Archives for 2018

Vancouver, Canada: CDRD, Canada’s national life sciences venture, has been selected for a Science Co-op Employer Recognition Award by the University of British Columbia (UBC). In addition, two of CDRD’s employees : David Shin, Data Integrity Manager and Eric Cruz, Associate Scientist in Biologics (pictured above with Courtney Leong, Manager of HR), have also been selected to receive Supervisor Awards.

Mentoring and training undergraduate and post-graduate students have always been a part of CDRD’s mission for more than 10 years and so far 225 trainees from 20 countries have completed the CDRD Academy program. Of the CDRD Academy Post-Graduate Institute alumni, 96% are gainfully employed in their chosen field, having successfully gone on to an array of life sciences companies and research institutions including STEMCELL Technologies Inc., Xenon Pharmaceuticals, the BC Cancer Agency, Zymeworks, Gilead, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi Genzyme, the NHS, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, and MaRS Innovation.

CDRD is committed to growing the life sciences ecosystem across Canada, and it is fueling this growth by training the next generation of highly-qualified innovators, drug development experts, and business talent to build new or scale promising companies based on compelling technologies and platforms. To accomplish these goals, CDRD fuses academia’s collaborative spirit with industry’s commercial focus, providing a truly unique platform for young researchers to transition from the academic to the industrial world. Trainees participate on cross-functional project teams where they work with scientists from a wide range of disciplines who are experienced in both academia and industry.

Mr. Gordon C. McCauley, President and CEO of CDRD said, “Training the next generation of highly-qualified personnel to drive the development of innovations is a critical part of our mission. We are honoured to be recognized by UBC as one of the Top Employers for 2018 that provides meaningful and quality work experience, encourages professional development and career growth, provides exceptional mentorship and demonstrates excellent managerial and leadership skills.”

Launched in September 2017, the UBC Science Co-op Employer Recognition Award recognizes companies and supervisors who have provided exceptional work term experiences to its co-op science students.

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About CDRD:
CDRD is Canada’s national life sciences venture, powering the country’s life sciences industry by creating and growing companies of scale – while training the scientific and business talent needed to drive them to become leading global anchors for Canada. We do this by building collaborations with the very best partners from academia, industry, patient foundations, the investment community, and other Key Opinion Leaders, and providing the specialized expertise and infrastructure to identify, validate and advance promising discoveries, and transform them into commercially viable investment opportunities for the private sector — and ultimately into new therapies for patients. www.cdrd.ca

For additional Information, please contact:
Julia White
Senior Manager, Communications, CDRD
604.827.1226
jwhite@cdrd.ca

• Typically occurring overnight, hypoglycemia puts over 8 million people with diabetes at fatal risk during their sleep.
• Current therapies offer hypoglycemic treatment only once an episode occurs.
• Zucara is working on the first treatment to prevent hypoglycemia which can kill patients in their sleep.

Vancouver, Canada: On World Diabetes Day, Zucara Therapeutics (a CDRD and MaRS Innovation portfolio company) is raising awareness about hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) that can cause serious complications and even death for people with diabetes. Currently, no therapy to prevent hypoglycemia exists, leaving patients to rely on rescue therapies, such as glucose or glucagon, typically used after the patient is already suffering from a potential fatal hypoglycemic episode. Preventing hypoglycemia will dramatically change Type 1 diabetes disease management, improving both patient health and quality of life.

Zucara is developing the first once-daily therapeutic to prevent hypoglycemia in people with Type 1 diabetes and other types of insulin-dependent diabetes. Zucara’s lead drug candidate “ZT-01” is moving towards Phase 1 clinical trials in late 2019 after demonstrating efficacy and safety validated in multiple preclinical models of hypoglycemia. The company is now defining the clinical trial plan for Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies.

Michael Midmer, Chief Executive Officer for Zucara Therapeutics explained, “Hypoglycemic episodes are an important concern for people with diabetes, in the most severe cases, they are life threatening, and are a particular source of fear and anxiety for patients. Our technology is aimed at creating the first treatment to prevent clinically significant low blood sugar. We are extremely happy with the results achieved so far to advance our lead drug ZT-01 and are excited to start Phase 1 clinical trials in 2019. We are currently raising funding to conduct our first clinical studies, and appreciate the support we have received to date from leading institutions and diabetes organizations.”

