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R&D News
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live cells with rna detection reagents Page 10
the vital role of assessors
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R&D News ......................... 1 Pharma Notes.................... 5 Appointments .................... 6 New Products .................. 15 Calendar .......................... 17 App Reviews..................... 18
conStruction beginS on new Servier canada centre of excellence in clinical reSearch
From L to R: Members of St. Rose and Chomedey, Laval Mayor Martine Beaugrand, Servier Canada Inc. CEO Frédéric Fasano and Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau. Photo: Russell Proux
Servier Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of the Servier Research Group, with the support of Montréal International (MI), Laval Technopole, the Biotech City, Montréal InVivo and Investissement Québec are together committing $16.3 million to construct a new Centre of Excellence in Clinical Research into cardiovascular disease, cancer and neuropsychiatry in Laval, QC.
The announcement was made in the presence of Nicolas Marceau, Québec Minister of Finance and the Economy, who confirmed the awarding of a $1-million nonrefundable financial contribution to launch the project. The new 30,000 square-foot complex will enable the company to hire forty or so new employees over the next few months.
“The Servier Research Group, the second largest French pharmaceutical company, decided to bolster its research endeavours in Canada, particularly in Québec, since the level of excellence in the research sector make it an ideal location to advance therapeutic innovation,” stated Emmanuel Canet, president of Servier R&D.
“Health is a priority issue. Our mission is to make available to the medical profession and Canadian patients the best possible therapeutic solutions. In order to achieve this, we must not only bolster our research efforts, but also benefit from a health policy that supports innovation,” added Frédéric Fasano, CEO of Servier Canada.
The Biotech City, site of the new centre of clinical research, is already home to a university (INRS), research laboratories, a business incubator and major biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies. “We have supported this leading Biotech City company throughout the entire project. Servier Canada is part of a dynamic business centre that houses, within a four-kilometre radius, basic research, clinical trials, production and marketing,” commented Pierre Desroches, president and executive director of Laval Technopole and the Biotech City of Laval.
The centre will house activities for the Canadian International Centre for Therapeutic Research (ICTR) and the Servier Canada National Centre for Professional Training. Its mandate will be to help further the design and development of ICTR clinical research in major therapeutic areas including cardiovascular disease, cancer and neuropsychiatry.
newS new funding enhanceS health reSearch at Sfu
A 2012 Simon Fraser University doctoral graduate in chemistry who made a name for herself researching diabetes is now applying her powers of analysis to understanding Alzheimer’s disease at SFU, thanks to a major grant.
Razieh Eskandari is among seven post-doctoral researchers receiving $37,000 annually in new Research Trainee awards from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) to undertake research on a variety of health issues.
The MSFHR is a provincially funded agency mandated to build health research capacity in British Columbia. Its Research Trainee awards, annually renewable for a maximum of three years, enable doctoral graduates to further their training by working in the research program of an established university scholar.
This round of grants will foster a broad scope of potential health breakthroughs. They include identifying new drugs that protect the brain from Alzheimer’s disease, curbing the rising epidemic of prescription-opioid abuse
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and clarifying mechanisms that can control HIV infection.
Eskandari, an Iranian Canadian living in Burnaby, will work under the supervision of SFU chemistry professor David Vocadlo to improve the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease by identifying compounds that protect the brain from neurodegeneration.
The protein tau can act abnormally in Alzheimer’s disease and cause neuronal death. However, the toxicity of tau can be significantly reduced by altering the levels of a sugar modification in cells known as O-GlcNAc.
Eskandari’s research focuses on synthesizing compounds that will help increase levels of O-GlcNAc in brains, which in turn will protect neurons from the damaging effects of abnormal tau. By identifying new molecules and validating this target, her study has the potential to improve outcomes for the estimated 500,000 Canadians living with Alzheimer’s disease.
Eskandari’s doctoral research under SFU chemistry professor Mario Pinto was what led her to synthesizing compounds that could be helpful in type 2 diabetes treatment. Eskandari isolated the compounds in a rare South Asian plant to synthesize the compounds.
To see this story online visit
http://www.laboratoryfocus. ca/?p=1695
new global reSource for Sharing genomic data launched
newS
Since the sequencing of the human genome, the cost of sequencing an individual’s genome has fallen rapidly and there has been a torrent of genomic data generated for biomedical research. In an attempt to help govern the sharing of this data across the international research community and to better encourage collaboration, a group of innovation leaders have formed a new organization with this in mind.
