Partner News

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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.

PAAB launches eFiles in January.
In an effort to constantly serve our clients better, PAAB is unveiling a new electronic submission process.

Visit PAAB’s site for a tutorial on how this will work. In future, you will be able to access the online form or check the status of your previous submissions.


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.

Coming Soon!

Montreal InVivo Life Sciences Career Fair: September 2008. Ask how you can reach the best talent for the finest jobs.

For booth enquiries, call Dr. Andrew Gregory at 1-877-751-9415

Montrealers devise world’s largest heart simulation

MONTREAL - In the quest to discover how the mechanisms of disease work, researchers at the Universite de Montreal have run the largest mathematical simulation of a heart ever assembled - a 2 billion element model - on a high-performance computing system from SGI . The new model is up to 1,000 times more detailed than previous models, enabling new scientific discoveries that would never be possible via observation alone.

Until recently, the largest heart models in the world had, at most, a few million elements. Over the last nine months, Dr. Mark Potse and Dr Alain Vinet, both affiliated with the Research Center of Sacre-Coeur Hospital and the Biomedical Engineering department at the Universite de Montreal, began running 100 to 120 million-point models as part of their heart disease research on an SGI Altix 4700 system, believed to be the largest shared memory computing system in Canada.

They regularly use 60 of the 768 Intel Itanium 2 processors running on the SGI Altix which, as part of the Quebec Network for High-Performance Computing (RQCHP), is shared by many researchers from across Canada.

In late October, Potse and Vinet had the opportunity to run their custom electrocardiography (ECG) code to solve the largest, most detailed heart model ever, using the entire SGI Altix system and 1.2TB of shared memory. Originally written by them on an older SGI system and ported to the SGI Altix system’s Linux environment in 2003, the ECG code made the leap from 120 million points to 2 billion with ease.

“We have been using the model code for research and not really developing it further, but after the success of the trial I am now thinking about improving the model, making it much larger and much more detailed, and attacking other diseases that we couldn’t handle before,” said Dr. Potse. “It’s a very complicated model and it’s much, much easier to write parallel programs on a shared memory machine. The Altix delivers fast processing performance for our application needs; not only because of the shared memory, but also due to the very high bandwidth interconnect. That’s good for the kind of mathematical equations I’m solving and saves me a lot of time.”

Potse simulated 5 milliseconds of activation in a tissue block that included some properties of a real heart, such as fiber running in different directions. The simulation solved a system of 2 billion equations a dozen times. The test took two hours, which Potse describes as short for achieving the desired results. A full heartbeat, he says, would take two weeks, and they cannot claim use of the entire machine for that length of time right now.

“This was a test to see if the simulation works and to determine that, if we have a much bigger machine, our software will be able to run more efficiently,” added Potse. “This capability is really for the future when we can use this size of machine on a regular basis, but with the Altix system we have made the heart model of the future today.”

With heart disease one of the leading causes of death in the Western world, discovering the electrical “triggers” of the various kinds of heart disease could lead to earlier diagnosis and new treatment breakthroughs. For example, there are inheritable diseases such as “Brugada syndrome” and “Long-QT syndrome” which can cause sudden death in young, otherwise healthy people, and there are typical changes in the ECG that allow doctors to diagnose these diseases. In order to understand what the mechanisms of the particular disease are, the heart must be modeled with enormous detail. Once disease mechanisms are fully understood, scientists will be able to devise the best drug or the best cure - surgical or other remedies - and doctors will be able to diagnose much more precisely.

Without the use of computer models it can be hard to track the effects of a heart disease on the ECG. For instance, many patients with Brugada syndrome have an inheritable disorder on the level of ion channels - large molecules in the cell membrane that help activate the heart in order to make it beat. It is tempting to believe that these ion-channel disorders cause the typical ECG and the risk of sudden cardiac death that are linked with Brugada syndrome.

However, computer simulations have shown that this is not the case. Additional factors are needed. Such a discovery, which disproves a proposed explanation, could only be made with a detailed computer model of the heart, not by observation alone. Moreover, the level of detail required for this application demands such large computational resources that it could be achieved only very recently.

“For 25 years SGI has fueled biomedical innovations, accelerating scientific research by reducing time to insight in projects as varied as the mechanics of HIV protease, genomic correlation for cancer research, and 3D simulations of surgeries,” said Michael Brown, Director of Sciences Markets, SGI. “The SGI Altix system now bolsters the future of heart disease research by proving that expanded calculations of 2 billion elements are not only possible, but will become the norm.”