Zucara has raised US$7M in funding to date from various organizations including its founding institutions: CDRD and MaRS Innovation; leading diabetes organizations: The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust and JDRF International; and other funders including the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), and Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator. The funding has helped Zucara complete a robust preclinical program enabling its lead drug ZT-01 to be further advanced towards clinical trials.

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About Zucara Therapeutics Inc.
Zucara Therapeutics is developing the first drug therapy to prevent hypoglycemia in people with diabetes. The Company’s first-in-class therapeutic, ZT-01, is aimed at inhibiting a hormone in the pancreas called somatostatin, which does not function properly in Type 1 diabetes. Preventing hypoglycemia will dramatically change diabetes disease management, improving both patient health and quality of life. www.zucara.ca

For additional information, please contact:
Julia White
Senior Manager, Communications
jwhite@cdrd.ca
604.827.1226

To exemplify the collaborative spirit and leadership needed to advance the Canadian health and biosciences sector, Canadian life sciences leaders – CDRD,   LifeSciences BC, TRIUMF Innovations and BIOTECanada – are hosting an event today to build support and encourage action and agreement that will advance recommendations from The Government of Canada’s Health and Biosciences Economic Strategy Table Report.

The Honorable Navdeep Singh Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development will be in attendance to discuss the importance of life science sector investment and Canada’s long-term vision for its Health and Biosciences industry.

The Report provides five recommendations on how we can accelerate the growth of the Canadian Life Sciences industry with the goal of becoming a global health and biosciences hub:

1. Accelerate Innovation Adoption
2. Design Agile Regulations
3. Harness Technology
4. Develop & Attract Talent
5. Create Anchor Firms

The event will follow LifeScience BC’s 2018 Investor Summit, and is designed to foster discussion, and catalyze collaborative efforts between government, industry, and not-for-profit organizations central to Canada’s research, innovation, and technology ecosystem. Health spending represents a sizeable proportion of our gross domestic product, and there has never been a better time to leverage partnerships to produce greater health outcomes and economic prosperity. Our collective commitment to streamline regulations, enable cutting-edge technologies to reach the marketplace, advance digital health technology, grow firms to scale and establishing global anchor companies will transform the health and biosciences ecosystem to the benefit of all Canadians.

Event Details
Date: Thursday, October 25, 2018
Time: 3:30pm to 5.30pm
Location: Fairmont Pacific Rim, 1038 Canada Place, Vancouver

Speaking Program

• Welcome Remarks – Gordon McCauley, President & CEO, CDRD

• Fireside Chat
  • Moderator: Dr. Alan Winter Innovation Commissioner Province of BC
  • Hon. Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development
  • Karimah Es Sabar, CEO & Partner, Quark Ventures & Chair, Health and Biosciences Economic Strategy Table
• Panel Discussion              
  • Chair: Andrew Casey, President & CEO, BIOTECanada
  • Norma Biln, CEO & Co-Founder, Augurex
  • Jennifer Chan, Vice-President, Merck Canada
  • Karimah Es Sabar, CEO & Partner, Quark Ventures & Chair, Health and Biosciences Economic Strategy Table
• Panel Thank You – Kathryn Hayashi, President & CEO, TRIUMF Innovations
• Closing Comments & Thank You    
  • Daniel Hetu, Managing Director, Lumira Ventures
  • Dr. Lesley Esford, President & CEO, LifeSciences BC

Quotes

“The Economic Strategy Tables –an unprecedented level of collaboration between government and industry – offers a long-term vision for Canada’s global competitiveness. We are carefully considering their recommendations, including in the health and biosciences sector, and we continue to work with industry leaders to ensure they play an important role in growing Canada’s economy, all to create good middle-class jobs for Canadians.”

• The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

“The Economic Strategy Table was a unique government / industry collaboration which enabled industry-driven solutions. When industry and government work well together, it creates a firm foundation to unlock the true potential of the Health and Biosciences Sector. If implemented well, the proposals from the Economic Strategy Table will serve to turn the tide for Canada towards a higher value, innovation-driven economy.”

