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august/sePtember 2017 volume 21, number 3

R&D News ................. 1

Appointments ............ 8 Pharma Notes..........15

New Products ..........16

App Reviews.............18

transParency, tracking sought in sale of gm salmon in canada

Unlike in several other countries, the Canadian government does not require that GM foods sold in the country to be labelled as such

Pharmacogenomics will be used to predict a patient’s risk of developing an ADR

modified salmon without knowing it?

When reports of the presence of GM salmon in Canada surfaced over the August long weekend, several major supermarket chains were quick to say that they were not selling the product. Among those stores were Costco, Loblaws, Metro, Pete’s Fine Foods, and Sobeys.

Unlike in several other countries, the Canadian government does not require that GM foods sold in the country to be labelled as such. MP Pierre Luc Dusseault of the New Democratic Party tabled a bill that would have amended the Food and Drugs Act, however, his private member’s bill calling for the labelling of GM foods was rejected by the House of Commons in May.

AquaBounty has labeled its genetically modified salmon, AquAdvantage Salmon.

“No one except AquaBounty knows where the GM salmon are,” said Lucy Sharratt of CBAN. “The company did not disclose where

continued on page 3

genomics Project looks to reduce adverse drug reactions in children

A few weeks ago, Canada became the very first place in the world where genetically modified fish was being marketed – and not a lot of Canadians were even aware of it.

And therein lies the problem with the near-stealth way that about five tons of GM Atlantic salmon fillets from the U.S. aqua culture company AquaBounty ended up in still unknown Canadian stores.

“This is the world’s first sale of GM fish for human consumption and it has occurred without GM product labelling for Canadian consumers,” according to the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, a group that monitors issues relating to genetically engineered foods. The group said information about the sale of GM salmon in Canada was revealed in the company’s quarterly financial report.

Could you have eaten genetically Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute have partnered with health and wellness company Dynacare, to find solutions to reduce severe adverse drug reactions (ADR) in children.

This joint project, which received $3 million in funding through Genome Canada’s Genomic Applications Partnership Program (GAPP) and Genome British Columbia, will work toward integrating pediatric pharmacogenomic testing into the Canadian health care system. Pharmacogenomics – the science of how an individual patient’s genetic makeup impacts his or her response to medication – will be used to predict a patient’s risk of developing an ADR.

Modern medicine has revolutionized healthcare and made a significant impact on patient longevity and quality of life. Unfortunately, many medications can also cause unintended side effects.

“Our overarching goal is to reduce and prevent ADRs – especially in vulnerable patient populations such as children,” said the project’s co-lead, Dr. Bruce Carleton, director of the Pharmaceutical Outcomes Program at BC Children’s Hospital and Professor & Division Head of Translational Therapeutics, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine at UBC.

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the GM salmon fillets were sold or for what purpose, and we’re shocked to discover that they’ve entered the market at this time.”

Vigilance OGM Quebec, a Montrealbased, not-for-profit GMO monitoring group, tweeted: “4.5 tons of GE salmon on the market without labelling, we are #1 guinea pigs in the world!” and later on Monday added, “Transgenic salmon is now sold in the country, without labelling.”

Media reports said that AquaBounty announced in August that it had sold approximately five tons of Salmon fillets in Canada after I received permission from health authorities.

AquAdvantage salmon are triploid. It has three sets of chromosomes whereas most animals have two sets.

To create the salmon, a growth hormone regulating gene from a Pacific Chinook salmon, and a promoter from an ocean pout, was added to the Atlantic salmon’s 40,000 genes. This enables the salmon to grow yearround instead of only during spring and summer.

The ocean pout is an eel-like fish with antifreeze proteins in its blood to help it survive in near-freezing waters in eastern Canada and New England.

The aim of the genetic modification is to increase the speed of growth of the salmon. The AquAdvantage Salmon fish grows to market size in 16 to 18 months rather than three years.

The company went through three years of testing before the Health Ministry and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ruled in May that AquaBounty’s genetically modified salmon is “as safe and nutritious as conventional salmon.”

The salmon are raised in Panama. However, AquaBounty said it plans to produce the fish in Prince Edward Island.

The company maintains that its genetically modified salmon are safe, nutritious and produced in a sustainable manner.

According to AquaBounty’s Web site, the company’s low impact fish farming method involves raising AquAdvantage salmon in land-based production systems away from the ocean.

“This eliminates the risk of escapes that could impact native fish populations and the risk of pollutants or contaminants that could harm marine ecosystems,” the company said.