SGI - Innovation for Results
SGI is a leader in high-performance computing. SGI delivers a complete range of high-performance server, visualization and storage solutions along with industry-leading professional services and support that enable its customers to overcome the challenges of complex data-intensive workflows and accelerate breakthrough discoveries, innovation and information transformation. SGI solutions help customers solve their computing challenges whether it’s enhancing the quality of life through drug research, designing and manufacturing safer and more efficient cars and airplanes, studying global climate change, providing technologies for homeland security and defense, or helping enterprises manage large data. With offices worldwide, the company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., and can be found on the Web at http://www.sgi.com.

© Canadian Healthcare Technologies

Bone findings point toward dwarfism therapy

A team of researchers at the Shriners Hospital in Montreal has discovered a key protein that stimulates bone growth and could lead to a treatment for dwarfism in children. The researchers found the protein, osteocrin, plays a role in longitudinal bone growth. To test their theory, they genetically engineered laboratory mice to overproduce the protein. To their surprise, the mice grew hunchbacks and elongated bones. “We think osteocrin, or a drug that mimics it, could be given to treat children or young adults with bone-growth defects like dwarfism,” said Pierre Moffatt, the lead researcher and a molecular biologist. “This is very significant, because we found how this protein acts in the bone.” http://www.shrinershq.org

Anxiety, major depression increase cardiac risk: study

Cardiac patients struggling with major depression or anxiety disorder are at double the risk of suffering a heart attack than those with coronary artery disease who are mentally healthy, a new study by Montreal researchers has found. The link between depression and heart disease is long established. But the joint study by McGill University and the Université de Montréal demonstrates for the first time a connection between cardiac illness and what is known as generalized anxiety disorder. What’s more, the study showed that people whose coronary artery disease had been stabilized and who were living at home were still at risk of repeated heart problems if they suffered from one or the other mental illness. The researchers studied more than 800 patients who were being followed by the Montreal Heart Institute and Sacré Coeur Hospital. They discovered that patients who also had one or both of the mental illnesses ran a 26-per-cent chance of a repeated “cardiac event” in two years. That was compared with only 13 per cent for patients who were depression- and anxiety-free. http://www.mcgill.ca

Labopharm Inc.

Labopharm Inc. (Laval) announced that, through its U.S. subsidiary, it has entered into an agreement for a US$25 million debt financing with US-based Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. Proceeds from the financing will be used for the advancement of the Company’s product pipeline, general corporate purposes and repayment of existing long-term debt. Under the terms of the financing, Labopharm will draw down US$15 million at closing (Tranche A) with the remaining US$10 million available beginning May 15, 2008 through November 15, 2008 (Tranche B). http://www.labopharm.com

Montreal InVivo and Pharmahorizons are Partners.


Pharmahorizons is pleased to welcome our latest Partner, IMS, with their wide range of seminars.

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 hosts 2nd Annual Sales Championships in February
Attention General Managers, Senior Sales Executives, Training Managers, District Managers and Sales Representatives. Sales championship includes an interactive simulation-based competition that enabled teams from different pharmaceutical companies to test their skills in developing effective sales strategies.

TORONTO
Monday, February 25, 2008
12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
IMS Health Canada offices in Mississauga, Ontario

MONTREAL
Thursday, February 28, 2008
12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
IMS Health Canada offices in Kirkland, Quebec

Register your 3-person team to participate in this unique and fun learning experience. Places are limited! Click for more information

IMS Health Reports Canadian Pharmaceutical Market to Reach $19 Billion in 2007;
Unprecedented Growth Disparity Between Generics, Innovative Sectors

Key Dynamics Shaping Market:

  • Patent expiries drive exceptional growth in generics
  • Return of price increases for innovative products offset by price reductions in generics
  • Market share of new products low in 2007

MONTREAL, Quebec —The Canadian pharmaceutical market is expected to grow 6.0 - 6.5 per cent in 2007 to $19 billion in drug store and hospital sales, according to IMS Health figures released today. This year’s market growth is slower than the 8.4 per cent average rate achieved from 2002 to 2006. The global pharmaceutical market is expected to expand by 6 - 7 per cent in 2007, a growth rate similar to Canada’s.

In 2007, growth in the generics and innovative sectors is 20.1 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively. Excluding biotechnology products, the growth of innovative therapies is only 1.6 per cent this year. This represents an unprecedented disparity in growth between the two sectors, primarily the result of the large number of patent expiries experienced during the year.

“Pharmaceutical products representing $1.2 billion of sales in Canada faced patent expiries in 2007,” says Ian Therriault, senior vice president, IMS Health Canada. “This figure is four times larger than the patent expiries expected during the next two years.”

In addition to the strong growth experienced in the generics sector, sales of biotechnology products are up 17.2 per cent in 2007. Biotechnology therapies represent 10 per cent of total pharmaceutical sales in Canada, but are responsible for approximately 24 per cent of the market’s overall growth this year. This growth is being fueled by biological response modifiers and diabetes therapies, offsetting slower sales of oncology products and erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, which have been the subject of safety warnings issued by Health Canada and the US Food and Drug Administration.

