Events

Don’t miss Montreal’s InVivo Career Fair!
September 19-20 2008
Montreal, QC, Canada
Holiday Inn, corner Midtown and Sherbrooke St.

“With over 500 jobs to be filled, once again the 2007 Career Fair attracted many companies and participants. This shows the dynamism of our sector and potential for people growth.”
- Mr. Carl Viel
General Manager, Montréal InVivo

Come and take part in the 4th career fair entirely dedicated to the life sciences and health technologies in Quebec!

Six reasons to participate in the Montréal InVivo Career Fair:

1. Meet skilled life science job-seekers
2. Direct, quick access to candidates allows you to better evaluate the best talent and optimize the time of the HR team
3. Build your recruitment image and market your company as an “employer of choice”
4. Take advantage of a unique recruitment event supported by a targeted media campaign to attract workers with life science skills
5. Position your company with other world class employers showcasing a wide diversity of life science careers
6. Logistics management help from a team that listens to you

Read more about it here or contact Sophie Vadeboncoeur at +1 (514) 931-5858 for more details.

Ne manquez pas le Forum Emploi de Montréal InVivo!
19-20 Septembre 2008
Montréal, QC, Canada
Holiday Inn, coin Midtown et Rue Sherbrooke

“Avec plus de 500 postes à combler, le Forum Emploi 2007 a encore une fois su attirer un grand nombre de companies et de participants, démontrant ainsi le dynamisme et le potentiel de croissance qui se trouve dans ce secteur.”
- Mr. Carl Viel
Directeur Général, Montréal InVivo

Assistez à la 4e édition de ce salon d’emploi entièrement dédié à l’industrie des sciences de la vie et des technologies de la santé au Québec!

Six raisons de participer au Forum Emploi sciences de la vie Montréal InVivo:

1. Un contact direct, rapide et personnalisé permettant d’identifier les meilleurs candidats
2. Un processus de recrutement efficace avec optimisation du temps pour l’équipe de recrutement
3. Un moyen ciblé, à travers votre kiosque, de valoriser la notoriété de votre entreprise et l’image d’employeur de choix
4. Une participation à un événement unique, soutenu par une campagne médiatique ciblée
5. Une valorisation des professions des sciences de la vie grâce à la présence d’entreprises dynamiques
6. Un accompagnement logistique avec une équipe à votre écoute

Apprenez-en plus à ce sujet ou contactez Sophie Vadeboncoeur au +1 (514) 931-5858 pour plus de détails.

QUEBEC

The IXth World Conference on Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (CPT2008)
July 27 - August 1, 2008
Québec City, QC, Canada

Québec City Convention Centre
900, boul René-Lévesque East, Québec City
Québec, Canada
Website: http://www.cpt2008.org

CPT 2008 will bring together recognized international experts, in all areas of clinical pharmacology, clinical pharmacy, basic pharmacology, toxicology and pharmacoepidemiology to support better health outcomes and rational use of drugs. The exciting program will appeal to attendees whose interests range from the molecular to community health. New sciences of pharmacogenomics and proteomics will be well represented. The program will allow open discussions on the advances of drug research and utilization. The celebration of 400 years of Québec City history will provide an outstanding backdrop to sizzling science. It’s the first time since 1983 that CPT is held in North America. Do not miss this one!

Telephone: (613) 993-0414
Fax: (613) 993-7250
E-mail: cpt2008@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

NOVA SCOTIA

Canada’s National Biotechnology Week
Coast-to-coast, September 19-26, 2008

Join BIOTECanada and partners in a celebration of the imagination and capacity of Canadian biotech innovators from discovery to commercialized product. To find out about NBW and the events taking place across the country, visit http://www.imagenenation.ca.

Technopolicy Conference
September 24-26, 2008
Halifax, NS, Canada

BioNova CEO Marli MacNeil will be presenting at the conference, which will focus on the development and implementation of various regional strategies across the world. Over the course of two days, several international speakers will give insight and address topics including why a regional innovation strategy is essential, what kinds of strategies have been developed, and how to organise the different elements of a successful region.

Telephone: 902-421-5705
Fax: 902-421-2733
E-mail: info@bionova.ca

BioPort Atlantic 2008
October 8-9, 2008
Cunard Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada.

Hosted by BioNova, BioPort Atlantic is the annual signature event for Atlantic Canada’s life sciences industry. To find out more about BioPort Atlantic visit http://www.bionova.ca/bioport/.

PHILADELPHIA

Exploratory Clinical Development World Americas 2008
23-25 September, 2008
Philadelphia Marriott Downtown
Philadelphia, PA, USA

Following the success of the Exploratory Clinical Development World Europe, the Americas congress will provide a critical insight into the latest strategies on how the industry is addressing and elevating the current challenges in early clinical development.

At the Exploratory Clinical Development World Americas you will gain the opportunity to hear about some of the scientific techniques being used to modernise drug development and to address the bottlenecks in early clinical development including computer models and simulation to predict device failures, qualified biomarkers, and innovative study designs.

Contact: Julie Phillips
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 608 7039
Fax: +44 (0) 207 608 7050
E-mail: jphillips@healthnetworkcommunications.com

For more information or to register, please visit the website at: http://www.terrapinn.com/2008/explorusa/.

ATLANTA

BioPharm America™ 2008
September 9-10, 2008
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

The North American counterpart to EBD’s partnering conferences, BIO-Europe and BIO-Europe Spring®.

As part of the EBD family of events, BioPharm America builds on a unique and proven model to facilitate partnering opportunities. BioPharm America will bring together international decision-makers from the biotechnology industry, as well as from major pharmaceutical corporations and the financial sector.

• EBD Group’s state-of-the-art partnering system enables delegates to set up meetings with potential partners
• Company presentations by small and large biotech and pharma firms as well as young, innovative start-ups
• Panels and workshops providing analyses and opinions of renowned industry leaders
• Sponsor exhibition to showcase products, services and technologies
• Excellent networking opportunities during lunches and exclusive evening receptions

Website: http://www.biopharmamerica.com/

Registration and information:

Contact: Elaine Bundy, EBD Group
Telephone: +1 (760) 930 0500
Fax: +1 (760) 930 0520
E-mail: ebundy@ebdgroup.com

LONDON, UK

World Drug Safety Congress Europe
16-19 September, 2008
London, United Kingdom

Hilton London Paddington
146 Praed Street, London, W2 1EE, United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7850 0500
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7850 0600
Website: http://www.hilton.co.uk/paddington/

The 2nd annual World Drug Safety Congress brings together top pharmaceutical, biotechnology and regulatory representatives in a forum that addresses the key issues of the industry. The in-depth programme covers the detection, analysis and prevention of adverse drug reactions with case studies and industry experiences as well as global regulatory coverage of developments in the US, Japan, Europe, Asia/Pacific, South America and Canada. The meeting is set to bridge the gap between international regulatory bodies, industry professionals and academic representatives and address how to drive pharmacovigilance operations forward into the 21st Century.

Contact: Julie Phillips
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 608 7039
Fax: +44 (0) 207 608 7050
E-mail: jphillips@healthnetworkcommunications.com

For more information or to register, please visit the website at: http://www.terrapinn.com/2008/safety/.

16th Annual BioPartnering Europe
October 12-14, 2008
London, United Kingdom

Early registration is now open for the 16th Annual BioPartnering Europe conference, which will take place at the QEII Conference Centre in London, England.

Why You Can’t Miss BioPartnering Europe:

• 1300+ attendees from more than 650 companies
• 140 company presentations by innovative, cutting-edge life science companies
• 1-to-1 meeting scheduling through biopartnering.com
• 12 panel sessions and interactive workshops by industry leaders
• Outstanding networking opportunities with senior executives and decision makers

This year they have created a new set of options for presenting and non-presenting companies, offering you the opportunity to create a customized and tailored package. Presenting company packages are limited and will fill quickly, so apply early for your best chance to be accepted.

For more details, contact Lila Taylor at ltaylor@techvision.com.

Key features of biopartnering.com include:

• 1-to-1 meeting scheduling
• Personal, company, and product profiles
• Onsite SMS messaging of new meeting scheduling
• Stay updated to additions to the program.

For more information or to register, please visit the website at: http://www.techvision.com/bpe/registration/.

Oncology Drug Development World Europe 2008
14-16 October, 2008
London, United Kingdom

The Hilton London Euston Hotel
17-18 Upper Woburn Place Bloomsbury
London, WC1H 0HT, United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7943 4500
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7943 4501

Contact: Julie Phillips
Email: jphillips@healthnetworkcommunications.com
Tel: +44 (0) 207 608 7039
Fax: +44 (0) 207 608 7050

For more information or to register, please visit the website at: .

