Canada's Top 10 Life Science Companies Competition 2006/2007 Finalists
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Sponsored by:
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"Canada's Top 10 is a powerful brand that attracted the attention of top-tier US venture capitalists and investment bankers in 2006. At the Canadian Consulate General, we are pleased to host Canada's Top 10 Life Sciences Investment Forum in January 2007, and we are confident that the relationships forged will lead to results for the Canadian companies."
Marie-Louise Hannan, Consul (Investment) and Trade Commissioner, Consulate General of Canada “This competition is a unique snapshot of emerging life science companies in Canada. It showcases great technologies and entrepreneurs that are ready for prime-time investing.”Maha Katabi, Vice-President, Life Sciences, Ventures West (Canada’s Top 10 Earley Stage Jury Member)
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Early Stage Companies
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AgaPharm is a private biotechnology company developing a breakthrough drug that prevents or slows down the onset of diabetic blindness and cataract.
It is a prescription eye drop that patients will use daily for the rest of their lives. The drug will provide a safe and cost-effective prevention and treatment option that addresses significant unmet medical needs for millions of people.
The active ingredient in our drug has already been tested in humans with few side effects. As a result, AgaPharm provides VCs seeking near-term, high-value exits the opportunity to quickly create value using a proven drug development method to shorten development times, lower costs and reduce risks.
Studies completed to date by our research partner, Canada's National Research Council, suggest the drug has considerable promise. When successful in clinical trials, it may replace surgery as the treatment of choice for combating blindness caused by diabetes.
"We are delighted to have been selected as a finalist for this influential award," AgaPharm CEO Mark Adam said. "AgaPharm's eye drop will improve the quality of life for millions of diabetics worldwide, and we are excited to share this great opportunity with investors. I would also like to acknowledge the assistance and support of the Ottawa Life Sciences Council and OCRI in our preparation for this competition," Mr. Adam added.
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Jennerex Biotherapeutics ULC is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company working to create and develop novel targeted oncolytic virus products for the treatment of cancer. Oncolytic viruses are engineered to infect, multiply within, and kill cancer cells while leaving neighboring healthy cells unharmed. Jennerex viruses target genetic abnormalities that are present in the vast majority of common cancers (e.g. lung, colon, prostate, breast, pancreas, etc.). Jennerex therapeutic viruses combine a novel mechanism-of-action with a multi-pronged attack on even the most advanced and treatment-resistant cancers. We have two virus platforms that can generate multiple complementary products with diverse mechanisms of actions: vaccinia viruses and rhabdoviruses. Our current clinical product candidates are recombinant vaccinia viruses, with the lead product, JX-594, in Phase I to treat liver cancer or metastatic cancer to the liver. Two additional vaccinia virus products (JX-963 and JX-929) are scheduled to enter Phase I studies in Q4 2006 and Q1 2007, respectively. Rhabdovirus program is in discovery stage with several promising clinical candidates undergoing preclinical analyses.
Jennerex successfully completed an "A" round of financing in April, 2006 and anticipates completing a "B" round in the context of additional clinical data and partnering arrangements by the end of 2007.
“Jennerex is honoured and delighted to have been selected as one of Canada’s Top 10 finalists for 2006-2007” said David H. Kirn, M.D., Chief Executive Officer. “With our partners at the Centre for Cancer Therapeutics (Ottawa Health Research Institute) we are making significant clinical progress towards delivering effective targeted oncolytic virotherapies against a wide range of advanced cancers with unmet medical needs.”
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Nephrologix Inc. is a private company that develops, manufactures and markets innovative peritoneal dialysis (PD) systems.
In effect, Nephrologix has made an evolutionary leap in the treatment of kidney failure, a life threatening and incurable illness affecting 1.8 million people today, a number projected to double within ten years. Nephrologix has developed the first automated peritoneal dialysis system, SmartPDTM, which ushers the era of diagnostic PD for the nephrologists and physiological PD for the patients.
SmartPDTM is designed to provide nephrologists improved control on how PD treatment is prescribed and delivered, and to provide patients with superior renal care at home. Treatment adequacy of PD can now be substantiated and yet no changes in clinical work flow and procedures are required.
The resulting dialysis surpasses the clinical and technical limitations of current dialysis treatments. SmartPDTM is positioned not only to improve patient outcomes, but also to reduce dialysis costs.