Public payer cost-containment initiatives, led by Quebec and Ontario, continue to have a significant impact on drug plan spending. Legislation introduced in the two provinces allows the prices of innovative-sector products to rise to levels just below the Consumer Price Index once agreements are reached with the provinces. At the same time, generics sector products experienced price roll-backs of approximately 21 per cent in 2007.

Also contributing to more moderate pharmaceutical market growth overall is the low number of new products this year. New medicines (new molecular entities and line extensions) launched in Canada in 2007 account for less than 0.3 per cent of total drug store and hospital sales this year as their sales continue to be affected by market-access delays.

“With the value of patent expiries significantly lower in the next two years,” says Therriault, “it’s expected that the disparity in growth between the innovative and generic sectors will not be as significant as in 2007.”

Sales represent the wholesale cost of prescription products purchased by Canadian hospitals and drug stores. All dollar figures are in Canadian funds and do not include purchases made by Canadian internet pharmacies for sale to U.S. customers.

About IMS

Operating in more than 100 countries, IMS Health (NYSE: RX) is the world’s leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. With US$2.0 billion in 2006 revenue and more than 50 years of industry experience, IMS offers leading-edge market intelligence products and services that are integral to clients’ day-to-day operations, including portfolio optimization capabilities; launch and brand management solutions; sales force effectiveness innovations; managed care and consumer health offerings; and consulting and services solutions that improve the delivery of quality healthcare worldwide. Additional information is available at www.imshealth.com

Contact: Sue Cavallucci, IMS Communications, Tel: (514) 428-6056
E-mail: scavallucci@ca.imshealth.com


News from Toronto’s BioPharma Community

Government of Canada Helps to Prevent Diabetes by Investing in Community Projects

St. Catharines - Rick Dykstra, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines, on behalf of the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, today announced an investment of more than $493,000 for eight community projects across Canada designed to prevent diabetes.

One of the projects includes a Niagara region initiative called Safe Physical Activity: Where you live, learn and play, which will receive $76,500 and is a collaborative effort of the Niagara Peninsula Children’s Centre and the Regional Municipality of Niagara.

“Our Government is committed to preventing diabetes, and by working closely with our partners we can help Canadians make the healthy choices necessary to prevent and manage diabetes,” said Minister Clement.

“The projects I am proud to announce today will allow Canadians to access a range of resources and programs in their communities, such as healthy cooking classes, diabetes awareness kits, and physical activity events,” said Mr. Dykstra. “The project here in the Niagara region will focus specifically on ensuring elementary school-aged children better understand the risks of diabetes and participate regularly in physical activities.”

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in Canada and affects approximately two million Canadians. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90 per cent of diabetes cases in Canada. In most cases, type 2 diabetes can be prevented through physical activity, healthy eating and healthy weight management.

A backgrounder with more information on the funded projects is attached.

The Public Health Agency of Canada is committed to promoting and protecting the health of Canadians. For more information on diabetes or healthy living, please visit www.publichealth.gc.ca

Media Inquiries:
Jacinthe Perras
Media Relations
Public Health Agency of Canada
613-941-8189

Provincial Funding for PET Scans

As of November 2007, there were 22 centres performing publicly funded PET scans in seven Canadian provinces.

The largest expansion of PET services has occurred in Quebec, with a 14-fold increase in operational funding since 2005. It is anticipated that by early 2009 there will be a total of 12 PET/CT scanners performing clinical scans in Quebec following the installation of five new scanners at hospitals in Trois-Rivières, Gatineau, Rimouski, Chicoutimi, and Quebec City.