The 2nd annual Oncology Drug Development World Europe will build upon the success of the 2007 inaugural event. The 2007 event attracted key oncology professionals globally and addressed the critical strategic, scientific and regulatory issues in the development of targeted oncology therapeutics.

This important meeting is for Early to late stage development managers and directors working on oncology products.

Career Tips

Develop the Potential of all your Employees

If yours is like most offices, you are surrounded by people of all behavioral types in your workplace. So you know how hard it can be to produce an environment in which everyone is cheerful and productive. You have probably already figured out that the way one employee prefers to be treated is radically different from what another employee wants. However, I can assure you that you can please everyone just by keeping his or her basic behavioral styles in mind - your workplace will be happier and more productive in no time!

Tony Alessandra, PhD

Dr Tony Alessandra is a lecturer and author.
http://www.alessandra.com

Quotes

“So long as I am acting from duty and conviction, I am indifferent to taunts and jeers; I think they will probably do me more good than harm.”

–Winston Churchill
Nobel Prize recipient
(1874-1965)

In May, 1940, he became England’s Prime Minister
and Minister of Defence and remained in office
until 1945. He took over the premiership again
in the Conservative victory of 1951 and resigned
in 1955. Awarded honorary citizenship of the
United States, which President Kennedy conferred
on him in 1963.

New Technologies

Tips and Strategies for Last-Minute Travel Planning Online

By Yardena Arar
PC World

I’m not the world’s most organized person, but I always thought it paid off to plan travel well in advance. After a recent European trip booked on short notice, however, I’ve come to appreciate the virtues of last-minute planning. Among other things, I got the best deal of my life for air travel: a short-hop flight within Spain for $18.24.

I also found airfares to and from San Francisco–purchased less than three weeks before I left–lower than any I’d researched months earlier. And on only three days’ notice my traveling companion, Contributing Editor Grace Aquino, located great accommodations in a tourist destination (Barcelona) that was packed for a tech-industry trade show.

The sub-$20 fare (found on Orbitz, for a Spanair flight from Malaga to Madrid) resulted from a database glitch, an Orbitz official said. But more and more people are making their travel plans later and later. Clem Bason, a travel expert at Hotwire–a site that specializes in last-minute travel deals–says the average hotel stay used to be booked about 20 days in advance; now, that figure has dropped to 14 days, and hotels attempt to offer their cheapest rates when most people are booking. Airlines no longer reward advance planners with the best fares, either: “They try to start filling that airplane as you get closer and closer to that trip” Bason explains.

Be a Flexible Flyer

My trip taught me a few things about eleventh-hour planning. First and foremost, traveling during the off-season helped–probably a lot. Most of the flights were far from full. Similarly, you’re more likely to find deals if you’re willing to travel Monday through Thursday instead of during the popular weekend days.

Try all the angles. Travel-aggregation sites such as Farecast and Kayak, which search multiple booking flights (such as from the airlines, Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity), make viewing all your options easy. We originally investigated a multi-city fare for our flights from Barcelona to Malaga and from Malaga to Madrid, but did better when we searched for separate one-way fares.

Hotwire, Priceline, and other sites can find deals if you are willing to book based on generic attributes as opposed to specific brands (a flight route but not a preferred carrier, for example). These sites allow airlines and hotels to offer big discounts without making it obvious that they aren’t at full capacity, Bason says.

Consider a rental apartment, even if you’ll be there for only a few days. Grace found us a modern furnished apartment in a fashionable part of town through Craigslist’s Barcelona site. Not only did we save money, but we also had separate bedrooms, free DSL, and a kitchen.

Craigslist has sites (in English) for all major European cities. Check vacation rental listings, many of which have photos, for nightly and weekly rates. Don’t be shy about asking questions (does the building have an elevator, for instance).

I still believe in planning ahead when there’s reason to believe that plane tickets or lodgings may be in short supply. But in the future I’ll be a lot more willing to plan late: I’m pretty sure I won’t see an $18.24 plane ticket to anywhere if I buy six months in advance.

Industry News

Scarborough Hospital upgrades physician scheduling system with Chyma

TORONTO — The Scarborough Hospital (TSH), Canada’s largest urban community hospital, has selected Chyma to help medical staff manage the complex and time-consuming job of on-call scheduling faster and with less effort, and to attract more physicians and locums to their community.

The implementation of Chyma for their team of more than 700 physicians has begun with the busy ER departments at the two hospital campuses and will soon be expanding to the department of general medicine.

“Chyma reflects the commitment of the Scarborough Hospital (TSH) to excellent patient care, and to leadership among Canadian hospitals through the adoption of innovative healthcare information technology,” said Jeanie Joaquin, Vice President of Patient Services at the TSH.

“Equally important, Chyma supports our medical team in a meaningful way by giving them a tool to save valuable time in the on-call scheduling process,” said Joaquin. “As an added benefit, we believe that Chyma better positions TSH to attract doctors and locums in our community, while enabling our physicians to better manage their schedules and balance their lives.”

“Now with a few mouse clicks, doctors and administrators using Chyma at the TSH will know in ‘real time’ which physician is on, where and when,” said Mark Gregory, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Chyma. “Aside from saving time and money, the TSH gains technology that is a visionary tool for planning for healthcare emergencies, healthcare resource allocation, and informatics.”

Chyma (pronounced K-eye-ma) is a Web-based tool that enables physicians and healthcare administrators to manage on-call schedules. Designed by a doctor, Chyma has the features and functionality healthcare professionals want, including:

• Rapid generation of schedules
• Schedule grouping for multi-departments and multi-communities
• Vacation approval
• Conflict catcher
• Intuitive Vista and Mac look
• OnNow! Full-screen (airport style) display
• File and ‘contact’ sharing, and secure email across communities
• An optional, powerful rules-based scheduling module; and
• Fast, reliable Net 2.0 Architecture with Ajax components

Chyma (http://www.chyma.net) is currently in use in leading hospitals in Canada, including St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, St. Joseph’s and McMaster University in Hamilton, the North Bay General Hospital and the Children’s Hospital and St. Justine’s in Montreal as well as primary care networks (PCNs) in Alberta such as Calgary Foothills, Calgary Rural and Highlands. Chyma is owned by IsaiX Technologies (http://www.isaix.com), a leading Montreal-based technology company with a focus on the life sciences and financial sectors.

©Canadian Healthcare Technology

Dr. Brian Day: What Canada could learn from Britain

The following is excerpted from an article by Dr. Brian Day [Picture of Dr. Brian Day], president of the Canadian Medical Association. It appeared in the Ottawa Citizen.

While Canadian governments maintain a system that leaves their citizens without proper access to care, in the past four years the British have introduced innovations and reforms that have achieved spectacular reductions in waiting lists.

At the end of 2003 there were almost one million patients on hospital waiting lists in England. By the end of 2007, that number had plummeted and almost 90 percent of patients were receiving treatment in less than three months.

How did they do it?

First, hospital funding has been changed from block funding (global budgets) to a “payment-by-results” system. Hospitals are now paid for each patient they treat, based on complexity. Payment by results has not been without its critics, but it has been refined and has absolutely proven its worth.

Second, the NHS has taken an aggressive approach to setting targets, such as the introduction of an 18-week target for the completion of elective treatments (this will be achieved this year), and four-hour maximum targets for the treatment of emergency room patients (achieved already and currently being reduced to a two-hour target).

Can Canada learn from the NHS? The answer is a resounding yes.

Read the full report to see the top 10 lessons.

Dr. Brian Day, an orthopedic surgeon, is president of the Canadian Medical Association.

FDA’s Foot-Dragging Hurts Canada’s Biotech Firms

By Scott Anderson
Reuters

TORONTO (Reuters) — Canadian biotechnology companies have joined a chorus of their global counterparts to rail against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s tardiness in approving new drugs.

Products by companies such as Labopharm Inc (DDS.TO) and Cardiome Pharma Corp (COM.TO) have been delayed in the key U.S. market for months, chipping into their revenue and waylaying their plans.

The FDA has blamed a severely depleted staff and dwindling funds for the holdups in approving treatments, while it also deals with an overly cautious U.S. Congress that is keen to turn over every stone.

However, some critics say part of the problem stems from added scrutiny in the wake of the handling of the arthritis pill Vioxx, which was withdrawn by Merck & Co (MRK.N) in 2004 following a link to heart attacks.

“It’s going from the sublime to the ridiculous that programs that have cost hundreds of millions of dollars and many years to develop are being hung up by a couple of whiny bureaucrats,” said Brian Bapty, a biotechnology analyst at Raymond James Ltd, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

“The FDA is quibbling about staffing levels and funding, yet companies who are trying to get some of these drugs approved of which could sell for billions of dollars a year are being held for many months because of issues at the FDA.”

This has been a source of frustration for the companies.

“This is something of a different FDA today than it was three or four years ago,” said James Howard-Tripp, president and chief executive at Labopharm.

