Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share 040 | Future of made-in-Canada CAR-T cells looks bright, Roche Canada and Merck launch their own individual collaborative cancer research initiatives, and more
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
040 | Future of made-in-Canada CAR-T cells looks bright, Roche Canada and Merck launch their own individual collaborative cancer research initiatives, and more
Coming up on Biotechnology Focus Radio : The future of made-in-Canada CAR-T cells looks bright, Roche Canada and Merck each launch their own individual collaborative cancer research initiatives, and using immunotherapies to kill brain cancer
Welcome to another episode of Biotechnology Focus Radio. I’m your host Shawn Lawrence, here to give you a rundown of this week’s top stories on the Canadian biotech scene. As you can tell by our teaser intro, cancer research and new initiatives into new therapies to tackle the disease figure prominently in our news headlines this week, and this is not a coincidence as February happens to be National Cancer Prevention Awareness Month.
Story 1
On that note, our first story takes us to Ottawa, ON, where a team of researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) have made a discovery, featured in Nature, center around a promising combination of immunotherapies that are able to deliver a one-two punch to brain cancer tumours in mice. Led by Dr. Robert Korneluk, distinguished professor at the University of Ottawa and senior scientist at the CHEO Research Institute, the Ottawa reseach team was able to show in mice that a combination of drugs known as SMAC Mimetics and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) amplifies kill rates of cancer tumour cells in laboratory testing. The research team also discovered a new mechanism by which the combination promotes long-term immunity against glioblastoma tumours. The combination therapy also proved to be highly effective against breast cancer and multiple myeloma. According to Dr. Korneluk, these findings represent a significant evolution in the field of immunotherapy, for the first time showing the synergistic tumour-killing impact of combining SMAC Mimetics with immune checkpoint inhibitors for glioblastoma. As part of this latest project SMAC Mimetics known as LCL161 and Birinapant were combined with ICI antibodies targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4 immune checkpoints. The findings have their roots in research conducted back in 2014, when a team of scientists led by Dr. Korneluk discovered that combining SMAC Mimetics with immune stimulators or live virus therapies had a synergistic or amplified tumour-killing effect that was greater than either agent on its own. Today’s news shows that SMAC Mimetics also have a powerful synergistic effect with ICIs, relatively new drugs that are showing great promise in the clinic. Eric Lacasse, a scientist at the CHEO Research Institute, adds that two drug companies have initiated human clinical trials this year to assess the impact of this combination of SMAC Mimetics and ICIs on patients with a variety of cancers. Although it could be years before any clinical trials begin for adults or children with the deadly brain cancer, glioblastoma, we’re looking forward to seeing how scientific evidence from these experimental treatments adds to our knowledge. It’s an exciting, exploratory field and we hope we’ve hit a home run.” Shawn Beug was the lead author of both the 2014 and 2017 papers, and the research was funded by the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute, Brain Canada (with financial support from Health Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In addition, the work was supported by donations to the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation, the Kiwanis Medical Foundation and the CHEO Foundation.
Story 2
Continuing with the Cancer Research theme, Hoffmann-La Roche Limited (Roche Canada) reports that Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre has joined the company's global cancer immunotherapy Centres of Research Excellence (imCORE) Network. The network brings together the world's leading scientific and clinical experts in cancer immunotherapy to collaborate on the investigation and development of promising new treatment approaches for the disease. As part of gaining a better understanding immune biology and cancer, and to ultimately improve treatment options, this includes initiating pre-clinical and clinical research based on the latest scientific discoveries in cancer immunotherapy and to aggregate, as well as share data within the Network to help accelerate research for people living with cancer. The imCORE Network is comprised of 21 academic centres, inclusive of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, from nine countries across the globe.
Dr. Lillian Siu, medical oncologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Site Lead for the imCORE Network explains why the imCORE newtwork is exciting in the follow audio clip.
http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2017/02/14/20170214_C8704_VIDEO_EN_881863.mp4
As a part of a global announcement regarding the launch of the imCORE Network, Roche has also made a commitment to invest up to 100 million Swiss Francs (more than $130 million Canadian dollars) to support basic and clinical research collaborations related to cancer immunotherapy.