The AquAdvantage salmon are produced sterile to safeguard the wild fish population.

AquaBounty also claims its salmon grows to market size using 25 per cent less feed that traditional Atlantic salmon in the market.

Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay is holding several public consultations on the issue of GM foods across the country over the next two months.

The meetings will include stakeholders, Indigenous representatives, experts, and key policy makers, Up for discussion will be food affordability, accessibility, safety and conservation.

“Do I agree with GM? We have a regulatory system that’s sciencebased. We promote it worldwide. I promote it worldwide,” said MacAulay in an interview with the CBC. “If the science based regulatory system indicates food is safe for Canadians, I agree that they’re safe for Canadians.”

However, groups like CBAN and Vigilance OGM are clamouring for transparency, better ways of alerting consumers of GM foods in the market place, and better federal government tracking of GM foods.

“We clearly need mandatory labelling of all GM foods,” said Thibault Rehn of the Quebec network Vigilance OGM.

There is no federal government tracking of GM products in the market and members of parliament voted down a private members bill for mandatory GM food labelling in May, according to CBAN.

GM salmon is approved for human consumption in the U.S. and Canada, but there is an import ban in the US until labelling guidelines are published, Sharratt pointed out.

“When it comes to GM foods, Canadian consumers are shopping blind,” she said.

continued from page 1

Dynacare will inform how to improve the safety and effectiveness of the most commonly-used medications in children: antibiotics, analgesics and mental health medication. The tests are non-invasive and are conducted using saliva.

“Dynacare is proud to be a part of this initiative to make pharmacogenomic testing available to improve patient outcomes,” says project colead, Dr. Yvan Côté, general manager of Dynacare Next. “We want

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to leverage technology in a way that can make medications safer and ultimately improve the delivery of care.”

The partnership also connects physicians and pharmacists across Canada in order to expand access to this innovative technology and ensure pharmacogenomic laboratory results are incorporated into medical decision-making. “Using pharmacogenomics to reduce the risk of adverse drug reactions and guide treatment decisions in children is an integral part of delivering precision health care,” said Dr. Catalina Lopez-Correa, chief scientific officer and vice-president, Sectors, at Genome BC. “This work reflects Genome BC’s ambition to translate genomics into everyday clinical applications, in particular at the primary care level, and improve health outcomes for all Canadians.”

To see this story online visit

http://laboratoryfocus.ca/genomics-project-looks-to-reduce-adverse-drug-reactions-in-children/

news clementia, Zymeworks lead canadian biotech momentum

Recent mega initial public offerings by two Canadian biotechnology firms are shining the spotlight on the local biotech industry, according to the investment arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).

Last week, Clementia Pharmaceuticals, a Montreal-based biopharmaceutical company successfully completed a US$120M million IPO on NASDAQ. Earlier in June, Vancouver’s Zymeworks Inc. raised $85 million through its own IPO.

“If more Canadian companies emulate Zymeworks and Clementia utilizing public markets to raise large rounds to finance growth, we believe that Canada can create strong, innovation based companies with an opportunity to be leaders in the industry, said Jérôme Nycz, executive vice-president, of BDC Capital. “As the most active venture capital investor in the country, we see these two companies as great models of what can be accomplished with visionary entrepreneurs complemented with a strong capital partner.”

Clementia is working on its major candidate product, Palovarotene, a retinoic acid gamma receptor agonist, for the treatment of progressive ossificant fibrodysplasia (POF). POF is s an ultra-rare bone formation disease. It causes muscle tissue and connective tissue such as tendons and ligaments to ossify. It forms bones outside the skeleton and constrains movement.

Zymeworks is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing multifunctional biotherapeutics such as ZW25. ZW25 is based on the company’s proprietary Azymetric platform for IgG-like novel bispecific antibodies. Zymeworks is developing ZW25 as a best-in-class HER2-targeting antibody intended as a treatment option for patients with any solid tumor that expresses HER2.

The two companies are not the only Canadian biotech businesses raising large amounts of capital. Also in June, Repare Therapeutics, a Montréal developer of precision oncology drugs, raised US$86 million in Series A financing. And that only follows the footsteps of Versant Venture’s recent partnership with Bayer which raised US$225 million for the creation of the cell therapies startup, BlueRock Therapies.

Canadian companies, universities, and research centres have consistently produced groundbreaking innovation backed by strong science.

