolution points continuously down to 0.1 µg for a 5-gram sample weight. With no weight range change required when switching between small and large sample sizes, a wide variety of sample types can be measured in succession. The TGA 1’s modular design also increases its flexibility and ease-of-use while efficient automation for 24/7 sample handling and a variety of furnace/crucible sizes help broaden the TGA 1’s application range. The device has the ability to handle temperatures from ambient to 1100 ºC enabling a complete thermal analysis in a single-step process. Results are analyzed quickly using versatile, intuitive STAR software. Web: www.mt.com
Sample handling For general use or providing protection of light sensitive products and samples, BrandTech® amber bottles are constructed of soda-lime glass and have a space-saving square design. The ethylene-acrylate coating envelops the glass bottle like a protective skin providing better protection. Should the bottle break, the splintering hazards are reduced considerably. The maximum operating temperature for coated bottles is 80°C. To preserve the coating, do not clean at temperatures exceeding 60°C. Each bottle comes with a PP Screw Cap and LDPE Pouring Ring and is available as 250mL, 500mL, and 1000mL. Web: www.BrandTech.com
Heat Plates Warner Instruments Okolab T round heated plates come with
a built in temperature sensor and are compatible with any microscope. The T Plate fits into microscope XY stages with circular openings and provides a transparent surface at a controlled temperature. Its conductive glass has a built in temperature sensor, and when coupled with the PID temperature controller, provides great accuracy (±0.3°C) on specimen temperature. The controller features an external temperature sensor for the self calibration routine, two temperature channels, and an optional zero footprint mount.
RNA/DNA kit The new PowerMag™ Microbiome RNA/DNA isolation kit is the latest addition to the MO BIO PowerMag™ range. Designed for the automated isolation of RNA and DNA from stool, biosolids and gut material, the kit includes patnew card:Layout 1 1/31/2013 9:09 AM Page 1ented Inhibitor Removal Technology® to remove PCR-inhibiting compounds, such as polysaccharides, heme and lipids. When combined with the optimized lysis and bead beating technology, the PowerMag™ Microbiome kit ensures a high yield and purity of nucleic acids from even the most difficult and complex samples. The kits available are individually optimized for use
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with the KingFisher® (Flex or Duo), or the Eppendorf epMotion® automated pipetting system. MO BIO’s ClearMag™ magnetic particle technology removes the common problem of surface binding to the beads during purification, preventing the adsorption of organic inhibitors and ensuring the extraction of pure nucleic acids. Neither chaotropic salts nor ethanol are used in the PowerMag™ Microbiome kit, eliminating a second source of contamination and helping provide pure DNA and RNA that is ready for use in PCR, qPCR and next generation sequencing. Web: www.cambio.co.uk
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Cell Analysis GE Healthcare’s IN Cell Analyzer 2200 is a high-speed, flexible, modular imaging system suitable for both investigative microscopy and automated high-content screening of organelles, cells, tissues and whole organisms. The IN Cell Analyzer 2200 can be configured to the specific needs of the researcher, with a wide-range of optional modules and accessories available. The IN Cell Analyzer 2200 can image a two-coloured 96-well plate assay in less than 2.5 minutes and a one-colour 1536 plate in under 20 mins. This speed is possible due to a bright, seven-wavelength solid-state light source and scientific-grade CMOS camera coupled with an optimized stage and efficient, easy-to-use control software. Smart design features such as preview scan also save time in assay set up by enabling the user to locate wells, samples or regions of interest quickly and efficiently. The flexibility of the IN Cell Analyzer 2200 enables the system to be used in multiple modes including whole well imaging, online cell counting, and manual microscope.
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Company & advertiser index
CoMpanY page WeBsite
Axela Inc. ..................................................................................................... 6.......................................................................... www.axelabiosensors.com Bereskin & Parr ........................................................................................................11 ........................................................................................www.bereskinparr.com Canadian Government Executive Leadership Summit...................................22 ........................................................................ http://cgeleadershipsummit.ca Cangene Corporation .................................................................................. 9...................................................................................... www.cangene.com Cytochroma Inc. ......................................................................................... 10............................................................................... www.cytochroma.com Genome BC ...............................................................................................................9 ................................................................................................ www.genomebc.ca Government of Canada..........................................................................................7 ....................................................................................... www,publichealth.gc.ca Eppendorf................................................................................................................32 ............................................................................................... www.eppendorf.ca Forrest Laboratories Inc. .............................................................................. 9............................................................................................... www.frx.com GE Healthcare ............................................................................................. 27............................................................................ www.gelifesciences.com Italian Trade Commission.....................................................................................15 ............................................................................................... www.italtrade.com Life Sciences Ontario .............................................................................................19 ................................................................................ www.lifesciencesontario.ca Medicago ..................................................................................................... 9....................................................................................www.medicago.com Mettler Toledo ............................................................................................ 26.............................................................................................. www.mt.com Microbix...................................................................................................... 11....................................................................................www. microbix.com OPKO Health Inc.......................................................................................... 10.......................................................................................... www.opko.com Paladin Labs Inc........................................................................................... 10............................................................................... www.paladin-labs.com Panasonic/ESBE Scientific...................................................................................5, 26 .............................................................................. www.TwinGuardSeries.com POI .............................................................................................................................31 ............................................................................................................. www.poi.ca Takeda Canada Inc. ..................................................................................... 10.............................................................................www.takedacanada.com Thermo Fisher Scientific ............................................................................. 10..............................................................................www.thermofisher.com VWR............................................................................................................................2 ......................................................................................................... www.vwr.com