“What used to be very good about the FDA is that you used to get considerable clarity and very decisive decision making.”
Labopharm, which has struggled to get its once-daily version of the pain killer tramadol to market for several years, has also faced a series of delays as it tries to satisfy key data requirement requests from the FDA.

The drug agency’s drawn-out approval process has been costly for Labopharm and its development partner, Purdue Pharma LLP, Howard-Tripp said. The company expected approval in September 2006, and had prepared for its launch in both 2006 and mid-2007.

Howard-Tripp said the delays were the result of the FDA’s decision to alter data requirements midstream, and that the statistical method the FDA proposed for a new analysis of the data was different from what it previously requested.

Bellus Health (BLU.TO), formerly known as Neurochem, skirted the FDA process by renaming its Alzhemed Alzheimer’s Disease treatment “Vivimind” and classifying it as a “nutraceutical.”

This new branding allowed the company to avoid jumping through the same hoops required by the FDA in approving a drug.
Raymond James’ Bapty warned it was a matter of time before the multibillion-dollar biotechs reach boiling point and band together to flex their political muscle.

“It could come to a very big head. You will see tremendous influence brought to bear on the governing bodies and the politicians overseeing how the FDA gets funded,” Bapty said.

House of Commons Gives Green Light to Biofuel Bill

OTTAWA (Reuters) — Government legislation that will require all gasoline sold in Canada to contain 5 percent ethanol by 2010 passed the House of Commons.

The bill, which also calls for diesel to contain 2 percent renewable fuels by 2012, won the support of the main opposition Liberal Party but was opposed by two smaller parties that had voiced concern about food-crop production being diverted to fuel.

However, the governing Conservatives and the Liberals have both backed the idea, arguing that only a small portion of food crops such as corn will be used to make the biofuel.

The bill must now be approved by the Senate, where passage is likely since it is dominated by the Liberal Party.

The legislation would create demand for an estimated 2 billion liters of ethanol and 600 million liters of biodiesel.

Canada has 16 ethanol plants built or under construction, according to industry data, with a total capacity of 1.6 billion liters produced from corn and wheat.

There are currently three biodiesel plants with a combined capacity of 97 million liters, mainly using animal fats. A plant that would produce 225 million liters of biodiesel from canola oil is under construction in Alberta.

The United States has mandated that 9 billion gallons (34 billion liters) of biofuel be sold in 2008, the equivalent of nearly 8 percent of anticipated gasoline demand. That amount will slowly increase each year to 36 billion gallons in 2022.

©Reuters

ImmunoVaccine Technologies Unveils Warwick Kimmins Science Scholarship

Halifax, Nova Scotia — ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. (IVT), a vaccine development company, launched the Warwick Kimmins Science Scholarship today to high school students in Atlantic Canada. The scholarship is aimed at encouraging students to pursue science in university.

“I want young people to be inspired by science,” said Brian Lowe, Vice President of IVT. “This gives students, who may not be at the top of their class, a chance to win a scholarship and to dream big.”

The scholarship is in memory of IVT’s founder, Dr. Warwick Kimmins. Kimmins, who was also the former Dean of the Faculty of Science at Dalhousie University, was instrumental in bringing IVT to where it is today.

About IVT
ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. is a private, clinical-stage, vaccine development company. Through its own biotech research, patented VacciMax® and DepoVax™ technologies, and collaborations with partners, IVT creates vaccines with the potential to help save and improve lives around the world.

http://www.immunovaccine.com

Contact:
Brian Lowe, Vice President IVT
Telephone: +1 (902) 492-1819
E-Mail: mbl.ivt@immunovaccine.com

OR
Jennifer Ayotte, Communications
Telephone: +1 (902) 209-4704
E-Mail: jayotte@impactcommunications.ca

Glaxo Is Eliminating R&D Jobs As Part of Cost-Cutting Plan

By Jeanne Whalen

LONDON — Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC said it is cutting 2% of its global research and development staff, or 350 jobs, in another sign of the drug industry’s struggle to stay profitable amid an increasingly tough business environment.

The move is part of a cost-cutting program that Glaxo announced in October under the previous chief executive officer, Jean-Pierre Garnier, a spokesman said.

F.D.A. to Expand Scrutiny of Risks From Drugs After They’re Approved for Sale

By Gardiner Harris
The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Chastened by repeated instances in which popular medicines proved deadly, federal health officials announced a major effort on Thursday to use information on Medicare claims to assess the risks of drugs already on the market.

The new system, called the Sentinel Initiative, will allow officials from the Food and Drug Administration for the first time to monitor almost immediately how drugs affect health. As it stands now, months or even years must pass before officials learn of unexpected side effects that can cost dozens or even thousands of lives.

“It will be a quantum leap forward in F.D.A.’s capacity to monitor the use of medical products that are currently on the market,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt.

Read the full report.

Eli Lilly Streamlines Management In Several Areas

By Tom Murphy
AP Business

INDIANAPOLIS — Drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. said it will reshuffle leadership primarily in its research labs and international operations to thin out bureaucracy and improve accountability.

The company will consolidate management by combining global regulatory, medical and patient safety divisions under the leadership of Dr. Tim Garnett, the current vice president of global patient safety. He’ll become vice president and chief medical officer.

The current chief medical officer, Dr. Alan Breier, is leaving to become a psychiatry professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Global regulatory affairs vice president Dr. Tim Franson will retire.

Dr. Jen Stotka has been named vice president of global regulatory affairs and Dr. Don Therasse will become vice president of global patient safety. Both will report to Garnett.

The changes started earlier this year, when new president and CEO John Lechleiter asked the company’s senior leaders to determine whether their businesses are structured the best way possible. The moves will allow Lilly to “respond more quickly to critical business needs,” Lechleiter said in a statement.

Read the full report.

U.S. to bar Chinese firms that fail to meet quality standards

Chinese exporters should voluntarily meet U.S. product-quality certification standards to avoid being banned from the U.S. market, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said during a visit to China. Leavitt, who was meeting with Chinese regulators to enforce agreements signed last December, said local officials are studying how to seal a loophole that permitted chemical firms to manufacture drug ingredients without undergoing inspection.

Read the full report.

©Wall Street Journal

Career Training and Development

UPCOMING SEMINARS

Fundamentals of Regulatory Affairs in Canada
Toronto: Nov. 12-13, 2008
Montreal: Nov. 19-20, 2008
Download the course brochure

Senior Sales Management: Simulation-Based Training
Toronto: September 8-9, 2008
Download the course brochure

Optimizing District Performance: Simulation-Based Training
Toronto: September 10-12, 2008
Download the course brochure

Essentials of Public Payer Reimbursement
The Essentials of Public Payer Reimbursement seminar will be offered during the week of September 15, 2008. For more information, please contact Sophie Vadeboncoeur: by telephone (+1) 514-931-5858 x240, or by e-mail sophie@pharmahorizons.com.

Principles and Practice of Pharmaceutical Marketing Research (System 300)
Toronto: October 15-16, 2008
Download the course brochure

Rx&D Code Awareness Seminars
Toronto: October 30, 2008
Montreal: November 4, 2008
Download the course brochure

The PAAB Code: Strategies, Tools and Techniques to Speed Approval of Your Submission
Montreal: November 12, 2008
Toronto: November 19, 2008
Download the course brochure

CHE: Changing Physician Behaviour
Toronto: November 25, 2008
Download the course brochure

Speaker Coaching: Influencing Speaker Performance
Montreal: November 20, 2008
Toronto: November 13, 2008
Download the course brochure

About the Seminar

This practical interactive workshop presents a sophisticated platform, based on physician behaviour change research, to influence your speaker and generate success in CHE. By combining and applying theories from psychology and adult education, the participant will build knowledge and skill to influence CHE outcomes.

Would you like to feel more confident in your ability to influence the speaker? Do you want to save time & reduce frustration with your CHE efforts? Do you want to identify the 4 disciplines that contribute to successful CHE outcomes and how you can influence them? Do you question whether the CHE events in which you’re involved are as “successful” as possible?

If you answered ‘Yes” to these questions, you don’t want to miss this new seminar by Jill Donohue.

Partner News

Click a Partner’s link below to immediately visit the area of your choice.

PAAB
Montreal InVivo
IMS Health
Toronto Biotechnology Initiative
Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation
BioAlberta

News from PAAB

Learn the regulations and guidelines that embody the pharmaceutical industry’s commitment to the highest standard of professional conduct. Pharmahorizons is the authorized training partners of the PAAB and Rx&D.

Message from the PAAB Commissioner

PAAB Launches Client Experience Index
During the past few years, our team at the PAAB has been focused on delivering great customer service to our PAAB clients. That involves looking at what we do and how we deliver our service so that it meets the advertising standards adopted by the pharmaceutical companies in Canada. All of us need to protect the industry’s reputation and communicate in a way that meets the Canadian standards. When our clients provide submissions, we often have to say “no” and, of course, clients do not like “no” for an answer.