Renewed investment into the sector by BDC Capital with its $135M Healthcare Fund announced in 2013 and increased investment from other Canadian biotech focused funds is beginning to “catalyze great companies, strong investment syndicates and increased international capital into the sector,” according to the BDC investment arm. Another factor attracting capital is the strong investment performance of the underlying companies offering the prospect of appealing investment returns for investors.

“The rapid growth of these two new life sciences companies is in line with our fund strategy of supporting the best performing Canadian companies with the technology and talent to assume leadership at the global level,” said Dion Madsen, senior managing partner of the BDC Capital Healthcare Fund. “Canada has an advantage when it comes to attracting talent in the life sciences industry because of the country’s emerging tech clusters; the groundwork for an outstanding life sciences industry in Canada has been laid and is now coming to fruition.

To see this story online visit

https://biotechnologyfocus.ca/ clementia-zymeworks-lead-canadian-biotech-momentum/

Anti-cAncer vAccine mAy Also tAckle bAd diet ‘vicious cycle’

It’s something that’s been experienced by almost anyone who has tried to go on diet. The moment you eat something you’re not supposed to, the more you have a craving for it. Researchers at CureLab Oncology Inc. call it’s the “vicious cycle of a bad diet,” and they believe an anti-cancer medication could break it.

A paper produced by the team proposes that a new biological agent developed the CureLab may prevent and alleviate diet-induced disorders. The researchers reported that the company’s Elenagen anti-cancer vaccine is able to reduce chronic inflammation which causes chemical alterations in the brain which triggers a craving for fatty foods. CureLab is a Boston based private biotechnology company developing biological agents against cancer and chronic inflammation.

The findings could have beneficial implications for therapy and treatments for people suffering conditions affected by diet, according Dr. Alexander Shneider, founder of CureLab and the senior author of the paper. For example, restoring serotonin and MAO levels are mechanisms of action of anti-depressant drugs.

“We hope that in few years we would bring to market a novel agent against type 2 diabetes and metabolic disorders as well as diseases accompanying diabetes and metabolic syndrome such as heart diseases, depression, or psoriasis,” he said. “All of them are dependent on chronic inflammation.”

The CureLab team of American, Ukrainian, Italian, and Russian scientists hypothesized that, by reducing chronic inflammation, Elenagen would break the vicious cycle reducing the negative effects of excessive diets.

Experimental testing has supported the hypothesis.

The work was performed on rats fed with a normal diet or high fat, high calorie food. Consumption of the unhealthy food resulted in metabolic misbalance, metabolic misbalance induced chronic inflammation, and chronic inflammation led to chemical alterations in the brain. Brain levels of the “satiety sensor”, serotonin, were reduced while the serotonin-degrading enzyme, MAO, was elevated. As a result, animals consuming fatty food had to eat more and their body mass index grew significantly quicker. This, in turn, further exacerbates metabolic dysfunction – a positive feedback loop.

To see this story online visit

http://laboratoryfocus.ca/anti-cancer-vaccine-may-also-tackle-baddiet-vicious-cycle/

caPrion exPands Portfolio with biomarker for tuberculosis

Caprion Biosciences Inc., a Montrealbased contract research organization, said its blood-based protein biomarker findings suggest host protein expression changes can be detected in early stage Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection.

Using ProteoCarta, Caprion’s mass spectrometry (MS) and multiple reactions monitoring (MRM-MS) platform, researchers were able to detect the protein expression even before tuberculin skin testing conversion and development of latent M. tuberculosis infection (LTBI).

“These findings are very significant and could impact the way we approach treatment, providing a solid basis to accelerate the development of predictive testing” said Eustache Paramithiotis, vice-president of discovery at Caprion.

Paramithiosis led the study in collaboration with Dr. Charles Bark, and Dr. W. Henry Boom, from Case Western Reserve University.

The new data, recently published in EbioMedicine, expands and strengthens Caprion’s existing portfolio of biomarkers assays for predicting and monitoring of active TB, supporting clients who are developing TB therapeutics and diagnostics.

LTBI is a state of persistent immune response resulting from Mtb infection but without evidence of clinically active TB.

Current immune-based tests for Mtb infection (LTBI) cannot distinguish recent from remote Mtb infection. Approximately 10 per cent of people with LTBI will develop active TB and are the primary source of TB spreading. Their identification is critical to efforts aimed at controlling TB.

In this proteomic study, host proteins expressed differentially between patients uninfected and individuals exposed to M. tuberculosis through contact with family members, which were followed over a period of 12 months.