“Nephrologix is delighted to have been chosen as a finalist in Canada’s Top 10 Life Science Companies Competition, 2006-2007. This recognition further validates our business plan, as does the Ontario Joint Peritoneal Dialysis Initiative, which recently announced its expectation that peritoneal dialysis will rise from 18% to 30% of dialyzed patients by 2008,” said Stéphane Attal, President & CEO. “These developments encourage Nephrologix as it moves to meet key milestones in the year ahead, including closing additional financing, clearing FDA, and launching the global commercialization of its product. Nephrologix would like to thank its financial and commercial partners.”
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Rimon Therapeutics Ltd. is the Theramer™ Company. Theramers™ (therapeutic polymers) are polymers that have drug-like activity, but can be marketed and regulated as devices. Rimon’s Theramers™ induce the development of new blood vessels, prevent the destruction of tissue, and kill bacteria without harming human cells. The company is engaging some of the world’s largest medical device companies about using these unique polymers to heal chronic wounds (e.g., bedsores and diabetic ulcers), treat heart disease, delay knee replacement, and prevent medical device-related infections. Preliminary results from the Company’s first, human clinical trial of its MI-Sorb™ Dressing for chronic wounds are very promising and represent a key milestone in the validation of Rimon’s unique, value proposition – drug-like margins and device timelines, together with the versatility of polymer chemistry.
"We are delighted that such an esteemed jury has recognized the hard work, achievements and future potential of Rimon Therapeutics. The clinical validation this year of our novel therapeutic polymer (Theramer) platform technology, the near-term product licensing opportunities generated with some of the world's largest medical device companies, and now recognition as one of Canada's leading Life Science companies, demonstrates Rimon's ability to advance a robust pipeline of products to commercialization", says Michael H. May, President of Rimon Therapeutics Ltd. |
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StemPath Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company developing regenerative therapies for damaged heart muscle and for skeletal muscle damage. StemPath is developing first-in-class protein-based pharmaceuticals that cause tissue regeneration by modulating signaling pathways that act on resident adult stem cells located within the muscle tissues in the body.
The first indications that the company is developing regenerative pharmaceuticals for are Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI), Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and cancer related cachexia. Both the lead AMI heart repair research program and the skeletal muscle repair research program are in the discovery phase. StemPath plans to enter preclinical testing of an AMI lead candidate early in 2007 and clinical trials by end of 2008.
StemPath’s research accomplishments to date are the result of combining successful internal research efforts with strategic collaborations with external research organizations. The company intends to continue a rapid commercialization of its products through a strategy of combining its world class expertise in signal transduction pathways and transcription factors with the expertise gained through strong relationships with key pharmaceutical development and marketing partners.
“I am pleased and honored that StemPath has been selected as one of the finalists of Canada’s Top 10 Life Science Companies Competition. This sort of recognition is vital to the further growth of the company and will allow us the opportunity to better promote the exciting technology that the company is developing,” stated Jan Alfheim, President, StemPath Inc.
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Variation Biotechnologies Inc (VBI) is creating intelligent vaccines for humanity. VBI believes that in creating the next generation of vaccines we must learn from, rather than ignore, the lessons of nature. Viruses including Influenza, Avian Flu, HIV, and Dengue all have the ability to mutate to avoid immunity directed against them. This ability has thwarted vaccine efforts over the past two decades.
Using bioinformatics, VBI analyzes thousands of viral sequences to let nature indicate regions of the virus that are most vulnerable to a vaccine response. Using its proprietary Variosite technology, VBI synthesizes synthetic vaccines that represent the full diversity of a virus, an approach that offers distinct competitive advantages over traditional vaccine strategies.
VBI is advancing its lead products, including broadly reactive influenza and avian flu vaccines, in clinical trials. Science rooted in lessons learned from nature, will soon allow VBI to revolutionize humanity’s fight against infectious disease.
“Variation Biotechnologies is very pleased to have been named among Canada's Top 10 Life Science Companies for 2006. It has been a productive year, highlighted by the issuance of key intellectual property protecting our Variosite vaccine platform and the expansion of our pipeline with seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccine candidates. As a past recipient, VBI has found that its inclusion within Canada's Top 10 has helped increase awareness with key North American investors and strategic partners and has helped us build great momentum. We look forward to continued success for the program and all of its recipients” says Francisco Diaz-Mitoma, President & CEO, Variation Biotechnologies.
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Emerging and Late Stage Companies
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ARIUS Research Inc. (ARI-TSX) is a Toronto based biotechnology company developing novel monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer. ARIUS’ mission is to create innovative, targeted drug therapies that will revolutionize cancer care. In North America there are over 1 million people diagnosed with cancer each year with an unmet medical need for drugs that will improve their survival. ARIUS’ proprietary FunctionFIRST™ technology platform uniquely creates functional anti-cancer monoclonal antibodies that belong to a class of revolutionary cancer drugs.