  • Alberta will fund approximately 3,500 clinical PET scans in 2008 from global regional health budgets.
    Source: Dr. Sandy McEwan, Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton.
  • British Columbia funds 3,000 PET scans annually at the BC Cancer Agency’s Vancouver Centre.
    Source: Dr. Don Wilson, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver.
  • Manitoba is funding up to 1,000 PET scans annually from global regional health budgets. This will double to 2,000 scans annually when a new cyclotron becomes operational in Winnipeg in early 2008.Source: Shirley Dzogan, Manitoba Health, Winnipeg.
  • New Brunswick’s operational funding is set at $1.335 million to perform 600 PET scans annually with one PET/CT scanner in Saint John. This funding is expected to double when a second PET/CT scanner opens in Moncton in 2008 or 2009.
    Source: François Varin, Department of Health, Hospital Services, Fredericton.
  • Nova Scotia will fund 1,500 PET scans annually when a new PET/CT scanner opens in February 2008. Operational funding is set at $1.9 million per year while FDG is supplied from Sherbrooke, Quebec. Funding will decrease to approximately $800,000 annually when a new cyclotron and FDG manufacturing site open in Halifax in 2009.
    Source: Abe Almeda, Nova Scotia Department of Health, Halifax.
  • Ontario provides funding for PET scans through clinical trials, two registry studies, and the Ontario PET Access Program. Three active clinical trials evaluate the role of PET in the diagnosis and staging of head and neck cancer, metastatic lung cancer, and colorectal cancer with liver metastases. Two clinical trials (on potentially resectable non-small cell lung cancer and breast cancer) have completed patient accrual and the results are being analyzed. The Ontario PET Steering Committee is considering indications for new clinical trials. The Ontario Cancer PET registry study coordinated by Hamilton Health Sciences Centre provides PET scans for patients with a solitary pulmonary nodule, potentially resectable non-small cell lung cancer, or suspected recurrent cancers (thyroid, germ cell, and colorectal) with elevated tumour marker but negative anatomical findings in traditional imaging tests. The Ontario Cardiac PET Registry Study led by the University of Ottawa Heart Institute provides FDG PET myocardial viability assessments to patients with severe ventricular dysfunction being considered for revascularization or a heart transplant. Patients who are not candidates for the clinical trials or registry studies may apply for a PET scan through the Ontario PET Access Program. A panel of an oncologist, a nuclear medicine physician, and a radiologist reviews each application on a case-by-case basis, and determines whether a PET scan would be appropriate. The number of PET scans being provided in Ontario is not limited by funding, but depends on patient need. Based on current indications recommended by the Ontario PET Steering Committee, approximately 2,000 PET scans are currently anticipated in fiscal year 2007/2008.”
    Submitted by: Shirley Lee, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Medical Advisory Secretariat, Toronto.
  • Quebec will fund 21,000 PET scans at 12 scanning facilities during 2008. Operational funding for the scans is approximately $14 million.
    Source: Serge Péloquin, Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec, Quebec City.

The Toronto Biotechnology Initiative-the voice of the life sciences in the Greater Toronto Area and Pharmahorizons are Partners.


News from the OCRI Life Sciences

Canada leads drive for solutions to med errors

OTTAWA - A Canadian-led, international initiative to improve patient safety, focusing on health risks from taking prescribed medications, will be launched at an Ottawa workshop next month.

Experts from around the world will seek technical solutions to patient safety risks, which include illness and deaths from adverse drug reactions, at an upcoming Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Workshop on Adverse Response Monitoring (WARM) to be held on February 21 - 22, 2008.

The workshop, organized by the Ottawa Section of the IEEE, the world’s leading professional association for the advancement of technology, will feature representatives of the Ottawa Heart Institute, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratories, the University of Toronto and European Federation of Medical Informatics, among others.

Patient safety is a serious global health issue. According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, 10% of patients are harmed while receiving top hospital care. Recognizing the magnitude of the problem, the member states of the WHO supported a 2002 World Health Assembly resolution on patient safety.

“No healthcare knowledge is more important than how to prevent harm to patients. However, action to reduce known risks has often been far too slow,” said Sir Liam Donaldson, MD, Chair of the WHO World Alliance for Patient Safety.

The workshop will for the first time bring together a multi-disciplinary team from diverse fields including medicine, physics, engineering, informatics, and measurement science - along with corporate leaders and government policymakers - to grapple with this problem. The goal is to find solutions for detecting and reporting adverse events objectively, promptly and relevantly - case by case, regardless of location - to help optimize the efficacy of medication.

Reflecting the growing recognition of this need, the workshop has attracted sponsorships from three technology companies: IBM, a pioneer in healthcare information technology; TELUS, a leader in health information delivery; and Emergis, a leading developer of electronic medical record systems.

The workshop seeks presentations and demonstrations of such solutions that balance collaborative innovation with proven global best practices toward a new, safer standard of care.

More information is available at http://ottawa.ieee.ca/ims/warm2008/index.htm.

Aboriginal health: Infoway to fund 100% of First Nations telehealth

OTTAWA - Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine congratulated Canada Health Infoway’s (Infoway) Board of Directors for its decision to provide 100 percent funding to First Nations telehealth projects linked to existing projects within provinces and territories.

“I am pleased that Canada Health Infoway recognizes the importance of increasing access to healthcare in First Nations communities,” said National Chief Fontaine. “The new funding model will help increase the availability of care, delivered locally, through telehealth.”

Infoway has agreed to a new funding formula that offers First Nations 100 percent funding for telehealth deployment if their projects are integrated with an existing provincial or territorial project. Stand-alone First Nations telehealth projects will receive 75 percent funding.

“We recognize the barriers to care faced by many remote and isolated First Nations communities,” said Richard Alvarez, President and CEO of Canada Health Infoway, the federally funded, not-for-profit organization that is leading the acceleration of electronic health records across Canada. “For those who live in these communities, in particular, telehealth brings medical experts to them, thanks to technology, thereby increasing access to much-needed health care.”