Caprion’s bioinformatic analysis determined multiple biomarker signatures correlating with subsequent development of an immune response recognizing Mtb. These biomarker signatures may demonstrate individuals recently infected by Mtb at high risk for developing active tuberculosis.

To see this story online visit

http://laboratoryfocus.ca/caprionexpands-portfolio-with-biomarkerfor-tuberculosis/

news

intelliphArmAceutics fAces lAwsuit over rexistA

Things appeared to be going great for the Etobicoke, Ont.-based company Intellipharmaceutics International Inc., with its announcement that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was reviewing its innovative tamper resistant opioid medication Rexista. Then, things suddenly went the other other way.

Recently, Intellipharmaceutics’ investors had hired a Los Angeles law firm to investigate Intellipharmaceutics and its company’s officers for possible violation of federal security laws.

Intellipharmaceutics announced that it would defend itself a “purported” class action complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York.

The complaint, filed by a certain Shawn Shanawaz against Intellipharmaceuticas and two of its executives, alleges that the company and its officers violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 by making allegedly false and misleading statements or failing to disclose certain information regarding Rexista.

The complaint seeks, among other remedies, unspecified damages, attorneys’ fees and other costs, equitable and/or injunctive relief, and such other relief as the court may find just and proper.

Before all this, Intellipharmaceutics said it was meeting with an FDA panel that will examine its new drug, Rexista. Media reports indicated that the share prices of the company spiked after this announcement.

Rexista is being positioned by the company as a tamper resistant tablet. Among other things, Rexista contains a blue dye which would mark those who tamper with or crush the tablet. It also contains a nasal irritant designed to keep the drug from being easily inhaled with the application of heat or an open flame.

Rexista is intended as an abuse and alcohol-deterrent controlled-release oral formulation of oxycodone hydrochloride for the relief of pain, a press release from Intellipharmaceutics said. Rexista is bioequivalent to Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin.

Two days after the meeting with the FDA, the L.A. law firm Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP (GPM) issued a press release saying that it was looking into reports of alleged misconduct by Intellipharmaceutical executives.

The press release indicates that the investigation may have something to do with share prices of Intellipharmaceutical.

According to GPM the FDA committees voted that Rexista “had not demonstrated properties that can be expected to deter abuse” by the intravenous means and that there was not enough data to support the company’s claims of the product’s abilities to deter abuse by this means.

“On this news, the Company’s share price fell $1.13 per share, or 45.3% on July 27, 2017, thereby injuring investors,” GPM said.

The law firm then invited people who have purchased Intellipharmaceutics or anyone that may have information or questions about the claims to contact GPM.

Meanwhile, Intellipharmaceutics said “its management intend to vigorously defend against the allegations set forth in the complaint.”

To see this story online visit

https://biotechnologyfocus.ca/ intellipharmaceutics-faces-lawsuitover-rexista/

delmar PrePares for Patient enrollment in star – 3 gmb trials

Vancouver-based biopharma firm DelMar Pharmaceutical reported that it has completed its first site initiation visit for its Phase 3 study of treatment for recurrent glioblastoma (GBM), the most common and aggressive primary brain cancer. Site initiation visits are generally the final step before patient enrollment.

The company’s Phase 3 Study in Temozolomide-Avastin (bevacizumab) Recurrent GBM or STAR -3 GMB, is an adaptive design, randomized, controlled pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of VAL-083 versus salvage therapy in patients with late-stage GMB. The study is aimed at individuals whose disease has progressed following prior treatment with temozolomide and bevacizumab, for whom there is currently no standard-of-care therapy.

GMB is an aggressive brain tumour. Among the well-known people known to suffer from it is United States Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, according to Forbes. It is the same type of cancer which caused the death of Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy as well as the son of former U.S. VicePresident Joe Biden.

The study is being conducted at the Dent Neurological Institute - the largest private neurology centre in North America seeing more than 250,000 patients annually. Dr. Laszlo Mechtler will serve as principal investigator for the STAR-3 trial at Dent.

Mechtler is Medical Director of Dent Neurologic Institute as well as the Chief of Neuro-Oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY.

Current standard of care for GMB includes surgery, radiation and treatment with temozolomide (TMZ), however, “nearly all tumors recur and the prognosis for recurrent GBM is dismal,” according to DelMar.

Second-line treatment with antiangiogenic agent bevacizumab has not improved overall survival (OS) and fiveyear survival is less than three per cent.

DelMar anticipates the initiation of additional centres and commencement of treatment under the STAR-3 protocol in the coming weeks.