• Karimah Es Sabar, President and CEO, Quark Venture & Chair, Health and Biosciences Economic Strategy Table

“As a research powerhouse, Canada has the potential to become a global leader in life sciences, but we must do more to create strong Canadian companies of scale. The federal government has taken important steps to support the growth of the sector, and we as the members of Canada’s life sciences ecosystem must support the Health and Biosciences Economic Strategy Table’s recommendations, and work together in building productive partnerships, aligning our objectives, sharing our knowledge and resources, and collaborating on mutually beneficial projects. CDRD has already initiated such collaborations with national and international partners with unwavering focus on our shared Vision of Canadian life sciences leading the world.”

• Gordon C. McCauley, President and CEO, CDRD

“Recommendations put forward in the report to expand the ‘The Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative’ mandate to include late-stage capital funding will prove to be an important factor in scaling up high potential health and biosciences firms which can become the much-needed anchor companies of tomorrow. LifeSciences BC is actively working toward advancing the Canadian biotechnology ecosystem and looks forward to working with the government and the members of Health and Biosciences Economic Table to achieve these recommendations.”

• Lesley Esford, President and CEO, LifeSciences BC 

“Canada produces ground-breaking research in the biosciences sector which more often than not remains untapped for commercialization. Commercialization of this research is crucial to get ideas and technology out into the world, and for Canada to be recognized on a global stage. The Report provides the strategic direction that we as a cohesive ecosystem can adopt to advance this industry. At TRIUMF Innovations we are constantly trying to connect our global network of TRIUMF researchers and technologies to the world and will continue to forge these industry partnerships.”

• Kathryn Hayashi, President and CEO, TRIUMF Innovations

 “The Health & Biosciences Economic Strategy table (HBEST) report and recommendations are both important and timely. The Canadian industry is presently in a growth phase with a number of companies moving closer to commercial reality and several other early stage companies also showing great promise. The HBEST study recognizes the core strengths of Canada’s biotech sector and provides clear recommendations on how to build on these strengths and address key gaps with an aim to establishing high value companies and ultimately create Canadian-based, globally competitive anchor companies.”

• Andrew Casey, President and CEO BIOTECanada

Media Contact
Julia White
Senior Manager, Communications, CDRD
jwhite@cdrd.ca
604.307.2372

Welcome to CDRD – Built for Success

Every day is a revolution in life science in this world – from new cutting-edge drug development technologies and processes to a changing global business model, the life sciences sector pushes the boundaries every day. It’s time for CDRD to push those boundaries too. Pushing boundaries means we need to change some of the things we do and the way we do them.

Consequently, we are excited to announce a major operational re-organization designed to align CDRD’s structure with its three key functions, and optimize our role as Canada’s life sciences venture by:

1. Creating companies of scale;
2. Helping existing companies scale up; and
3. Training the next generation of life sciences innovators and leaders.

Through this new structure, CDRD will be even stronger, and seek to realize our vision of Canadian life sciences leading the world.

Effective immediately, all CDRD projects will be managed by one of three Venture Partners:

Dr. Lana Janes joined CDRD as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence earlier this year, and now joins full time as Venture Partner. Lana brings an impressive track record of over two decades of success in both business and drug development in the biopharmaceutical industry, most recently serving as Senior Vice President at QLT (now Novelion), overseeing all aspect’s of QLT’s clinical stage R&D programs. Lana holds an AB in Chemistry from Harvard University, and did her PhD and postdoctoral work in organic chemistry at McGill University.

Dr. Jason Crawford has been our VP of Scientific Operations since 2014, and is now a Venture Partner. Like each of our Venture Partners, Jason is among the small cadre of people in Canada who has taken a drug from concept to marketplace. Jason holds a BSc in Chemistry/Biochemistry and a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Victoria.

Mr. Paul Drohan is joining CDRD immediately as Venture Partner. Paul has over 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including eight years in the United Kingdom with Genzyme (a Sanofi Company) as Senior Global Vice President, leading the organizations’ strategic, financial, and sales and marketing operations performance for the UK, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Paul is also CEO of drug development company, Zomanex (which he will continue to lead from his Venture Partner role at CDRD), and is the former President and CEO of LifeSciences BC.