PAAB staff members are selected for their skills and ability to do the work of the PAAB. They are trained to analyze advertising, make a yes/no decision, communicate that decision clearly in writing and then offer help to get to “yes,” where applicable.

Operations management guru Edwards Deeming once said, “What gets measured, improves.”

In the past two years we have reached out to our clients, asking you to help us improve our service delivery. The PAAB partnered with Pharmahorizons to develop and deliver an on-line survey which was sent to all clients in 2006.

With the support of Pharmahorizons, the PAAB was able to identify the top five issues you felt were important. The PAAB has addressed these five issues internally with PAAB staff and they have been working on continuously improving the delivery of customer service.

To address those five topics with our clients, the PAAB held face-to-face focus groups involving approximately 50 individuals from PAAB client companies and the PAAB Commissioner and Chief Review Officer in Toronto and Montreal in June 2007.

The PAAB was able to gather additional information about issues that were raised allowing them to identify some areas that could be improved along with some client misconceptions.

The PAAB is always looking to improve and appreciated this helpful feedback. Therefore, we have engaged IsaiX Technologies (Pharmahorizons) in the development of a Client Experience Index (CEI) which was launched in May.

The launch of this new CEI involves you, PAAB’s clients. Each month, the system randomly selects completed and approved review files and issues a survey to clients who submitted files. The survey is made up of a series of questions which assesses client experience with the PAAB staff during the review process. Client responders, who are anonymous to the PAAB staff, are prompted to access a website to answer the survey questions.

The PAAB, who is optimistic about receiving positive reports and suggestions for the improvement of its customer service, looks forward to working with you to ensure we meet our Canadian standards for advertising.

News from Montreal InVivo

Montreal is Canada’s largest life science cluster. Each month, Pharmahorizons will showcase news, trends and events in the greater Montreal area.

Montréal InVivo Life Sciences Career Fair

19-20 September, 2008
Holiday Inn Midtown and Sherbrooke St

Don’t miss this annual career fair targetted specifically for Quebec’s Life Sciences industry!

For employers interested in attending this event (sponsoring, renting a booth, advertising), please contact Sophie Vadeboncoeur: by telephone (+1) 514-931-5858 x240, or by e-mail sophie@pharmahorizons.com.

Genpharm’s Legal Victory in Quebec Market
Genpharm ULC, (Etobicoke) one of Canada’s top five generic pharmaceutical companies, today announced that it has won a significant legal victory in Quebec’s Superior Court. The ruling permits Genpharm to immediately re-enter the Quebec market with its own sales force, settling a dispute between Genpharm and Gennium Pharmaceutical Products Inc., a sub-distributor in Quebec, which arose after Genpharm terminated its agreement with a national distributor in 2007.

http://www.genpharm.ca
Life Sciences Industries News Briefs ©2008

$36m Investment in Laval by Boehringer Ingelheim Canada
Boehringer Ingelheim Canada (Laval) marked the successful completion of a $36 million investment by the company in new, leading-edge laboratories in Laval, Quebec, designed to support research into treatments for serious infectious diseases. The new facility will allow Boehringer Ingelheim to hire 40 additional high-calibre scientists who will join an existing team of 150 researchers.

http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.ca

Sanofi-Aventis Inaugurating Expansions to Canadian HQ
Sanofi-aventis is inaugurating a series of expansions and upgrades to its Canadian headquarters. Initiated in 2005, the $25-million investment in its offices and pharmaceutical plant reaffirms the company’s commitment to Quebec and Canada and lays strong foundations for its future growth and economic activity.

http://www.sanofi-aventis.com

No Link Between Antidepressants and Birth Defects
Expectant mothers can safely use prescribed antidepressants during their first trimester, according to a new study from the Université de Montréal and Ste. Justine Hospital published in the May edition of the British Journal of Psychiatry. Dr. Anick Bérard and her team found that antidepressants have no effect on foetal development. “This is the first study to investigate the impact of antidepressant use during the first trimester of pregnancy in mothers with psychiatric disorders,” she said. “In terms of birth malformations in this population, we found no difference between women who used antidepressants and those who did not use antidepressants during their first trimester.” The research team used data from the Quebec Pregnancy Registry, established by their group, to analyze the records of 2,329 new mothers diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder and treated with antidepressants for at least 30 days before pregnancy. Also included in the registry were women who delivered liveborn and stillborn children, while birth defects were considered anything from facial malformations to heart anomalies.

http://www.umontreal.ca

Web-based Directory of Health Researchers Expands Networking Capabilities
The Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation has developed the Nova Scotia Directory of Health Researchers, a web-based and fully searchable database which is an essential tool for networking and finding experts in certain fields. This Directory is for anyone looking to link with the expertise of a health researcher. All health researchers residing in Nova Scotia who register or update their information with the Common CV are invited to join the Nova Scotia Directory of Health Researchers.

http://www.nshrf.ca

Federal Government Grants $8.5 million to Springboard Atlantic
This grant will help Atlantic Canadian researchers get their discoveries out of the laboratory to markets around the world. Springboard will receive the monies from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s Atlantic Innovation Fund. A non-profit organization that encourages commercialization of research, Springboard represents 14 Atlantic Canadian universities and networks of community colleges in the region.

Atrium Innovations Inc. Selling Active Ingredients and Specialty Chemicals Division
Atrium Innovations Inc. (Quebec City) announced that it has completed the sale of its Active Ingredients and Specialty Chemicals division for total proceeds of US$166.4 million in cash, subject to a post-closing working capital adjustment. Atrium is now a health and nutrition pure-play and the net proceeds from the transaction will provide the Company with better financial flexibility to pursue its corporate strategy.

http://www.atrium-innov.com
Life Sciences Industries News Briefs ©2008

News from IMS Health

Learning Solutions and Change Management Seminars.
IMS courses make use of the latest learning tools combining conceptual content, sophisticated computer-based simulation work, and exercises with real data to ensure maximum impact and retention.

Click here to download the IMS Health brochures with 10 new courses

Canada’s Rx Atlas Portrait of Pharmaceutical Spending in Canada
Canada’s Rx Atlas, a first-of-its-kind, gives a comprehensive portrait of the more than $20 billion spent on pharmaceuticals in Canada.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia Centre for Health Services and Policy Research have developed a comprehensive portrait of pharmaceutical spending in Canada — more than $20 billion by the end of 2005 — and assembled the results into a first-of-its-kind atlas.

The Canadian Rx Atlas uses prescription data provided by IMS Health Canada, an international health industry information company, from 2,100 retail pharmacies to break down trends in drug spending between 1998 and 2004, and provides detailed depictions of regional variations in spending.

The report is now available at http://www.chspr.ubc.ca.

About IMS
Operating in more than 100 countries, IMS Health is the world’s leading provider of market intelligence to pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. With US$2.2 billion in revenue in 2007 and more than 50 years of industry experience, IMS offers leading-edge business intelligence products and services that are integral to clients’ day-to-day operations. IMS information is also used by researchers, academics, government and other stakeholders to advance health through informed decision-making.

IMS and Pharmahorizons are partners.

News from Toronto’s BioPharma Community

Nuvo Licenses Topical Pain Product from Paladin
Nuvo Research Inc. (Mississauga), a Canadian drug development company focused on the research and development of drug products delivered to and through the skin using its topical and transdermal drug delivery technologies, announced that it has licensed the exclusive rights from Paladin Labs Inc. (TSX: PLB) to develop and commercialize a novel topical pain formulation with the potential to treat inflammatory and neuropathic pain conditions. The formulation is in the pre-clinical formulation development stage and is the subject of a pending patent application.

http://www.nuvoresearch.com
Life Sciences Industries News Briefs ©2008

Microbix Biosystems Inc. Granted State Intellectual Property Office Patent
Microbix Biosystems Inc. (Toronto) has been granted a patent by the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China for its VIRUSMAX(TM) technology which enables egg-based vaccine manufacturers to significantly increase the amount of influenza vaccine they produce each year.

http://www.microbix.com
Life Sciences Industries News Briefs ©2008

Microbix VIRUSMAX™ Technology Continues to Attract Interest from Vaccine Manufacturers

Microbix Biosystems Inc. (TSX:MBX) announced in early June that it has received its third, new signed Letter Of Intent regarding Microbix’ proprietary influenza vaccine yield enhancement technology.

The LOI is from a significant, global manufacturer of influenza vaccine that will evaluate VIRUSMAX™ that, as other independent tests have shown, can enable manufacturers to at least double the amount of influenza vaccine they produce. A successful evaluation could lead to a definitive agreement on licensing the technology.