A total of up to 180 eligible patients will be randomized at approximately 25 centres in the United States to receive either the investigational drug (VAL-083) or “investigator’s choice salvage therapy” in a 2:1 fashion.

Up to 120 eligible patients will be randomized to receive intravenous VAL-083 at 40 mg/m2 on days 1, 2, and 3 of a 21-day treatment cycle, for up to 12 21-day treatment cycles or until they fulfill one of the criteria for study discontinuation. Up to 60 patients will be randomized to “investigator’s choice” control, limited to temozolomide, lomustine, or carboplatin, until they fulfill one of the criteria for study discontinuation.

The primary endpoint of the trial is overall survival of VAL-083 vs. the control arm. The statistical design between the two arms of the study is 90 per cent power, and is proposed to include an interim analysis at 50 per cent events for futility with O’BrienFleming superiority boundary and nonbinding, gamma (-5) futility boundary.

“The activation of the STAR-3 trial and initiation of recruitment in collaboration with Dr. Mechtler and his team at Dent is a momentous occasion for our company, and for the patients and their families who we hope will benefit from VAL-083,” said Jeffrey Bacha, chief executive officer of DelMar Pharmaceuticals. “In particular, GBM is a type of cancer that has been devoid of new drug approvals improving overall survival for decades, which is why we believe that VAL-083 represents tremendous value in the oncology treatment market.”

To see this story online visit

http://laboratoryfocus.ca/delmarprepares-for-patient-enrollment-instar-3-gmb-trials/

news

scientist discover how cells reverse tissue dAmAge cAused by heArt AttAck

Scientists from the University Bristol have found out how cells surrounding blood vessels are able to trigger the growth of new blood vessels. The study on the growth of new blood vessels could be critical in the development of a treatment for heart attack patients as well as gaining a better understanding of cancer.

The team led Paolo Madeddu, a professor of experimental cardiovascular medicine from the School of Clinical Sciences at the University of Bristol, found that pericytes stimulate angiogenesis or new blood vessel growth. Angiogenesis is important in the repair of tissues after an injury or a heart attack but it is also essential in the spread of cancer.

The U.K.-funded project studied how pericytes encourage the growth of new blood vessels and the role leptin. It provides important new information about the mechanisms involved. Leptin is a hormone that is produced by fat cells. It helps regulate energy balance in the body by inhibiting appetite.

The team’s findings were published in Scientific Reports of the journal Nature.

“This new discovery doesn’t only have important implications for the treatment of heart attacks, which is when a main coronary artery gets blocked, but also cancer,” said Madeddu, who leads the ho leads the project at the Bristol Heart Institute. “These results reveal a new signalling mechanism that may have a far-reaching and significant impact on cardiovascular regenerative medicine.”

“Increasing leptin in pericytes in a damaged heart might help it to heal faster, whereas blocking the production of leptin in cancerous pericytes might starve the tumour of nutrients and force it to shrink,” Madeddu added.

A typical treatment for heart attacks is coronary artery bypass surgery. In this procedure, doctors take blood vessels from a patient’s leg or other parts of the body, and use it to bypass the blocked artery in order to improve the flow of blood to the heart muscle.

The surgery is invasive. Patients also undergo a long recovery time.

The findings of the University of Bristol team may be instrumental in the development of an alternate treatment.

Madeddu and fellow researchers found that pericyte produce 40 times more leptin when they are exposed to low levels of oxygen. The production of leptin continues until oxygen levels return to normal.

Their research also shows that leptin has several important actions which encourages new blood vessel growth in areas deprived of oxygen.

In most heart attack cases, a coronary artery becomes blocked. This cuts down the supply of blood to the heart and leads to heart damage.

By stimulating the growth of new blood vessels, pericytes have the potential to restore blood supply to a damage heart muscle following a heart attack.

“This translational research project is a good example of research that aims to benefit patients as soon as possible,” said Barbara Harpham, chief executive of Heart Research UK, “Understanding more about the processes involved may help pave the way for the development of new treatments for heart attacks which could replace coronary bypass operations.”

To see this story online visit http://laboratoryfocus.ca/studyfinds-how-cells-reverse-tissuedamage-caused-by-heart-attack/

body’s healing mechanism reduces radiotheraPy efficiency: u of a team

David Brindley (centre) led a team of University of Alberta researchers, including Xiaoyun Tang (left) and Guanmin Meng, that discovered the irradiation of breast fat enables cancer cells to survive. (Photo by Melissa Fabrizio)

A team of scientists and researchers from the University of Alberta have found that the body’s normal process of healing itself may enable cancer cells to survive radiotherapy.