According to the First Nations Regional Longitudinal Health Survey (RHS), nearly one in five First Nations adults have no doctor or nurse available in their community. Telehealth can improve access by overcoming barriers of geography, transportation infrastructure, and socio-economic disparity.

Currently, about 100 First Nations across Canada use telehealth technologies for clinical consultation, continuing professional education, health promotion, healthcare management and administration.

“This decision represents an important building block, but our work is not done,” said National Chief Fontaine. “We must continue to forge ahead to continue to enhance the quality of care available in First Nations communities.”

Infoway works with provinces and territories to invest in electronic health projects, which support safer, more efficient healthcare delivery. Fully respecting patient confidentiality, these private and secure systems provide healthcare professionals with immediate access to complete and accurate patient information, enabling better decisions about diagnosis and treatment. The result is a sustainable healthcare system offering improved quality, accessibility, productivity and cost savings.

The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing First Nations citizens of Canada.

The Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI)-the voice of the life sciences in the greater Ottawa area and Pharmahorizons are Partners.


News from BioAlberta

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

UTI and BioAlberta partner to strengthen Calgary’s bio-industry

University Technologies International (UTI) and BioAlberta announced a partnership that focuses on creating stronger technology-based companies within the Calgary region and improving the technology commercialization process for early stage technologies.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed between UTI and BioAlberta outlines areas of mutual interest and potential collaborative projects including creating forums for companies to come together and explore opportunities for partnerships and licensing.

UTI is the University of Calgary’s technology transfer, commercialization and incubation centre for inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs.

“The intention of the partnership is to support companies in strengthening their intellectual property and product pipelines so they can achieve higher valuations, revenues and success” said Ryan Radke, president of BioAlberta. By bringing together our industry network and UTI’s experience in technology commercialization we can further enhance the growth of Alberta’s bio-industry.” BioAlberta and UTI hosted their first partnership event in January 2008.

$6.5M dedicated to UBC advanced S&T facility

The province of British Columbia is providing $6.5 million towards a UBC Quantum Materials Spectroscopy Centre (QMSC), where research will be conducted in a variety of fields, including electronics, telecommunications, computer science and biomedicine.

The Province’s investment comes from the B.C. Knowledge Development Fund, which provides capital funding for research equipment and facilities for public post-secondary institutions, teaching hospitals and affiliated non-profit agencies. The project has also been awarded funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation.

The QMSC will use synchrotron light technology, which can examine matter down to the level of the atom. Researchers at the facility can use synchrotron technology to design everything from more powerful microchips to new materials such as strong metal alloys for airplane wings. The QMSC can also be used to design quantum computer technology that can perform information processing much more efficiently than traditional computers.

The facility will be located at the Canadian Light Source (CLS), the national synchrotron centre based in Saskatoon. Close to 1,000 professors, students, scientists and industrial engineers participate in studies every year at the CLS and the QMSC is expected to attract an additional 300 people.

Alberta’s health quality council selects Agili-T

MONTREAL - Agili-T Health Solutions is pleased to announce that it has been selected by the Health Quality Council of Alberta to conduct the provincial long-term care family survey.

The survey represents a comprehensive assessment of the quality of care provided to individuals living in publicly funded Alberta nursing homes.

Approximately 12,000 family members of long-term care residents are being asked to provide their opinions about visiting the residents, their experiences with staff at facilities, their opinions about the physical environment, the care their family members receive, the administration of the facilities and their roles in relation to the residents.

The survey was officially launched in October 2007 and is nearing completion, with results expected to be published on the HQCA web site in the coming months.

About the HQCA
As an independent organization legislated under the Regional Health Authorities Act, the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) gathers and analyzes information and collaborates with health regions and boards, professions and government to translate that knowledge into practical improvements to the quality and safety of the health care Albertans receive. For more information, please visit http://www.hqca.ca/.

About Agili-T Health Solutions
Agili-T Health Solutions is Canada’s leading vendor of healthcare satisfaction measurement and quality improvement services. Our survey services and software tools will allow healthcare providers to improve patient satisfaction, support safety and enhance employee quality of life. Agili-T’s Androfact survey system is a powerful, Web-based and fully hosted healthcare surveying application. It enables hospitals, clinics, continuing care facilities and regional health authorities to collect, analyze, benchmark, and report patient satisfaction levels in a cost-effective and continuous manner. For more information, please visit: www.agili-t.com/healthcare.

BioMS Medical Corp Cleared for Global Licensing
(Edmonton) announced that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has cleared the global licensing and development agreement granting Eli Lilly and Company exclusive worldwide rights to BioMS Medical’s lead multiple sclerosis (MS) compound, MBP8298. Completion of the licensing transaction had been contingent upon receipt of this clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Anti-Trust Improvements Act. With this condition now satisfied, the transaction may proceed to completion. http://www.biomsmedical.com

BioAlberta and Pharmahorizons are Partners

 

Events

Don’t miss Montreal’s InVivo Career Fair, September 2008

“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

Contact: Dr. Andrew Gregory at 1-877-751-9415 for details.