In addition to the existing three LOI’s in place, Microbix is in late stage discussions with two other organizations. “We are seeing momentum in this area of our business, and we anticipate further opportunities in 2008 as the world becomes increasingly concerned about the risks of a pandemic,” said William J. Gastle, CEO of Microbix.

Currently, there are only four countries that produce enough vaccine to immunize their own populations – Canada, France, Belgium and Australia. Every other country lacks the manufacturing capacity to meet domestic needs. By boosting production yields, VIRUSMAX™ can help countries reduce dependence on imported supplies.

Microbix has been granted patents on VIRUSMAX™ in China, the U.S., India, Canada and Australia. A number of other patent applications in major markets are currently pending.

Microbix specializes in developing proprietary biological technologies, including biotherapeutic drugs, vaccine technologies and animal reproduction technologies. It has been researching and developing the flu vaccine yield enhancement technology for a number of years, with a team at the company’s Toronto laboratories spearheading these efforts.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements such as the risks associated with the inability for third parties to replicate the laboratory results, limited application of laboratory results to commercialization of the Vaccine Technology such as vaccine manufacturers being unable to make changes to their production process or not realizing a yield that, in their opinion, makes the process economical, among others. These forward-looking statements represent the Company’s judgment as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

For further information, please visit http://www.microbix.com, or contact:

William J. Gastle
CEO, Microbix Biosystems Inc.

Jim Long
CFO, Microbix Biosystems Inc.

Covalon Technologies Inc. Receives Health Canada Approval
Covalon Technologies Ltd. (Mississauga) announced that it has received approval from the Therapeutic Product Directorate at Health Canada to begin marketing the Corporation’s proprietary products: BIOSTEP(TM) Collagen Matrix Dressing, and BIOSTEP(TM) Ag Collagen Matrix Dressing with Silver. The products are advanced wound care dressings that create a moist wound healing environment, deactivate harmful wound proteases and promote tissue growth in chronic wounds, which affect an increasingly large number of patients and have a serious impact on their quality of life. The products will be marketed by Smith & Nephew Inc. under the terms of an exclusive worldwide sales, marketing and distribution agreement announced last year.

http://www.covalon.com
Life Sciences Industries News Briefs ©2008

College Network to Tackle Real-world Challenges
TORONTO and OTTAWA – Ontario has launched the Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation (CONII), a network that links 10 of the province’s top colleges located along the technology corridor between Ottawa and Windsor.

The colleges will focus on developing new solutions for the healthcare and safety sectors in conjunction with industry partners.

The colleges are: Algonquin, Centennial, Conestoga, Fanshawe, George Brown, Humber, Niagara, St. Clair, Seneca and Sheridan . With a focus on applied versus pure research, the network is making it easier for industry partners to access the research expertise they need in order to remain competitive in today’s global marketplace.

“Ontario colleges have always provided skilled employees and training to business. Now we’re building on that success to provide research, development and commercialization services in key economic sectors across the province,” says Katharine Janzen, Chair of the CONII Steering Committee and Vice-President, Research and Innovation, at Toronto’s Seneca College.

The assistance provided by CONII members can range from incremental innovation, needs assessment, and knowledge or technical transfer, to product or process development, prototype building and proof of concept projects, she adds.

Funded by a three-year, $3.5 million grant through the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation’s Ontario Research Commercialization Program (ORCP), CONII was launched to develop research projects with businesses that make effective use of faculty expertise, provide students with real-world learning opportunities, and ultimately help to solve real-world problems.

For more information about CONII and its member colleges, please visit http://www.conii.ca.

Read the full report

©Canadian Healthcare Technology

Apotex Receives Final Tender Approval From Rwanda For AIDS Drug
Apotex Inc., (Toronto) Canada’s largest generic pharmaceutical company has successfully bid and been awarded a tender from the Rwandan Government for the life saving triple combination AIDS drug “Apo Triavir”. Apotex is the first company to provide this medicine to Africa under the provisions of the Canadian Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR). The CAMR provides a mechanism for developing countries to address critical healthcare needs by importing less expensive generic versions of patented drugs. Following the process it has taken Apotex over three years to get to this point where a drug can go to thousands in Africa.

http://www.apotex.com
Life Sciences Industries News Briefs ©2008

News from the OCRI Life Sciences

Call for Public Member for the Canadian Expert Drug Advisory Committee (CEDAC)
The CEDAC Nominating Committee is now accepting applications for a Public Member position on CEDAC.

CEDAC is an independent advisory body with expertise in drug therapy and drug evaluation. As part of the Common Drug Review, CEDAC makes recommendations to the participating federal, provincial, and territorial publicly funded drug plans regarding the inclusion of drugs on their formularies. The committee’s approach is evidence-based and considers the clinical effects and cost-effectiveness of drugs compared with other available therapies.

Applications to CEDAC will be reviewed by the CEDAC Nominating Committee. The CEDAC application process, selection criteria, applicant requirements, Terms of Reference, and Conflict of Interest Guidelines are available on the CADTH web site, or by contacting CADTH at +1 (613) 226-2553. Please contact CADTH at cedac_publicmembers@cadth.ca for further information. Applications should be received by July 7, 2008.

Call for Nominations for Professional Members of CEDAC
The Canadian Expert Drug Advisory Committee (CEDAC) Nominating Committee is also now accepting nominations for prospective Professional Members for CEDAC.

We are seeking highly qualified professionals with expertise in drug therapy and drug evaluation to serve on CEDAC for a minimum two-year term. A Nomination Package containing details on nomination requirements, the selection process, and instructions for nominating potential candidates is available on the CADTH web site.

Nomination packages must be received by the CDR Directorate at CADTH no later than July 7, 2008.

If you have any questions about the nominations process for Professional Members, please visit CADTH’s web site or contact the CDR Directorate at +1 (613) 226-2553.

PharmaGap drug effective against Breast and Colon cancer
PharmaGap Inc. (Ottawa) released the results of animal studies indicating statistically significant effectiveness of its lead cancer drug, PhG-alpha-1, in treating human breast and colon cancer. Five separate test models, with a total of 240 mice, having previously been implanted with either human breast or colon cancer, were treated with PhG-alpha-1 at three doses, both singly and in combination with chemotherapeutic agents, or received saline solution or the chemotherapeutic agent alone as test controls. Overall tumour incidence was 46% in the groups receiving PhG-alpha-1 alone, at all dosages, compared with 80% in the saline control group, and was 60% in groups receiving PhG-alpha-1 in combination therapy, compared to 100% for the chemotherapy control. Measurement of VEGF serum levels (vascular endothelial growth factor, an angiogenic (growth of blood vessels) agent increasing tumour malignancy) confirmed earlier results showing reduction in VEGF levels following treatment with PhG-alpha-1.

http://www.pharmagap.com

PharmaGap Inc. (GAP) Establishes Clinical Development Group
PharmaGap Inc. (Ottawa) announced the formation of a Clinical Development Group to direct and deliver the Company’s clinical development of its PhG-alpha-1 compound for treatment of cancer. The Clinical Development Group has the mandate to execute the program required to generate the data needed for an Investigational New Drug (“IND”) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

http://www.pharmagap.com

News from BioAlberta

BioAlberta is the central voice and the organizing hub for the bio-industry in Alberta.

Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. Announces Enrollment of the First Patient
Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. (Calgary) announced the enrollment of the first patient in its REGENESIS Phase IIb stroke trial. The REGENESIS trial is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase IIb clinical trial for SCT’s lead program, NTxTM-265, for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke.

http://www.stemcellthera.com
Life Sciences Industries News Briefs ©2008

Alberta Dismisses all Boards, Creates Single ‘Super-board’
EDMONTON – In a massive shake-up, Alberta has replaced its nine regional health boards with a single ‘super-board’ as a way of streamlining the $13-billion provincial health system and to ensure that Albertans receive the same level of care no matter where they live.

“MLAs have brought to me instances of where one side of the road in one of the regions delivers services different from people who live on the other side of the road,” said health minister Ron Liepert at a press conference in May.

“And so those are the kinds of things we need to ensure don’t happen in the system because an Albertan is an Albertan and should receive similar service across the province.”

The re-tooling of Alberta’s healthcare system took effect immediately, with the appointment of an interim Alberta Health Services Board CEO and seven-member board.

In addition to the nine former health authorities, it also replaces the Alberta Cancer Board, Mental Health Board, and substance-abuse commission.

The change was immediately applauded by the Alberta Medical Association, which said it’s time to get regional politics out of healthcare and start focusing on individual patient service.