Story 3
In an exciting public/private partnership, stakeholders in Quebec have launched a new research, development and investment hub to help accelerate the fight against cancer. The hub, called Oncopole is backed by a $15-million investment by Merck that will be administered over three years and overseen by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS). Through its model, Oncopole brings together various stakeholders under one flagship hub in oncology. It’s conception was structured with the involvement of more than 50 experts from the scientific community over the past year, who helped to identify its priorities. Recognizing the range of resources and infrastructures currently available as well as the strategic positioning of many researchers in Québec, the Hub will aspire to strengthen the research and innovation ecosystem in the province. Some functions of Oncopole will include enabling the incubation and creation of companies that will capitalize on innovation; and positioning cancer care in Québec among the best in the world in terms of clinical outcome, patient experience and system efficiency.
Based on a thorough analysis of the various hosting possibilities identified across Québec, the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Université de Montréal was selected as the establishment which will host the Oncopole’s coordinating offices.
Additionally, the FRQS and Merck hope that this initial investment will attract other partners to join the Oncopole and make it a truly collaborative initiative.
Story 4
Switching gears to the bioindustrial sector, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) announces that registration and housing are now open for the 2017 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology. The conference, now in its 14th year brings brings together from across the globe business leaders, investors, academics and policymakers in the biofuels, biobased products, renewable chemicals, synthetic biology, food ingredients and biomass sectors. Industrial and environmental biotechnology is at the forefront of the biobased economy, generating good-paying jobs and making cleaner products and processes. This year event will be held July 23-26, 2017 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal in Montréal, Canada. According to Brent Erickson, executive vice president, Industrial and Environmental at BIO, two new tracks-Flavors, Fragrances and Food Ingredients and Agricultural Crop Technologies and Biomass Supply-have been added to this year’s programming, representing the extended value chain of industrial biotechnology. He adds that the decision to bring the World Congress back to Montréal had very much to do with the success of past events, and the local industries continues support of what has grown into the world’s largest industrial biotechnology conference. In 2016, the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology drew around 907 industry leaders from 529 companies, 32 countries and 31 states, as well as the District of Columbia and hosted a record 1,961 partnering meetings. For more information on the conference visit http://www.bio.org/worldcongress.
Story 4
In our final story this week, BioCanRx, and its partners, are investing $11 million to support 16 collaborative research projects in novel therapies to cure cancer. including research aimed at developing Canada’s clinical Chimeric Antigen Receptor modified T cell (CAR-T) manufacturing capabilities.
Considered a powerful new tool in the fight against cancer, CAR-T is on the cutting edge of cancer therapeutics, showing promise in paediatric and adult patients with certain blood cancers such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma.
While promising, the development of such therapies require sophisticated manufacturing and expertise. Canada currently does have the basic laboratory infrastructure in place, and with this funding could take significant steps towards fully developing the expertise and capacity required to deliver this technology.
The BioCanRx investment is going to research projects that will advance several innovative engineered T cell designs, to accelerate delivery of these novel concepts into clinical testing in Canada.
Dr. John Bell, Scientific Director, BioCanRx adds his CAR-T manufacturing initiative is unique in that it represents the Canadian academic community recognizing a gap and stepping up to drive Canadian solutions to meet grassroots efforts taking place in the U.S., China and Europe. He discusses CAR-T cell manufacturing in Canada in the following audio provided by BioCanRX:
https://biocanrx.com/wp-content/uploads/custom%20images/BioCanRx_Dr_JohnBellCART3.mp4
To help ensure CAR-T cell therapy is brought to patients safely and effectively, BioCanRx is funding a companion Clinical, Social, and Economic Impact project. It will review the existing base of knowledge and involve patient consultation to design a rigorous CAR-T clinical trial protocol ready to implement once the products are ready for a phase 1 clinical trial.
Dr. Manoj Lalu, associate scientist, assistant professor, Clinical Epidemiology and Regenerative Medicine Programs, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital and Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Ottawa discusses CAR-T therapy clinical trial design in the following audio clip.
https://biocanrx.com/wp-content/uploads/custom%20images/Dr.%20Lalu%20-%20BioCanRx.mp4
To access the full list of the 16 projects funded, be sure to visit https://biocanrx.com/project-dashboards.
Well that wraps up another episode of the Biotechnology Focus Podcast. We hope you enjoyed it. Be sure to let us know what you think, and we’re also always looking for story ideas and suggestions for future shows, and of course we’d love to hear from you as well, simply reach out to us via twitter @biotechfocus, or by email at the following email address [email protected]. And remember, you can also listen to past episodes online via our podcast portal at www.biotechnologyfocus.ca .