MARITIMES

BioNova will be hosting a special event from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. on February 20, in the Compass Room at Casino Nova Scotia. The event will celebrate the outstanding achievements of our industry, and recognize the good news stories BioNova’s member companies gave us in 2007. Contact Rocky Hynes, Director of Education and Communication at BioNova: e-mail: rhynes@bionova.ca or tel: 902-425-4993.

BARCELONA

6th Annual Pharma Conference
Sales Force Effectiveness
April 2-4, 2008 Barcelona

Network and share knowledge with the leading minds in pharmaceutical sales and marketing excellence. At this event you will:

  • Learn how to build truly customer-centric strategies by aligning your key processes and organization around your customers to achieve business excellence
  • Discover how sales management is developing and changing and what you need to do to plan for the future
  • Identify high impact KPIs that align with your sales strategy for maximum results and a motivated sales force
  • Optimize First Line Managers with the latest coaching, training and management strategies
  • Evaluate how Key Account Management can be used in your organization and what elements you need to adopt to drive your business
  • Find out how the latest technologies like wireless applications, podcasting, social networking and mobile devices can support and streamline your SFE initiatives
  • Increase your value proposition with KOL mapping and influence networks for truly effective targeting and segmentation

Contacts:

Izzy Wakeling
Head of Global Events
eyeforpharma
tel: +44 (0) 20 73 75 75 22
Toll free USA: 1 800 814 3459 x 202
Email: iwakeling@eyeforpharma.com
Website: www.eyeforpharma.com/sales2008

Jessica Evans
International Marketing Manager
tel: +44 (0) 20 7375 7524
Toll Free USA: 1 800 814 3459 ext. 204
fax: +44 (0) 20 7375 7576
Email: jevans@eyeforpharma.com


Philadelphia

Oncology Drug Development World 2008
Courtyard Philadelphia
Downtown, Philadelphia, USA
24-27 June 2008

The World’s leading Oncology Strategy Summit, developing best practice in international drug safety and pharmacovigilance strategy. This unique meeting will address 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.
Website: http://www.healthnetworkcommunications.com

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

 

Quote of the Month

“Learn from the past, plan for the future, but always live for today.”

“Humanity is woven by the strands of each one us,
The closer the knit, the stronger the fabric.”

– Elaine Tanner, Canadian Olympic Swimming Champion,
Triple Olympic Medalist, Mexico, 1968;
Holder of the Commonwealth Games Record, Jamaica, 1966, for total medals won by an athlete;
5-time World Record Holder in swimming;
5 Pan American Games Medals;
Youngest recipient of the Order of Canada, 1970;
Youngest recipient of the Lou Marsh Trophy, 1966;
4 American National Titles;
Seven British Commonwealth Titles;
Inducted into 5 Sports Halls of Fame, including the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, Toronto.

 

New Technologies

MacBook Air could increase risk of laptop loss

By: Briony Smith
ComputerWorld Canada

While the form factor of Apple’s MacBook Air caught the industry’s attention, experts say Canada’s many Windows shops might not want them, and those that do might encounter another year full of dangerous data breaches and IT manager headaches.

According to Eddie Chan, an analyst with the Toronto-based research firm IDC Canada, of Apple portable computers that were shipped in 2006, fewer than one per cent made it into the large business (500-plus seats) space. First-quarter through third-quarter results from 2007 show the number sinking even lower, with only 0.4 per cent representing enterprise purchases. “The market is pretty much non-existent,” said Chan. “It’s a PC world.”

The MacBook Air-coming in at 0.16 to 0.76 inches thick-could still win some hearts, but its size-related selling point could also bring trouble in the long run.

According to IDC Canada analyst Dave Senf, one of the top security concerns for Canadian businesses is the loss of laptops and mobile devices. In spite of this, however, best practices are still shoddy. Said Senf: “Employers need more training and policies in place.”

The lack of frequent and in-depth training and the slimness of the laptop could make for many losses, while the price-point would make it an attractive target for thieves, said Ben Haidri, vice-president of corporate development for Vancouver-based Absolute Software. Absolute makes tracking software for lost and stolen computers. He said Absolute has partnered with Apple to include its product as an add-on to the MacBook Airs.

Increasing the danger here, said Haidri, is the fact that “the technology hasn’t caught up to the solution.” As Chan points out, laptops can’t be wiped remotely if lost. “Penetration of wireless WAN connectivity in notebooks is still small, and the number of embedded notebooks low,” he said. “And WiMAX is still nascent.”