Read the full report
©Canadian Healthcare Technology

Protox doses first patient in Phase 2 BPH clinical trial
Protox Therapeutics Inc. (Vancouver), a leader in the development of receptor targeted fusion proteins, announced the enrolment and successful dosing of the first patient in a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating PRX302 to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or enlarged prostate, a common and bothersome urological condition that affects over 1 million men in Canada and over 50 million men worldwide. “This milestone sets the stage for a very exciting time for Protox this year as we embark upon dosing patients in as many as three Phase 2 clinical trials,” said Dr. Fahar Merchant, President and Chief Executive Officer of Protox.

“We are very pleased with the rapid advances we have made on this important project and look forward to completing patient enrolment and releasing results before the end of this year. We believe that PRX302 has the potential of establishing a new standard of care for a disease that affects millions of men worldwide.”

http://www.protoxtherapeutics.com

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. Announces U.K. Phase II Clinical Trial

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (Calgary) announced that that it has received a letter of approval from the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for its Clinical Trial Application (CTA) to begin a Phase II clinical trial using intravenous administration of REOLYSIN(R) in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with advanced head and neck cancers. The principal investigator is Dr. Kevin Harrington of The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. This trial is a 14 patient, single arm, open-label, dose-targeted, non-randomized, multi-centre trial of REOLYSIN(R) given intravenously in combination with a standard dosage of paclitaxel and carboplatin. Patients with a variety of advanced cancers, including head and neck cancers, will continue to be treated in the ongoing U.K. combination paclitaxel and carboplatin trial.

http://www.oncolyticsbiotech.com
Life Sciences Industries News Briefs ©2008

Alberta to reduce number of funded EMR vendors
EDMONTON – The Physician Office System Program (POSP) in Alberta is reducing the number of certified vendors to five by the end of 2008. Currently, there are 13 vendors that have been accredited by POSP; when physicians implement these solutions, they qualify for funding from the program.

Two of the five systems have already been decided upon – Capital Health has chosen Epic as a regional solution, while Calgary Health Region has opted for EMIS. According to the POSP office, however, these regional solutions must still meet all requirements in the POSP RFP to be considered compliant and eligible for funding.

Moreover, physicians working outside of a health region facility will not be required to use the regional vendor. Community physicians will have the opportunity to choose from the three successful vendors as well as the regional vendor.

POSP is currently evaluating applications for the remaining three certifications. A short list of six vendors will be determined by July 31. In September, these six vendor solutions will undergo additional testing to determine the three finalists.

The decision to reduce the number of funded solutions in Alberta was made during recent tri-lateral negotiations between Alberta Health and Wellness, the Alberta Medical Association and the POSP.

Read the full report
©Canadian Healthcare Technology

Partner News

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News from PAAB

Learn the regulations and guidelines that embody the pharmaceutical industry’s commitment to the highest standard of professional conduct. Pharmahorizons is the authorized training partners of the PAAB and Rx&D.

Read the April 2008 PAAB Newsletter:

News from Montreal InVivo

Montreal is Canada’s largest life science cluster. Each month, Pharmahorizons will showcase news, trends and events in the greater Montreal area.

Montréal InVivo Life Sciences Career Fair

19-20 September, 2008
Holiday Inn Midtown and Sherbrooke St

Don’t miss this annual career fair targetted specifically for Quebec’s Life Sciences industry!

For employers interested in attending this event (sponsoring, renting a booth, adverstising), contact Andrew Gregory at 1-877-751-9415 for details.

Montréal InVivo announces that over $340 million was invested in 2007 in the Greater Montréal region

In its first annual report, Montréal InVivo, the life sciences and health technology cluster of metropolitan Montréal, announced that the Greater Montréal region benefited in 2007 from over $340 million of investments from its members, representing billions of dollars in combined annual sales. Montréal InVivo represents over 41,000 employees working in more than 620 organizations, including about 150 research centres and 80 subsidiaries of foreign corporations.

Read the full report

Predicting Breast Cancer Patient Outcome: New Genes Identified

New studies from a team of researchers from the Research Institute of the MUHC and McGill University show that the environment surrounding breast cancer cells plays a crucial role in determining whether tumor cells grow and migrate or whether they fade away.

Their study is the first to identify the genes behind this environmental control and correlate them with patient outcome. Their findings are published in this week’s issue of Nature Medicine. “A tumour cannot exist on its own. It has to be supported and nourished by the cell types around it, the microenvironment,” says senior author Dr Morag Park, Director of the molecular oncology group at the Research institute if the MUHC. “When we began this study there was little known about the importance of this microenvironment on cancer initiation and progression.

We now know that this environment is pivotal; different patients have distinct tumour microenvironments at a gene level. Our findings show that the gene profile of these distinct microenvironments can be used to determine clinical outcome — who will fare well and who will not.”
www.mcgill.ca

Life Sciences Industries News Briefs © 2008

495 Health Research Grants Awarded in Quebec

In March, the Honourable Michael M. Fortier, federal Minister of Public Works and Government Services, announced the recipients from across Quebec of 495 health research grants worth more than $125 million. The funding includes a wide range of projects in the areas of mental health, hospital-acquired infections, cancer, heart health and wait times. It is part of a larger package worth $377.5 million for 1,604 projects across Canada announced last December. The funded research projects will be carried out over five years.

“Through the government’s S&T Strategy, we will translate today’s investments in health research and innovation into the products and services of tomorrow. To do this, we must keep generating knowledge, supporting talented researchers, and fostering entrepreneurial partnerships,” says Dr. Pierre Chartrand, Acting President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). “We believe that CIHR’s commitment to supporting health research will lead to job creation, economic growth and a higher quality of life.”

Source: BioBusiness News 14

World first: researchers develop completely automated anesthesia system

Researchers at McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) have performed the world’s first totally automated administration of an anesthetic.

Nicknamed “McSleepy,” the new system developed by the researchers administers drugs for general anesthesia and monitors their separate effects completely automatically, with no manual intervention. “We have been working on closed-loop systems, where drugs are administered, their effects continuously monitored, and the doses are adjusted accordingly, for the last five years,” said Dr. Thomas M. Hemmerling of McGill’s Department of Anesthesia and the Montreal General Hospital, who heads ITAG (Intelligent Technology in Anesthesia research group), a team of anesthesiologists, biomedical scientists and engineers.

“Think of “McSleepy” as a sort of humanoid anesthesiologist that thinks like an anesthesiologist, analyses biological information and constantly adapts its own behavior, even recognizing monitoring malfunction.”

The anesthetic technique was used on a patient who underwent a partial nephrectomy, a procedure that removes a kidney tumor while leaving the non-cancerous part of the kidney intact, over a period of three hours and 30 minutes. To manipulate the various components of general anesthesia, the automated system measures three separate parameters displayed on a new Integrated monitor of anesthesia (IMA™): depth of hypnosis via EEG analysis, pain via a new pain score, called Analgoscore™, and muscle relaxation via phonomyography™, all developed by ITAG. The system then administers the appropriate drugs using conventional infusion pumps, controlled by a laptop computer on which “McSleepy” is installed. www.mcgill.ca
Life Sciences Industries News Briefs © 2008

LAB Research closes $21.1 million financing to expand Canadian facilities

LAVAL, QC, CNW Telbec/ - LAB Research Inc. (”LAB Research” or the “Company”), a Canadian-based global non-clinical contract research organization, announces the execution of the financing agreement entered into on January 31, 2008 with National Bank of Canada Health Group (”NBC”), pursuant to which NBC granted the Company a $21.1 million financing to expand its Canadian facilities. Estimated at $40 million, the expansion project will double this site’s capacity, thereby increasing its floor space from 87,000 to 170,000 square feet and the vivarium from 36 to 80 rooms. The construction phase will be completed in the fall of 2008.
Read more: http://www.montreal-invivo.com/sciencesdelavie/site/fiche/19951

News from IMS Health

Learning Solutions and Change Management Seminars.
IMS courses make use of the latest learning tools combining conceptual content, sophisticated computer-based simulation work, and exercises with real data to ensure maximum impact and retention.

Click here to download the IMS Health brochures with 10 new courses

IMS Canada Recognizes Quebec Health Professionals for their Contribution to the Appropriate Use of Medicines

Montreal, Quebec– IMS Health Canada (IMS) is pleased to announce the recipients of the IMS Canada Awards, recognized at a ceremony held today. The IMS Canada Awards recognize Quebec physicians and pharmacists for their contribution to the continuing education of their peers. The award recipients were recognized for their published works on the appropriate use of medications. In addition, scholarships were presented to medical students with the highest academic standing in pharmacology and to the top pharmacy students from each of the faculties of pharmacy in Quebec. A total of $30,000 was shared by the recipients of the IMS Canada Awards.

Read the full report

Warning over drug trial’s effects on testing
By Andrew Jack in London

A pioneering clinical trial launched this year by a US-backed research institute may fundamentally reshape relations between payers and the pharmaceutical industry, IMS Health, the healthcare consultancy, warned on Tuesday.