IPAC, the International Policy interoperability and data Access Clearinghouse, was recently launched as an international resource for policy interoperability and for sharing data to accelerate genomic medicine.
The new resource was launched by the Public Population Project in Genomics and Society (P3G), in partnership with the Centre of Genomics and Policy (CGP) at McGill University and the Génome Québec Innovation Centre.
Building on P3G and the CGP, IPAC will offer a “one-stop” service for national and international collaborative research projects. It will provide standardizing tools and frameworks that respect the laws and regulations of each country while facilitating access to clinical and research data.
“As a policy interoperability tool provider and a data access broker, the IPAC will harmonize projects to ensure successful ethics, privacy and access review, thereby reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and delays,” said professor Bartha Maria Knoppers, co-founder of P3G, Canada Research chair in Law and Medicine and director of the Centre of Genomics and Policy.
Located in Montréal at the McGill University and Génome Québec Innovation Centre, the IPAC will provide the global scientific community with the expertise and ethical frameworks needed to create an information clearinghouse and support structure.
“Génome Québec has always encouraged international collaborations, since they are critical to the advancement of genomic research. This confirms just how important it is to support projects like P3G, the driving force behind the IPAC resource. We are pleased to be able to leverage its activities of recent years in support of the scientific community,” said
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ScientiStS reveal how organic mercury can interfere with viSion
Canadian Light Source Staff Scientist Gosia Korbas displays a cross section of a zebrafish head. Photo: Mark Ferguson.
More than one billion people worldwide rely on fish as an important source of animal protein, states the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. And while fish provide slightly over seven per cent of animal protein in North America, in Asia they represent about 23 per cent of consumption.
Humans consume low levels of methylmercury by eating fish and seafood. Methylmercury compounds specifically target the central nervous system, and among the many effects of their exposure are visual disturbances, which were previously thought to be solely due to methylmercury-induced damage to the brain visual cortex. However, after combining powerful synchrotron X-rays and methylmercury-poisoned zebrafish larvae, scientists have found that methylmercury may also directly affect vision by accumulating in the retinal photoreceptors, i.e. the cells that respond to light in our eyes.
Dr. Gosia Korbas, BioXAS staff scientist at the Canadian Light Source (CLS), says the results of this experiment show quite clearly that methylmercury localizes in the part of the photoreceptor cell called the outer segment, where the visual pigments that absorb light reside.
Korbas and a team of researchers from the University of Saskatchewan including professors Graham George, Patrick Krone and Ingrid Pickering conducted their experiments using three X-ray fluorescence imaging beamlines (2-ID-D, 2-ID-E and 20-ID-B) at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, IL, as well as the scanning X-ray transmission beamline (STXM) at the Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon.
After exposing zebrafish larvae to methylmercury chloride in water, the team was able to obtain highresolution maps of elemental distributions, and pinpoint the localization of mercury in the outer segments of photoreceptor cells in both the retina and pineal gland of zebrafish specimens. The results of the research were published in ACS Chemical Biology under the title “Methylmercury Targets Photoreceptor Outer Segments”.
Korbas said zebrafish are an excellent model for investigating the mechanisms of heavy metal toxicity in developing vertebrates. One of the reasons for that is their high degree of correlation with mammals. Recent studies have demonstrated that about 70 per cent of proteincoding human genes have their counterparts in zebrafish, and 84 per cent of genes linked to human diseases can be found in zebrafish.
“Researchers are studying the potential effects of low level chronic exposure to methylmercury, which is of global concern due to methylmercury presence in fish, but the message that I want to get across is that such exposures may negatively affect vision. Our study clearly shows that we need more research into the direct effects of methylmercury on the eye,” Korbas concluded.
newS
chipcare’S handheld analyzer attractS one of canada’S largeSt healthcare angel inveStmentS
University of Toronto spinoff ChipCare Corporation has secured one of the largest healthcare angel investments in Canada’s history for its point-of-care analyzer. The innovative handheld device can test for a number of different diseases using a single drop of blood. Currently in development, the device has the potential to significantly improve HIV diagnostics in the developing world. It has also secured one of the largest angel investments in Canada’s healthcare industry, with a Phase 2 financing that closed recently for $2.05 million.
This investment came from a collaboration of angel investors including Maple Leaf Angels, MaRS Innovation and the University of Toronto, and was led by the federal government and Grand Challenges Canada.
In a sector where angel investments have typically been few and far between, the funding is a welcome recognition of the potential of Canada’s health research sector according to Minister of International Development Christian Paradis. “This project will make a difference by saving lives in developing countries and creating jobs here in Canada,” he said.