Breast cancer patients typically undergo 25 daily doses of radiotherapy after surgical removal of a tumour in order to make sure that all breast cancer cells are killed, according to David Brindley, a professor of biochemistry and U of A and a member of the Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta. During treatment, he said, the adipose tissue releases autotaxin. Autotaxin is kicks off a wound-healing response. Unfortunately, “this response ends up protecting the remaining cancer cells, allowing them to survive and avoid destruction,” said Brindley. The study was published in The FASEB Journal. This researcher was supported by grants from the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. As part of the study, Brindley and his fellow researchers exposed rat and human adipose tissue to radiation doses similar to levels patients would experience during radiation therapy, according to a report by Ross Neitz, of the U of A news team. The team found that irradiation bumped up autotaxin production as well as a inflammatory woundhealing response. “Cancer cells adopt a variety of strategies for avoiding the immune response in the body,” Brindley. “If we can block the autotaxin response, we think the body would then be more able to use its own immune system to attack residual cancer cells and to eliminate them, particularly when they are already damaged.” The team is now experimenting with an autotaxin inhibitor. Their aim is to counteract the wound-healing process which is impeding radiotherapy’s effects. By striking at the autotaxin, the team is focusing on a target that is independent of the characteristics and mutations of the tumour, said Brindley. He said he is hopeful that the treatment they are developing can be used on all kinds of breast cancer. Brindley added that the strategy can be used to treat other types of cancer such as thyroid cancer and glioblastoma and to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy. The team believes the same strategy can be used to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy. They hope to soon move their work into rodent animal models to provide further evidence that the approach works. “The advantage of attacking the autotaxin as a target is that it is independent of the characteristic and mutations in the tumour. We are not targeting the cancer cell itself, but its environment, which should be similar in different tumours. We’re hopeful that our treatment will be applicable to all kinds of breast cancer and not just a particular subtype.” The team hopes to soon move their work into rodent animal models to provide further evidence that the approach works.

To see this story online visit

https://biotechnologyfocus.ca/ bodys-healing-mechanism-reducesradiotherapy-efficiency-u-of-a-team/

germany’s idt biologika to build vet biologics Plant in canada

German pharmaceutical company IDT Biologika is doubling down on it animal health presence in North America with the acquisition of a new facility in Ontario. The company is working with Gallant Custom Laboratories of Cambridge, Ont. to in converting the recently purchased building into a vaccine manufacturing plant.

“If you hadn’t heard of IDT in Canada before, you will now,” said Jackie Gallant, founder, and president of Gallant Custom Laboratories.

“This new facility will be a great boost for Canadian animal health and the local economy,” said Gallant, who oversees animal health R&D and customer relations in Canada. “Additionally, it offers tremendous expansion possibilities in the future to help us continue to meet the demands of a strategically important, growing market in the Americas.”

Gallant, which runs an autogenous veterinary biologics facility in Cambridge, was purchased by IDT in 2015. The company is now helping IDT in its plans to gain a more solid presence in the North American animal health market. As part of this plan, the expansion of Gallant’s operations in its Cambridge laboratory will begin as early as summer 2018.

IDT also purchased last week, a building in Cambridge from Com Dev. Ltd. The building will be converted into a state-of-the-art vaccine manufacturing facility.

“We intend to raise the bar for manufacturing technology and innovation, capacity, and development of veterinary biologics in Canada,” said Andreas Kastenbauer, managing director of IDT and head of the company’s global Animal Health Division. “As we continue to expand our footprint across the Americas, veterinarians, farmers and government agencies in Canada and in the region are sure to reap important benefits from the breadth and depth of our capabilities that will emanate from this vaccine manufacturing hub in the years to come. “

IDT wants to become the region’s leading autogenous and commercial vaccine manufacturer

Two years ago, the company snapped up Gallant and launched a mission to establish Canada’s only “vaccineonly” animal health company. Following its Gallant acquisition, IDT purchased Ridgeway Biologicals Ltd, a UK-based supplier of autogenous vaccines for production animals and aquaculture. With that move, IDT formally established its Animal Health Americas business unit.

The nearly 32,000-square foot facility which IDT bought, will support a significant increase in IDT’s production capacity and innovative and efficient processes for the commercial production of animal health vaccines, including antigen production, blendingfilling-packaging, storage, a clean room lab, offices and meeting areas, and bacterial research that meet highest quality requirements.

Automation, as well as cutting-edge equipment and computing capabilities, are being considered in construction and installation plans.

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