The MacBook Air also doesn’t have Ethernet, which can be a strike against it for the traveling worker in a bad wireless spot, or, said Haidri, a sign of the company’s commitment to wireless with the product.

“It’s a better wireless experience, being designed to be used that way, along with working with Intel to make it work as well as possible in that way. There’s more robust wireless, so it’s a very good mobile device,” he said, pointing out that this hard core wireless focus, especially in tandem with the tiny form factor, sets it apart from other hardware vendors in the market.

In addition to the lack of Ethernet, Jobs also chucked out the optical drive, and the ability to change out the battery. These features are all often important to on-the-road business people dealing with bad wireless connections or going straight from the plan to a business meeting on battery power, making it a bad fit with the road warrior, Chan said.

The price is another negative-at US$1799 to US$3098 to start-for an enterprise user, this could mean a lifecycle that doesn’t jive with such a non-robust machine. Said Chan: “It’s a compromise in terms of mobility.” (Small businesses, whose users are more like consumers, might adopt the machine more readily.)

Said Chan: “It’s not really going to fly in the enterprise. The odd exec might ask to have one and then get hooked into the infrastructure, but that’s it.”

Haidri, who agreed that the Apple brand has gained little traction in the general enterprise, has higher hopes than Chan. Said Haidri: “There will be a lot of attention to this, so some (in the enterprise) might see that lot of attention and want to put it in the mix.”

Source: ©PCWorld.ca

 

Career Training and Development

Seminars for Life Science Professionals

Prepare your team in 2008 with Pharmahorizons’ new training seminars for life science professionals!

New Seminar: Identity Theft and Fraud
Are You Prepared for Identity Theft?
Healthcare Security Issues You Need to Know

When a stranger passes back your wallet or purse that you inadvertently dropped on the floor, that feeling of gratitude may soon dissipate when you realize that kind act was a cover-up for identification theft.

According to a recent CTV interview: “The suspect looks like a hero, but really, she’s buying time,” said Detective Const. Michael Kiproff, while going over a surveillance video at a North Toronto police station. “She knows she has about an hour from that point to do whatever it is she set out to do.”

During the interview, Graham McWaters, a security consultant and author of “The Canadian Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Other Fraud,” pointed out that those circumstances, described by Detective Kripoff, are typical white collar crimes of this century.
With over twenty years of experience in the financial services industry, McWaters has first hand experience preventing personal identification theft and fraud. He will be offering identity theft prevention seminars in Canada in conjunction with Pharmahorizons to cover the exhaustive topic of securing private information for both the employee and the company.

Click here to read more.


IMS hosts 2nd Annual Sales Championships in February

Attention General Managers, Senior Sales Executives, Training Managers, District Managers and Sales Representatives. Sales championship includes an interactive simulation-based competition that enabled teams from different pharmaceutical companies to test their skills in developing effective sales strategies.

TORONTO
Monday, February 25, 2008
12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
IMS Health Canada offices in Mississauga, Ontario

MONTREAL
Thursday, February 28, 2008
12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
IMS Health Canada offices in Kirkland, Quebec

Register your 3-person team to participate in this unique and fun learning experience. Places are limited!
Click for more information

Senior Sales Management: Simulation-Based Training
Montreal: June 16-17, 2008
Toronto: September 8-9, 2008
Download the course brochure

Optimizing District Performance: Simulation-Based Training
Montreal: June 18-20, 2008
Download the course brochure

Fundamentals of Regulatory Affairs
Toronto: March 19-20 and June 4-5, 2008
Montreal: April 2-3 and June 18-19, 2008
Download the course brochure

Medical Devices in Canada: A Regulatory Overview
Toronto: March 27, 2008
Montreal: March 25, 2008
Download the course brochure

NEW FOR 2008!

Speaker Coaching: Influencing Speaker Behaviour
Montreal: May 1, 2008
Toronto: May 6, 2008

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.

1. Would you like to feel more confident in your ability to influence the speaker?
2. Do you want to save time & reduce frustration with your CHE efforts?
3. Do you want to identify the 4 disciplines that contribute to successful CHE outcomes and how you can influence them?
4. 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.

Excellerate and Pharmahorizons are working together to bring you the skills to succeed.

Contact Dr. Andrew Gregory at 1-877-751-9415 for details and a brochure.

The Changing Relationship between the Pharmacist and Pharma
Dates: to be announced

Pharmacists are now prescribing in Alberta and Québec. The shift to having pharmacists included in the decision-making process on medication and patient management is also occurring in other provinces. Learn how this change can help you realize your sales goals and increase your performance in this new course by Pharmahorizons.

Who Should Attend: Sales Representatives, Sales Managers, Marketing Managers


CHANGES TO SEMINAR DATES AND LOCATIONS

Influencing Behaviour Change in Pharma

CANCELLED: Toronto and Montreal are both cancelled for this particular seminar for both the April and November dates in 2008.