For all of us here at Biotechnology Focus, thanks for listening.
View all episodes
By Biotechnology FocusComing up on Biotechnology Focus Radio : The future of made-in-Canada CAR-T cells looks bright, Roche Canada and Merck each launch their own individual collaborative cancer research initiatives, and using immunotherapies to kill brain cancer
Welcome to another episode of Biotechnology Focus Radio. I’m your host Shawn Lawrence, here to give you a rundown of this week’s top stories on the Canadian biotech scene. As you can tell by our teaser intro, cancer research and new initiatives into new therapies to tackle the disease figure prominently in our news headlines this week, and this is not a coincidence as February happens to be National Cancer Prevention Awareness Month.
Story 1
On that note, our first story takes us to Ottawa, ON, where a team of researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) have made a discovery, featured in Nature, center around a promising combination of immunotherapies that are able to deliver a one-two punch to brain cancer tumours in mice. Led by Dr. Robert Korneluk, distinguished professor at the University of Ottawa and senior scientist at the CHEO Research Institute, the Ottawa reseach team was able to show in mice that a combination of drugs known as SMAC Mimetics and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) amplifies kill rates of cancer tumour cells in laboratory testing. The research team also discovered a new mechanism by which the combination promotes long-term immunity against glioblastoma tumours. The combination therapy also proved to be highly effective against breast cancer and multiple myeloma. According to Dr. Korneluk, these findings represent a significant evolution in the field of immunotherapy, for the first time showing the synergistic tumour-killing impact of combining SMAC Mimetics with immune checkpoint inhibitors for glioblastoma. As part of this latest project SMAC Mimetics known as LCL161 and Birinapant were combined with ICI antibodies targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4 immune checkpoints. The findings have their roots in research conducted back in 2014, when a team of scientists led by Dr. Korneluk discovered that combining SMAC Mimetics with immune stimulators or live virus therapies had a synergistic or amplified tumour-killing effect that was greater than either agent on its own. Today’s news shows that SMAC Mimetics also have a powerful synergistic effect with ICIs, relatively new drugs that are showing great promise in the clinic. Eric Lacasse, a scientist at the CHEO Research Institute, adds that two drug companies have initiated human clinical trials this year to assess the impact of this combination of SMAC Mimetics and ICIs on patients with a variety of cancers. Although it could be years before any clinical trials begin for adults or children with the deadly brain cancer, glioblastoma, we’re looking forward to seeing how scientific evidence from these experimental treatments adds to our knowledge. It’s an exciting, exploratory field and we hope we’ve hit a home run.” Shawn Beug was the lead author of both the 2014 and 2017 papers, and the research was funded by the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute, Brain Canada (with financial support from Health Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In addition, the work was supported by donations to the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation, the Kiwanis Medical Foundation and the CHEO Foundation.
Story 2
Continuing with the Cancer Research theme, Hoffmann-La Roche Limited (Roche Canada) reports that Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre has joined the company's global cancer immunotherapy Centres of Research Excellence (imCORE) Network. The network brings together the world's leading scientific and clinical experts in cancer immunotherapy to collaborate on the investigation and development of promising new treatment approaches for the disease. As part of gaining a better understanding immune biology and cancer, and to ultimately improve treatment options, this includes initiating pre-clinical and clinical research based on the latest scientific discoveries in cancer immunotherapy and to aggregate, as well as share data within the Network to help accelerate research for people living with cancer. The imCORE Network is comprised of 21 academic centres, inclusive of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, from nine countries across the globe.
Dr. Lillian Siu, medical oncologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Site Lead for the imCORE Network explains why the imCORE newtwork is exciting in the follow audio clip.
http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2017/02/14/20170214_C8704_VIDEO_EN_881863.mp4
As a part of a global announcement regarding the launch of the imCORE Network, Roche has also made a commitment to invest up to 100 million Swiss Francs (more than $130 million Canadian dollars) to support basic and clinical research collaborations related to cancer immunotherapy.