The lab-on-a-chip device runs a number of diagnostic blood tests, including HIV testing. Instead of getting the sick to travel to distant labs, it’s possible to carry out analysis on-the-spot.
“This technology has the potential to save and improve the lives of millions around the world by bringing stateof-the-art blood testing to patients, instead of asking the sick to travel to labs that are often difficult to reach,” said James Dou, ChipCare’s co-founder and CTO. “The impact on in-the-field HIV diagnostics alone could be revolutionary; this financing is critical to our commercialization roadmap.”
The $2.05 million investment will support the development and commercialization of the device over the next three years, as it goes through its ‘valley of death’ period of development. ChipCare’s Phase 2 project plan involves a three-year development of the device, to develop a more robust prototype and reduce costs as part of the move to scale. The company hopes the handheld analyzer will transform the way in which point-of-care diagnostics are delivered in the field for both developed and developing world populations.
The handheld analyzer is a unique tool because of its low-cost (lower than similar devices currently on the market), a tech platform that gives test results quicker and more accurately, and its ability to run multiple diagnostic tests simultaneously.
The device has caught the eye of some major investors, who with their combined funding have made this the second-largest healthcare angel investment in Canada.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is at least the second largest healthcare angel investment in Canada’s history - and it might well be the largest by the time the project reaches full maturity,” said Adrian Schauer of Maple Leaf Angels. “The diagnostic potential of this device can hardly be overstated. We are investing heavily in its commercialization because we see the potential to revolutionize bedside testing for many conditions, from HIV and malaria in the developing world, to sepsis, heart disease and cancers here at home.”
neuroSurgeonS can image, treat PatientS within three-room Suite without moving PatientS
First IMRIS VISIUS Surgical Theatre in Canada featuring both intraoperative MRI and angio opens at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg. “Raises the bar in bringing together neurosurgical research and improved patient outcomes,” said Dr. Neil Berrington. Photo: HSC Winnipeg,CNW Group/IMRIS Inc.
The first VISIUS® Surgical Theatre in Canada that features both intraoperative MRI (iMRI) and angiography capability together in a three-room suite has officially opened at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg.
“As Manitoba’s center for trauma and neurosciences, the IMRIS suite enhances our surgical and diagnostic expertise and gives us an important technology platform that is an integral part of emerging therapies and procedures that advance patient care,” said Dr. Neil Berrington, head of Neurosurgery at HSC Winnipeg. “It’s a powerful part of the Centre for Surgical Innovation in our new Kleysen Institute for Advanced Medicine and raises the bar in bringing together neurosurgical research and improved patient outcomes.”
The VISIUS Surgical Theatre features an MR scanner and an interventional bi-plane angiography system. Mounted on ceiling rails for on-demand movement, the MR scanner can be deployed into any of three rooms - permitting rapid and efficient transitions between MR imaging and surgery or intervention without transporting the patient between modalities.
MR images can be taken before and during procedures to assess tissue condition, and can also be used in conjunction with fluoroscopic images during neurovascular procedures. When not in use for intraoperative imaging, both the MR and fluoroscopic system are available for diagnostic use as well.
The largest hospital in Winnipeg, HSC Winnipeg is the fourth Canadian institution to install a VISIUS Surgical Theatre and one of five in North America with a combined iMRI and angiography suite, providing multi-modality image guidance capabilities to assist clinicians in improving outcomes for patients during neurosurgical and interventional procedures. The angiography capability will assist surgeons with neurovascular procedures such as stroke management.
IMRIS CEO Jay Miller said this is a big step for healthcare in Manitoba and Canada. “The combined benefits of the IMRIS solution will assist in addressing a broad range of neurological disorders. As a company founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba, we are delighted that our solutions will be contributing to proven reductions in re-operation rates,” he said.
To see this story online visit
http://www.laboratoryfocus. ca/?p=1701
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Marc LePage, president and CEO of Génome Québec.
“McGill University is proud to be a founding partner of IPAC, and we thank P3G, CGP, and professor Knoppers for their leadership on this important initiative,” said Dr. Rose Goldstein, McGill’s vice-principal (Research and International Relations). “International partnerships and interdisciplinary research are fundamental to McGill’s research enterprise. We believe that by helping world-class researchers to work more collaboratively, regardless of discipline or country, we ensure that the strongest ideas will be applied to the transformative field of genomics.”