ARIUS’ functional antibodies are cytotoxic to cancer cells but are non-toxic to their normal cell counterparts and are validated through a number of commercial partnerships including Genentech, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and PDL Biopharma. ARIUS has undergone a transformative year with $28.5 million in financing from leading life sciences investors such as Orbimed Advisors, Xmark Opportunity Funds, and Efficacy Capital and graduated its listing to the Toronto Stock Exchange. ARIUS is growing substantially and has augmented its management and scientific team with leaders and experts in their fields. ARIUS is committed to being a leading anti-cancer company and will advance three internal programs to clinical development over the next three years including one targeting CD44 in 2008.
“The ARIUS team is proud to be a part of the excellent group of scientists and entrepreneurs who are being recognized in the Canada’s Top 10 Life Science Companies Competition,” said Dr. David S. Young, President and Chief Scientific Officer. “This year stands out at ARIUS for our successes in science, finance and deal-making. We are able to aggressively transform ourselves into a clinical stage company as a result of these achievements and it is particularly rewarding to receive the recognition from experts in the life sciences industry at this time.”
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Liponex is a biopharmaceutical company moving into Phase II trials with CRD5, its lead candidate. CRD5 raises High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), often called “good cholesterol”. Novel HDL therapies, such as CRD5, are an area of significant interest for pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Liponex also has a broad pipeline of products with drug candidates in areas such as atherosclerosis, cancer, and infectious disease.
The goal of Liponex is to continue to develop our proprietary technologies to fight human disease. Our mission is to derive value for our shareholders by developing our drug candidates and programs to the point where there is potential for licensing opportunities.
Liponex Inc was established in 2000 based on discoveries made by Dr. Daniel Sparks at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. In September 2005 Liponex completed a successful IPO and is now traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol
“Liponex is pleased to be a finalist for this year's Canada's Top 10 Life Science Companies Competition. This is the second time that the company has had the distinction of being a finalist - the first time was as an early stage company and this time as an emerging company which reflects the substantial growth and development at the company in the past few years. The fact that this is the second time this year that Liponex has been recognized for its work, having earlier received the OLSC Company of the Year award, is a testament to the immense support provided to and wealth of talented people in the life science community in Ottawa." Bill Dickie, CEO, Liponex.
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Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. (SCT) is a publicly traded (TSX-V: SSS), clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of drug-based therapies to treat central nervous system diseases. SCT is a leader in the development of therapies that utilize drugs to stimulate a patients own resident stem cells. The company’s programs aim to repair neurological function lost due to disease or injury. Our currently enrolling phase IIa clinical program for NTx™-265 targets the treatment of stroke by repurposing approved and clinically well defined drugs. The company’s extensive patent portfolio of owned and licensed intellectual property supports the potential expansion into future clinical programs in numerous neurological diseases.
“Stem Cell Therapeutics is honored to be awarded this distinction," said Dr. Joseph Tucker, President and Chief Executive Officer. "This award recognizes the diligence and achievement of our dedicated team, who have successfully advanced our lead drug candidate from pre-clinical to Phase II, while simultaneously broadening our pipeline. Impressively, these objectives were realized with a cost-effective usage of capital and in a very short period of time.”
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YM BioSciences Inc., a Canadian-based, international, cancer product development company, operates in Canada, USA, and Europe. Four products in advanced clinical development, a uniquely diversified, late-stage portfolio, and cash resources exceed $80 million.
Tesmilifene, in Canada’s first Phase III cancer drug trial based on a prior successful Phase III, is an MDR-targeting agent combined with standard chemotherapies treating numerous cancers. Phase III in metastatic breast cancer, Phase II collaboration with Sanofi-Aventis with Taxotere® (docetaxel). Additional trials initiated include gastric cancer.
Nimotuzumab, an anti-EGFR humanized antibody, partnered in Japan with Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and approved in India, is in a Phase I/II trial in lung cancer patients in Canada. Phase IIl trial in Europe in for the treatment of pediatric pontine glioma ongoing.
AeroLEF™, unique inhaled-delivery of fentanyl, treating moderate to severe acute pain, including cancer pain, undergoing a randomized Phase IIb and preliminary results anticipated in Q3, 2006.
"To be nominated again this year as one of Canada's Top 10 Life Science Companies underscores the depth and breadth of YM's advanced portfolio. As such, we remain committed to the continued development of products for patients with cancer." said David Allan, Chairman and CEO of YM BioSciences. "We are highly honoured to be chosen for this prestigious award established by the Ottawa Life Sciences Council and will endeavor to ensure we work to the high standards it supports." |
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