Story 3
In an exciting public/private partnership, stakeholders in Quebec have launched a new research, development and investment hub to help accelerate the fight against cancer. The hub, called Oncopole is backed by a $15-million investment by Merck that will be administered over three years and overseen by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS). Through its model, Oncopole brings together various stakeholders under one flagship hub in oncology. It’s conception was structured with the involvement of more than 50 experts from the scientific community over the past year, who helped to identify its priorities. Recognizing the range of resources and infrastructures currently available as well as the strategic positioning of many researchers in Québec, the Hub will aspire to strengthen the research and innovation ecosystem in the province. Some functions of Oncopole will include enabling the incubation and creation of companies that will capitalize on innovation; and positioning cancer care in Québec among the best in the world in terms of clinical outcome, patient experience and system efficiency.
Based on a thorough analysis of the various hosting possibilities identified across Québec, the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Université de Montréal was selected as the establishment which will host the Oncopole’s coordinating offices.
Additionally, the FRQS and Merck hope that this initial investment will attract other partners to join the Oncopole and make it a truly collaborative initiative.
Story 4
Switching gears to the bioindustrial sector, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) announces that registration and housing are now open for the 2017 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology. The conference, now in its 14th year brings brings together from across the globe business leaders, investors, academics and policymakers in the biofuels, biobased products, renewable chemicals, synthetic biology, food ingredients and biomass sectors. Industrial and environmental biotechnology is at the forefront of the biobased economy, generating good-paying jobs and making cleaner products and processes. This year event will be held July 23-26, 2017 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal in Montréal, Canada. According to Brent Erickson, executive vice president, Industrial and Environmental at BIO, two new tracks-Flavors, Fragrances and Food Ingredients and Agricultural Crop Technologies and Biomass Supply-have been added to this year’s programming, representing the extended value chain of industrial biotechnology. He adds that the decision to bring the World Congress back to Montréal had very much to do with the success of past events, and the local industries continues support of what has grown into the world’s largest industrial biotechnology conference. In 2016, the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology drew around 907 industry leaders from 529 companies, 32 countries and 31 states, as well as the District of Columbia and hosted a record 1,961 partnering meetings. For more information on the conference visit http://www.bio.org/worldcongress.
Story 4
In our final story this week, BioCanRx, and its partners, are investing $11 million to support 16 collaborative research projects in novel therapies to cure cancer. including research aimed at developing Canada’s clinical Chimeric Antigen Receptor modified T cell (CAR-T) manufacturing capabilities.
Considered a powerful new tool in the fight against cancer, CAR-T is on the cutting edge of cancer therapeutics, showing promise in paediatric and adult patients with certain blood cancers such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma.
While promising, the development of such therapies require sophisticated manufacturing and expertise. Canada currently does have the basic laboratory infrastructure in place, and with this funding could take significant steps towards fully developing the expertise and capacity required to deliver this technology.
The BioCanRx investment is going to research projects that will advance several innovative engineered T cell designs, to accelerate delivery of these novel concepts into clinical testing in Canada.
Dr. John Bell, Scientific Director, BioCanRx adds his CAR-T manufacturing initiative is unique in that it represents the Canadian academic community recognizing a gap and stepping up to drive Canadian solutions to meet grassroots efforts taking place in the U.S., China and Europe. He discusses CAR-T cell manufacturing in Canada in the following audio provided by BioCanRX:
https://biocanrx.com/wp-content/uploads/custom%20images/BioCanRx_Dr_JohnBellCART3.mp4
To help ensure CAR-T cell therapy is brought to patients safely and effectively, BioCanRx is funding a companion Clinical, Social, and Economic Impact project. It will review the existing base of knowledge and involve patient consultation to design a rigorous CAR-T clinical trial protocol ready to implement once the products are ready for a phase 1 clinical trial.
Dr. Manoj Lalu, associate scientist, assistant professor, Clinical Epidemiology and Regenerative Medicine Programs, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital and Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Ottawa discusses CAR-T therapy clinical trial design in the following audio clip.
https://biocanrx.com/wp-content/uploads/custom%20images/Dr.%20Lalu%20-%20BioCanRx.mp4
To access the full list of the 16 projects funded, be sure to visit https://biocanrx.com/project-dashboards.
Well that wraps up another episode of the Biotechnology Focus Podcast. We hope you enjoyed it. Be sure to let us know what you think, and we’re also always looking for story ideas and suggestions for future shows, and of course we’d love to hear from you as well, simply reach out to us via twitter @biotechfocus, or by email at the following email address [email protected]. And remember, you can also listen to past episodes online via our podcast portal at www.biotechnologyfocus.ca .
For all of us here at Biotechnology Focus, thanks for listening.