CHE Changing Phyisican Behaviour — TORONTO

Changed date to June 3 to allow you to attend the Vancouver CHE Convention (older CHE date was May 28 in Toronto).

Click here to see the full 2008 Training Course Calendar with over 20 programs.

For more information or to register for any of the 20 Pharmahorizons’ training sessions:

  1. Visit the Pharmahorizons website for a program brochure and online registration form.
  2. Or click the Career Training and Development link in the top menu.
  3. Or contact Dr. Andrew Gregory, toll free at (877) 751-9415.

Specialized Industry Courses for Life Sciences Professionals

We teach skills to power marketing excellence. Our courses can be tailored to your marketing team–perfect for large and small groups!

“Thank you once more for a terrific development opportunity
and a chance to share your experience and expertise with us regarding CHE.
It was inspiring and got my brain thinking differently, which is exactly what
we need from time to time rather than being on automatic pilot!”

Isabelle Pleszczynska,
Continuing Health Education Manager, Psychiatry /Chef,
Formation médicale continue, psychiatrie,
Lundbeck Canada Inc.

 

Are You Prepared for Identity Theft?
Healthcare Security Issues You Need to Know
by Garry Foster

Continued…

“If you want to prevent fraud, you have to get ahead of the criminal,” states McWaters, who explains that people and organizations need to know how criminal activity takes place, how to prevent it, what to do if theft occurs, and how to protect their own personal identification and that of their clients.

“There are plenty of opportunities for people to commit breaches leading to identity theft,” he says. “We shouldn’t think that credit cards, PINs, and licenses are the only targets.”

Of obvious concern are institutional lists that might have birth dates, Social Insurance Numbers and medical histories, but the mundane donor or membership lists are also valuable to identity thieves.

Identity theft can extend beyond the personal inconvenience that might cost you hundreds of hours to rectify during work time. For example, someone might steal your identity in such a way that you don’t suffer direct impact because the fraud involves an office or institution.

“In the medical industry, people have cloned children’s identity to defraud the health care system,” says McWaters. “Cloned healthcare cards could be used by someone from another country who could have medical procedures performed. Who ends up paying for this fraudulent act?”

McWaters pointed out that privacy officers are needed in any facility whether it’s a small office or large operation. This employee would need to be aware of the privacy and technical issues relating to identity theft and be empowered to address such concerns as sensitive computer data and file transfers.

“It’s all about prevention, protection, and vigilance,” says McWaters. “The last thing your company needs is media attention. You don’t want to be in the headlines.” He warns that the next time your firm handles any private information, the public and clients will be cautious about working with you because of a previous breach.

After theft has occurred, your next option is the most expensive, explains McWaters. “You don’t want to call in a specialist organization to help pick up the pieces and restore order after a breach. Damage at that level has long-term effects on everyone involved.”

From our own personal experience, we all know the lesson that ‘an ounce of prevention is a pound of cure.’

Graham McWaters will be holding seminars in Canada titled: Identity Theft, Fraud and Risk Management. For more information, contact Dr. Andrew Gregory at Pharmahorizons 1-877-751-9415. Pharmahorizons offers specialized training courses for the life sciences industry and is helping individuals and organizations protect themselves by securing private information through better education.

 

Career Tips

The Art of Delegation

By Tony Alessandra, PhD

The ability to delegate sets leaders apart from followers. That is because many people find it difficult to give up control. Delegating duties and responsibilities is essential in today’s downsized organizations. The following key points will help you master the art of delegation.

Find the right person for the project. Do not assign the project to just any warm body - unless any outcome is acceptable. If you want the job done right, however, you must find the right person for the job. If none exists, find the most capable person and train him or her well.

Delegate authority and accountability. The worst thing you can do is delegate a task and then tie a person’s hands. If you have picked the right person or trained someone well, you must then give that person authority so the job can be done without your supervision. If you have to minutely supervise the project, you have not truly delegated it. In addition, you should make the person accountable for the quality of the work performed.

Make the task perfectly clear. Carefully explain the nature of the project to the person you are giving responsibility. This may be done verbally or in writing, depending on the complexity of the task. The newer and more complex the task, the more questions the person you are giving responsibility will have. Answer all questions promptly and thoroughly.

Agree on a deadline. When the person to whom you are delegating fully understands your expectations, both of you are in a position to determine a mutually acceptable deadline.

Review and coach. There is a learning curve associated with any new activity. During this time, you should periodically review the other person’s progress and offer additional coaching if needed.

Lay the groundwork for more delegation. Once you get your feet wet, you will find more things that can be done by others to free up your time. Begin training people to assist you in more operations and you will find yourself with more time to do what you do best.

Here’s to more personal insight,

Tony Alessandra, PhD

Author and Speaker
www.alessandra.com