TBA The Biotechnology Initiative

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TBI Member Marathon Dec 2009

The December Member Marathon this year brought TBI members a mixture of presenters - from biotechnology members with exciting stories to tell of emerging drugs/technologies to service providers with interesting projects and case studies.

The first presenter was Hart Goldman from Progenitor Corporation which offers strategy and management to start up companies. Mr. Goldman shared with us some work his company has done recently to better understand the biotechnology life sciences sector. He noted that life sciences is very diverse and is composed of various subsectors. Importantly, he noted that an organization like TBI offers its members joint industry events which often fail to help develop or grow these subsectors as the events are too broad to address the specific needs of each sector. Mr. Goldman then shared with us a case study his group had done in the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) sector which identified some key gaps and challenges for that sector, notably technology transfer and partnership development. Based on his research, Mr. Goldman recommended that to improve the innovation chain in biotechnology, what was needed was more business events specific to each sector where challenges, resources and knowledge could be shared in order to address specific gaps which would help to grow the specific sector.

The second presenter was Dr. David Lee, chief scientific officer at NoAb Biodiscoveries Inc. Dr. Lee reviewed the various drug discovery services available at NoAb including in vivo pharmacokinetics (especially brain penetration), in vitro ADMET assays, bioanalytical services, and gene expression profiling. He noted that gene expression profiling was becoming more important as the FDA is requesting data on potential drug-drug interactions when filing. In summarizing what NoAb Biodiscoveries has to offer he reflected that it is a small focused fully Canadian company, with extensive experience offering customized assays and drug discovery services.

The third presentation came from the State of Illinois Canada office. Ms Gail Morris and Mr. Jeffrey Johnson begin their presentation by reminding us that BIO was taking place in Chicago in 2010 (May 3-6). They then reviewed for us what was happening in biotechnology in their state currently, noting that the focus was on alternative energy and biofuels. They concluded their presentation by reminding TBI members that their role was to help develop and establish collaborations between companies in Illinois and Ontario in order to further bioscience research and development.

The fourth presenter was Dr. Joseph Elliot, CEO of Receptor Therapeutics, a company which is focused on creating value in oncology therapeutics. Dr. Elliot reviewed the Receptor Therapeutics model which is to outsource all development work and then to sell or license the drug once the preclinical work is done, allowing the majority of resources to be spent on product development rather than infrastructure. Dr. Elliot noted that it was challenging to find people with experience in early /preclinical development in Canada. Dr. Elliot reviewed for the group the current programs under development at Receptor – the OncoTek Program which is developing a new drug for ovarian cancer and the OncoD program with is developing vitamin D as a therapeutic agent. Both agents will be delivered via a biocompatible gel which is a new delivery system offering continuous local release of the therapeutic.

The fifth presenter was Mr. Parimal Nathwani the VP of Commercialization and Business Development at MaRS Innovation. Mr. Nathwani shared with the group the how and why the MaRS Innovation group was established, which was to provide a centralized body focused on driving development and commercialization of products developed within the Toronto Discovery District. He noted that MaRS Innovation addresses the challenges to emerging technologies by acting as a bridge between the developer and the capital/expertise needed to develop and successfully commercialize promising technologies. Since becoming established in 2009 his group has reviewed about 170 opportunities and have chosen only four projects to move forward due to limitations of money and expertise.

The final presenter was Mr. Randy Borron Senior VP of Cushman and Wakefield, a global life sciences partner which specializes in assisting companies with real estate challenges. Mr. Borron shared with us how Cushman and Wakefield helps manages challenges in the lifesciences sector from scaling up production to downsizing with a strong understanding of scalability, sustainability, productivity, costs and revenue streams. Looking specifically at the Toronto region, he noted for the group that currently market prices are falling and space availability is increasing.