The National Eye Institute-sponsored $16m ”head to head” trial will compare the effectiveness of two drugs produced by Genentech, the biotech company controlled by Roche of Switzerland, and could lead to a much cheaper way to treat Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), which causes blindness.

IMS says the study, called CATT, opens ”a Pandora’s box” for the drug industry by taking testing out of the hands of the companies, changing the rules of development and potentially undermining a blockbuster long before it comes off patent.

It describes CATT as one of the top seven ”harbingers of change” for 2008 highlighted in its yearly analysis of significant events likely to affect the evolution of the pharmaceutical sector.

Read the full report
©Financial Times

Cancer drug sales could hit $80 billion by 2011: IMS

Sales of cancer drugs will grow at nearly double the rate of the global pharmaceutical market and could reach $80 billion by 2012, according to IMS Health, which tracks prescription drug sales.

Expensive new treatments, an increasing number of patients on chemotherapy in major markets and evidence that more people in emerging markets are gaining access to modern targeted therapies will contribute to sales of cancer drugs growing at a compound rate of 12 to 15 percent, IMS said.

In 2008, sales of oncology products will exceed $48 billion, contributing nearly 17 percent of global pharmaceutical sales growth this year, according to the IMS Global Oncology Forecast released on Thursday.

“Double-digit sales growth in oncology drugs will be fueled by increased use of targeted therapeutic agents introduced over the past 10 years, along with first-time innovations coming to the market and longer treatment periods for growing numbers of patients,” Titus Plattel, IMS vice president for oncology, said in a statement.

IMS expects growth to be fueled by the introduction of 25 to 30 new chemical entities between 2008 and 2012, as expensive new biotechnology drugs and the increasing use of combination therapies contribute to the exploding cost of treatment.

Data from clinical studies of many of the newest cancer drugs will be presented and discussed at the nation’s largest oncology meeting later this month in Chicago. Much of the data will be unveiled on Thursday ahead of the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting.

Several factors could serve to moderate growth over the next five years, IMS said. They include financial constraints of payers, slowing growth of some current blockbuster therapies and patent expirations of four cancer drugs with annual sales exceeding $1 billion, including Eli Lilly’s Gemzar and Taxotere from Sanofi-Aventis .

(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; editing by Carol Bishopric)
© Reuters News

About IMS:

Operating in more than 100 countries, IMS Health is the world’s leading provider of market intelligence to pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. With US$2.2 billion in revenue in 2007 and more than 50 years of industry experience, IMS offers leading-edge business intelligence products and services that are integral to clients’ day-to-day operations. IMS information is also used by researchers, academics, government and other stakeholders to advance health through informed decision-making.

IMS and Pharmahorizons are partners.

News from Toronto’s BioPharma Community

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi–aventis Group, announced that it is investing 100 million Canadian dollars in a new, state–of–the–art research facility at the company’s historic Connaught Campus in north Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to boost innovation in vaccine research for the benefit of global health. The investment includes the construction of an 80 million Canadian dollars facility, the purchase of specialized research & development (R&D) equipment, and the support of high–value R&D jobs over the next five years. www.sanofipasteur.ca

Life Sciences Industries News Briefs © 2008

$20 million invested in new brain centre at Baycrest

TORONTO – Baycrest has been awarded $10 million from the Ontario Government to create the Centre for Brain Fitness –- a commercialized enterprise to tackle the problem of cognitive decline in an aging population. The province’s $10-million investment matches $10 million from private donors. “The Ontario government and our donor families understand how important it is to invest in brain research and development of innovative products for the future benefit of all Canadians,” said Mark Gryfe, president of the Baycrest Foundation.

Read more: http://www.canhealth.com/News827.html
Source: Canadian Healthcare Technology

Astronaut to lead medical robotics at McMaster

HAMILTON, Ont. – Dave Williams, a physician and astronaut who has logged a Canadian record of almost 18 hours performing space walks, is landing in Hamilton as a physician scientist for McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. As the Director for the new McMaster Centre for Medical Robotics at St. Joseph’s, he will lead a team dedicated to developing innovative technologies that will change the future of surgery in local and remote patient care.

Read more: http://www.canhealth.com/News830.html
Source: Canadian Healthcare Technology

$60 million invested in Ontario cancer research

TORONTO – Dr. Tom Hudson, President and Scientific Director of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) has announced the investment of $60 million in the Institute’s key programs as well as institutional awards for equipment to find new and better ways to fight cancer. “One of Ontario’s biggest strengths is our people and the ideas they generate. Ontario is recognized as an international leader in cancer research because of people like Dr. Tom Hudson and his team of researchers. That is why we continue to attract the best and brightest minds in health science,” said Minister of Research and Innovation, John Wilkinson.

Read more: http://www.canhealth.com/News834.html
Source: Canadian Healthcare Technology

News from the OCRI Life Sciences

Liponex Inc. (Ottawa) and ImaSight Inc., a commercial stage medical device company marketing an innovative, cost effective digital radiology solution, updated the status of the proposed transaction to combine their respective businesses that was announced on March 3, 2008. The acquisition agreement was to expire April 30, 2008 in accordance with its terms, but the parties have agreed to amend the agreement to extend the expiry date until May 7, 2008 in order to allow for certain conditions to be fulfilled. Assuming fulfillment of the conditions the parties intend to further extend the agreement and have revised the target closing date to June 30, 2008. www.liponex.ca

Life Sciences Industries News Briefs © 2008

PharmaGap reports positive early results for next drug compound

PharmaGap Inc. (Ottawa) announced successful in vitro or “bench” testing of a new compound designed to be a selective inhibitor of Protein Kinase C Theta showing indication of selectivity to and inhibition of PKC theta. This new compound follows on the successful completion of the research and development phase of preclinical testing for the Company’s selective inhibitor of PKC alpha, PhG–alpha–1, announced last week. PKC theta was selected as the target for the Company’s next compound on the basis of interest expressed by Dr. Gary Schwartz of Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Institute of New York in working with the Company to develop a selective inhibitor of PKC theta for use in treatment of sarcomas, cancers of supportive and connective tissue (i.e. bone, cartilage, fat, muscle and blood vessels). Dr. Schwartz is chief of Sloan Kettering’s Melanoma and Sarcoma service. In vitro testing of the new PKC theta inhibitor will continue at PharmaGap and in Dr. Schwartz’s laboratories at Sloan–Kettering. www.pharmagap.com

Life Sciences Industries News Briefs © 2008

News from BioAlberta

BioAlberta is the central voice and the organizing hub for the bio-industry in Alberta.

Angiotech’s Corporate Partner Reports Canadian Approval for TAXUS(R)

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Vancouver), a global specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company, reported that its corporate partner, Boston Scientific Corporation has received approval for the sale of its TAXUS Liberté paclitaxel–eluting coronary stent system in Canada. BSC reported that Health Canada’s Therapeutic Products Directorate (TPD), the authority that regulates pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices, has approved its use. BSC said it plans to launch the product immediately in Canada. www.angiotech.com

Life Sciences Industries News Briefs © 2008

Government backs on-the-job experience for young researchers

A new program will provide unique research and training opportunities for graduate students across Canada, thanks to an $8.6-million funding boost from the Government of Canada.

The program, called ACCELERATE Canada – Canada’s Graduate Research Internship Program – will connect up-and-coming researchers with companies across the country through research internships. The program is managed by MITACS, a federally-funded national Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) based at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, and delivered in collaboration with 14 other national organizations and NCEs.

This funding will support 1,200 internships nationally over the next two years. The announcement follows a pilot project conducted by MITACS over five years which saw the organization successfully place over 530 graduate students in internships from coast to coast.

Under ACCELERATE Canada, internships are four months in length. Graduate students spend about half their time on site at a Canadian company, undertaking research on a project of mutual interest to the student, a supervising professor and the company. Their goal is to develop an in-depth understanding of the identified research challenge, collect data and interact with company employees. The balance of the student’s time is spent at the university, developing techniques, tools or approaches required to accomplish the project’s goals.

Each four-month internship is valued at $15,000 which is co-funded by the partner company, the province where the company is situated and the Government of Canada through the Industrial R&D Internship Program (IRDI).

Source: BioBusiness #15

BC set to build $500 million children’s hospital

VANCOUVER – BC Premier Gordon Campbell joined mining executive Don Lindsay to announce plans to rebuild BC Children’s Hospital –- a project that’s expected to cost in excess of $500 million. About $50 million will support Child Health BC, an initiative aimed at ensuring all B.C. children have access to a consistent standard of care, no matter where they live. The new hospital will include an emergency department, pediatric intensive care unit, advanced diagnostic and imaging areas and a cancer ward.

