LifeSciences BC Announces Future Plans and New Chair at its 2007 Annual General Meeting and Partner Appreciation Reception

On Thursday, September 27th LifeSciences BC's members participated in the ratification of our revised Constitution, thanked our retiring Directors and Chair for their outstanding contributions to our association and the entire industry; and welcomed our new Directors and incoming Chair, Dr. Simon Pimstone. To show appreciation of the tremendous support shown to LifeSciences BC by our members, sponsors and partners, LifeSciences BC hosted a special Partner Appreciation Reception following the AGM at the Stanley Park Pavillion.

David Hall, outgoing Chair of LifeSciences BC spoke to members about the supportive political environment in British Columbia and LifeSciences BC's positioning to ensure our industry is competitive globally.  He commented on the rebranding of BC Biotech to LifeSciences BC and stated that  "The Board came to realize that if we are to continue to grow our association as well as the industry, we need to be working much more closely with our colleagues in other life sciences sectors such as medical devices, bioproducts, marine, forestry, ag, and industrial biotech; and that our name should reflect this." The first step in this change was the merger with BC Medtech, which was completed at the AGM with the addition of Barry Allen and Paul Geyer as Directors to the Board, and with the ratification of the revised Constitution and Bylaws.

Karimah Es Sabar, President spoke to the milestones that the association has achieved this past year and how each intitative is aligned with the key strategic objectives for LifeSciences BC. The strategic obectives include:

• Advocacy – undertaking relevant public policy initiatives and working with the policy makers to strengthen the biotechnology sector
• Promoting and increasing the profile of BC’s biotechnology industry within Canada and globally
• Development and support of our human capital
• Actively facilitating investment and partnering opportunities
  
  
    
  Karimah Es Sabar                                    David Hall, Chair
  LifeSciences BC President
  
   

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for BioPartnering North America (BPN), which is being held from February 3-5, 2008 in Vancouver, B.C., Canada at the Westin Bayshore Resort.   These include Premium, Platinum, Gold & Silver Sponsorships along with sponsorship opportunities for the Conference Handbook, Conference Handbag, Corporate Kiosk, Hotel Guest Room “Keycard”, Relaxation Station and Continental Breakfast for Monday and Tuesday morning of the conference.

For more details please click here or contact Barry Gee, Director, Operations and Communications at (604) 602-5226 or bgee@lifesciencesbc.ca 

The Medical Device Seminar Series has been specifically developed in order to provide education and networking opportunities for our members from the medical device sector.

On September 10, LifeSciences BC presented the first seminar of this series- Regulatory Affairs – From the FDA to ISO & CE-Marking. Topics includied FDA product approvals, CE-marking and ISO certification by speakers Judy Findlay and Carl Youngmann.

The next Medical Device Seminar Series will be Health Canada Regulations on Medical Devices on October 29, 2007.

To view presentations made at previous Medical Device Seminar Series, click here. 

In an effort to continue to expand the international profile of BC’s life sciences industry, and actively facilitate investment and partnerships, LifeSciences BC has recently returned from leading a delegation of British Columbia companies and research organizations to BioJapan, Asia’s most important annual biotech conference.

LifeSciences BC was joined in Japan by the Honourable Colin Hansen, Minister of Economic Development, and representatives from the BC Cancer Agency, Genome British Columbia, OncoGenex Technologies, Aspreva Pharmaceuticals and the Student Biotechnology Network who together showed the cohesive and collaborative environment that is unique to BC.

Japan not only represents one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the world, but is also home to one of the leading pharmaceutical industries in the world as well as leading research institutions such as the Ryken Genomics institute which was visited by our delegation. This mission provided a tremendous opportunity to get in front of these global players, and showcase British Columbia’s significant strengths and investment and partnering opportunities.

LifeSciences BC will now be working with many of the contacts made in order to facilitate additional exchanges, and welcome a delegation of Japanese companies to BioPartnering North America in February.
 

 
 BC Delegation outside the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo


Presentation by Oncogenex 

 
British Columbia Pavilion

LifeSciences BC held a series of events during National Biotech Week including a Breakfast Speaking Series , the sanofi-aventis biotalent challenge Launch Event: Gateway to Biotechnology, the 2007 Annual General Meeting and Partner Appreciation Reception, SBN's Kick-Off Event, Building Biotech, and Biotechnology and Beyond: Introduction to the Life Sciences Industry.

Breakfast Speaking Series

On Wednesday, September 26th LifeSciences BC hosted well over 100 guests at the Sutton Place Hotel for a Breakfast Speaking Series where CANTEST's President and CEO, Don Enns and URODYNAMIX's President & CEO Barry Allen made brief presenations which were followed by our special keynote speaker, Dr. Roberta Bondar.


  
Barry Allen, URODYNAMIX                   Don Enns, CANTEST 
 
 
Over 100 people were in attendance       Dr. Roberta Bondar

LifeSciences British Columbia's Breakfast Speaking Series is presented by:

 

sanofi-aventis biotalent challenge Launch Event: Gateway to Biotechnology

Over 240 high school students and teachers attended the sanofi-aventis biotalent challenge Launch Event: Gateway to Biotechnology on September 26 at BCIT's Burnaby campus. Students heard presentations about the sanofi-aventis biotalent challenge where over $10,000 will be awarded to the winning teams, were given an overview on what is biotechnology, the opportunitiesas available and took part in various workshops and lab visits.

 
Dr. Roberta Bondar makes a guest appearance in front of 240 local high school students 

Building Biotech Kick-Off Event Hosted by the Student Biotechnology Network (SBN)

Hosted by SBN and moderated by LifeSciences BC's President, Karimah Es Sabar, this event informed students on the opportunities within the industry as described from the perspective of local community leaders from diverse disciplines within biotech: business, science, technology transfer and venture capital.

From December 3rd - 7th, Premier Campbell will be leading a British Columbia mission to India, and a key focus of this endeavour will be our life sciences sector. LifeSciences BC has been asked by the Premier's office to lead and coordinate this part of the mission, and to recruit interested companies and research organizations.

Our objective at LSBC is to sell our academic/research/industry continuum as a key pillar to our success and to market the excellence of our institutions and companies. We will be targeting top tier pharma companies with venture arms and investment capability, top tier biotech and top tier research institutions. Indian companies have been investing heavily in North America, including Ontario, but not as yet in BC. This is a good opportunity for BC to put our best foot forward as an introduction to India.
 
The final itinerary for the mission is still under development, but will include a series of breakfast and luncheon events with potential investors and strategic partners, site visits to some of India’s leading companies and research institutions, and the opportunity for BC delegates to have their own one-on-one meetings.

If you are interested in participating in this mission, please contact Barry Gee at bgee@lifesciencesbc.ca or tel: 604-602-5226.