Read more: http://www.canhealth.com/News828.html

Source: Canadian Healthcare Technology

Cold-Fx® Chosen Canada’s # 1 Pharmacist Recommended Natural Cold Remedy For The Third Year In A Row

Edmonton, AB (CVQ – TSX) Sixty-nine percent of Canadian pharmacists polled recommend COLD-fX as their first choice among natural cold remedies to their customers – up from 55% in 2005 – according to the 14th annual Pharmacy Post and L’actualité pharmaceutique Survey of Pharmacists on OTC Counselling and Recommendations.

The survey also reveals that COLD-fX topped the recommendation’s list of Quebec pharmacists in the natural cold remedy category for the second year in a row. CV Technologies Inc., maker of COLD-fX, said that 31% of Quebec pharmacists surveyed recommend COLD-fX ahead of all other natural cold medicines – 50% more often than its nearest competitor.

The survey was completed by 976 pharmacists between October 17 – December 10, 2007. The margin of error is ±2.6%, 18 times out of 20.

The findings was published in the April issue of Pharmacy Post and the May issue of L’actualité pharmaceutique. The on-line survey was conducted by the research division of Rogers Business and Professional Publishing for Pharmacy Post and L’actualité pharmaceutique – the key industry publications in Canada.

Across Canada, COLD-fX has been the # 1 pharmacist-recommended natural cold remedy for three years in a row. It has also been ranked as the number one selling cold and flu remedy in Canada since October 2004. (ACNielsen’s MarketTrack Drug Service for Cold Remedies, Natural Supplements & Vitamins categories).

Source: BioAlberta.com

Industry News

Discovery of world’s first anti-microsporidian vaccine

A team of researchers at the University of Prince Edward Island’s Atlantic Veterinary College has developed the world’s first vaccine that is effective against a destructive microsporidian parasite of salmon. “Although there are many diseases of fish, animals and humans caused by microsporidian parasites, there have been no successful treatment or prevention methods against these enigmatic disease-causing organisms until now,” says Dr. David J. Speare (DVM, DVSc), lead researcher responsible for the discovery. “Now we can say that we actually have one. We have a vaccine.” www.upei.ca

Investigative report: 1766 boil-water advisories now in place across Canada

By Laura Eggertson
Canadian Medical Association Journal—Ottawa, May 2008

More than 1760 provincial boil-water advisories are currently in effect in communities and neighbourhoods across Canada, prompting calls from national and municipal advocacy groups for a federal and provincial strategy to ensure safe drinking water for all Canadians

Read the full report: http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/178/10/1261?etoc

IT security lessons from Chrysler’s data loss

The auto maker’s recent admission that its leasing division had lost a data tape containing personal information of its customers was particularly concerning for some security analysts. Find out why.

By: Rafael Ruffolo
ComputerWorld Canada

The disappearance of a DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Canada Inc. data tape – which contained customer names, addresses and social insurance numbers – can serve as a strong warning for enterprise data protection, analysts say.

The auto giant’s lending division recently told the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada that sensitive personal information from thousands of Canadian auto customers had gone missing in transit from Farmington Hills, Mich. to a Quebec credit agency. The mainframe data tape, which was shipped via United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS), has been missing since early March.

Ottawa urged to draft breach notification law

A spokesperson for federal Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart told ComputerWorld Canada Wednesday that its office has received about 50 inquires from individuals that might have been affected by the data loss. The commissioner’s office said it is still determining the next course of action.

“We’re communicating to Chrysler directing to determine actually what took place and what’s being done to remedy the situation,” spokesperson Anne-Marie Hayden said. “I can’t say for sure whether we’ve had a formal compliant from an individuals or not, but that may well take place in the future.”

Hayden did not mention UPS specifically, but said the commissioner’s office would be discussing the matter with all other relevant parties involved.

Chrysler Financial Services Canada could not be reached for comment at press time.

The case draws parallels to a major Canadian data loss incident last year, where CIBC’s mutual fund subsidiary Talvest Mutual Funds lost a backup drive containing personal and financial data of 470,000 individuals while it was in transit between Montréal and Toronto. That data breach was also investigated by the Privacy Commissioner’s office.

The major issue in both cases, according to one Canadian security observer, is the measures that these companies took before the data went missing in action. Info-Tech Research Group’s James Quin said the loss of a generic backup data tape is not too concerning – especially if it’s only a slice of information from the server. But the Chrysler case, he said, presents an entirely different story.

“It was a discreet set of data, where there was one data pool that have been backed up onto this tape and sent out,” Quin, senior research analyst with the London, Ont.-based research firm, said. “The beginning, middle and end of all the data was on this tape, which does make it more accessible. As long as you’ve got a tape reader, you will be about to get this information.”
Even more concerning for Quin though, and what should serve as a warning sign for all enterprises, is the fact that Chrysler has not mentioned the magic ‘e’ word throughout this entire ordeal.

“At no point has a representative from Chrysler Financial come out and say that this tape was encrypted,” he said. “Without definitively saying this, it indicates to me that it probably wasn’t.”

Copyright © 2008
ITworldcanada.com

NB takes steps to ensure security of records

FREDERICTON – Lessons have been learned and corrective actions taken since the loss of computer cartridges containing Medicare patient billing information last year, said New Brunswick Health Minister Michael Murphy.

Murphy was responding to the release of a report by ombudsman Bernard Richard, whose office investigated the loss of the computer tapes.

The tapes contained Medicare billing information on 485 New Brunswick residents who received insured healthcare services in British Columbia, as well as information on 149 British Columbia residents who received health services in New Brunswick. They were lost last October while being shipped by courier from New Brunswick to B.C. and have not been found. Senior officials in the Department of Health only learned of the missing tapes in mid-December.

Read the full report: http://www.canhealth.com/News847.html

© Canadian Healthcare Technology

Editor’s note:

Pharmahorizons recognizes the potential to lose secure data from your sales rep’s home office and has been working together with Graham McWaters, a nationally-recognized leader in the field of identity theft and risk management, to create a seminar to help you prevent data breach and ID theft. Call Andrew Gregory at 877-751-9415 for more information:

About the Seminar
Now you can reduce your company’s risk of data breach and ID theft in the home office environment. This great mini seminar is ideal for regional and national sales meetings and is packed with 2 ½ hours of practical, often overlooked tips.

Seminar topics include:
ID theft, paper and electronic file management, securing home networks and portable devices, securely storing electronic data, and password management.

Merck to cut 1,200 sales reps

The axeman cometh to Merck’s sales force. The drugmaker plans to lop off about 15 percent in the sales ranks, or 1,200 jobs. The fact that it’s not alone in trimming back on reps–Wyeth just announced it would slash its sales force by 1,200–likely isn’t much comfort to Merck’s rank-and-file

Read the full report: http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/merck-to-cut-1200-sales-reps/2008-05-06

Source: FiercePharma.com

Top 5 layoffs of 2007

2007 has been a rough year for a number of the pharmaceutical and biotech industry’s biggest players. Concerns about patent expirations, falling sales due to drug safety concerns, redundancy from acquisitions and a general need streamline operations contributed to these companies’ decisions to cut employees. Check out this list of the top five pharma and biotech layoffs of 2007 for more on the cuts and a look at what these companies are doing to turn things around.

1. Pfizer - 10,000 jobs
2. AstraZeneca - 7,600 jobs
3. Bayer - 6,100 jobs
4. Johnson & Johnson - 5,000 jobs
5. GlaxoSmithKline - 5,000 jobs*
6. Bristol-Myers Squibb - 4,800 jobs*
7. Novartis - 3,750 jobs *
8. Amgen - 2,600 jobs

*These job cut announcement occurred after the date this report was originally published. GSK announced cuts on 10/25/07, BMS on 12/6/07 and Novartis on 12/13/07.

Source: http://www.fiercebiotech.com/special-reports/top-5-layoffs-2007

Global Health Progress initiative expands health efforts in developing countries

The worldwide pharmaceutical industry launched Global Health Progress, an initiative to bring research-based biopharmaceutical companies, global health leaders and policymakers together to build on current partnerships to improve health in the developing world.

Serving as a convening point for the industry and its partners, Global Health Progress will facilitate interaction between the private sector, NGOs and governments to share research and best practices; raise awareness of global health challenges; and build partnerships to improve global health.

Global Health Progress unveiled its Web site, which houses a database of research-based biopharmaceutical companies’ global health programs, including information on more than 300 partners, 400 programs and ongoing investments of billions of dollars annually in products and man-hours. Featuring stories of health workers on the ground, the site highlights organizations and individuals who are making a difference in global health.

www.globalhealthprogress.org
Source: BioBusiness #15

A team of researchers at the University of Prince Edward Island’s Atlantic Veterinary College has developed the world’s first vaccine that is effective against a destructive microsporidian parasite of salmon. “Although there are many diseases of fish, animals and humans caused by microsporidian parasites, there have been no successful treatment or prevention methods against these enigmatic disease-causing organisms until now,” say