Each Venture Partner is responsible for overseeing and advancing a portfolio of ongoing CDRD projects, and will be supported by their own multi-disciplinary scientific and business team with access to CDRD’s state-of-the-art infrastructure. Each of these portfolios is dominated by a major project that we will seek to turn into a major spin-off, complemented by several other developing assets or relationships with mid-sized Canadian biotechs and academic researchers. In keeping with our mandate to train the next generation of scientific and business talent, each team will also include a number of members of the CDRD Academy’s Post-Graduate and Undergraduate Institutes.

To complement and support the Venture Partner teams, responsibility for evaluating new projects, and for CDRD’s Foresighting process to ensure an ongoing robust and strategic pipeline will continue to be led by Dr. Rachael Ritchie, Vice President, Partnerships & Strategy.

Venture Partner Teams will continue to be supported by our strong Intellectual Property (led by Dr. Dave Rogers, VP), Finance and Operations (led by Matthew Carlyle, CFO), People and Strategy (led by Patricia York, VP), and Communications and External Affairs (led by Barry Gee, Senior Director) groups. Sacha Mann will also continue on as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence working with CDRD leadership to identify and capitalize on specific areas of strategic commercial opportunity.

Change is never easy. Because of this process, a number of valued colleagues have left our team. The CDRD Board and Leadership Team believe strongly however, that this move is the right one not only for CDRD, but also for life sciences in Canada. This change allows us to streamline and focus our operations precisely with our Strategy; and it will help us better align our activities with other organizations across the country, enabling a more collaborative and effective national ecosystem in which academia, industry, investors, government and foundations work together to realize our Vision of Canadian life sciences leading the world.

We have some incredibly exciting projects in the pipeline that we are confident will contribute significantly to growing new Canadian anchor companies, and help existing companies scale-up. We will share more about those specifically in the coming months, but in the meantime, we ask for your continued engagement to remain at the forefront of Canadian innovation. We are grateful for the support you’ve shown CDRD, and we look forward to an even greater partnership going forward.

If you have questions, concerns, or ideas as to how we can more successfully or rapidly achieve our Vision, please reach out to me or any of my colleagues, at any time.

Respectfully,

Gordon C. McCauley
President and CEO, CDRD

Email: gmccauley@cdrd.ca
Tel: 604.827.1207

About CDRD
CDRD is Canada’s national life sciences venture, powering the country’s life sciences industry by creating and growing companies of scale – and training the scientific and business talent needed to drive them to become leading global anchors in Canada. We build collaborations with the very best partners from academia, industry, patient foundations, the investment community, and other Key Opinion Leaders to provide the specialized expertise and infrastructure to identify, validate and advance promising discoveries, and transform them into commercially viable investment opportunities for the private sector — and ultimately into new therapies for patients.

Vancouver, Canada: CDRD – The Centre for Drug Research and Development, Canada’s national life sciences venture, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Didier Leconte as a new Director of the organization.

Mr. Leconte is Vice-President, Investments – Life Sciences with the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, which he first joined in 2012. With net assets of over $14B, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ has become a hub of knowledge and resources for Québec businesses, and a key player and job creator for the Quebec and Canadian economies.

Over Mr. Leconte’s career, he has held a number of senior leadership positions, all related to advancing innovation. Having started in the energy sector in France, he came to Canada in 1996, first with GDF Suez and then as Commercial Director and later, R&D Director with Gas Technologies Centre. From 2004 to 2012, Mr. Leconte played a significant role in the commercialization of university research in Québec. In 2004, he joined Gestion Univalor, where he was responsible for the innovations portfolio of engineering and sciences, as well as medical devices. He subsequently took on the leadership of MSBi Valorisation, and in 2012, arranged the merger with Valeo Management (now Aligo Innovation), of which he was the interim president.

CDRD Chair, Dr. Brad Popovich commented, “On behalf of the CDRD Board, I am delighted to welcome this exceptional life sciences leader. CDRD is Canada’s life sciences venture, so it is critical to have strong ties and representation from across the country, and certainly with the investors who are leading our industry’s growth. Didier will be a tremendous addition to CDRD as we work to realize our vision of Canadian life sciences leading the world.”

Mr. Gordon C. McCauley, President and CEO of CDRD added, “The CDRD management team is very much looking forward to working closely with Didier. He is at the forefront of life sciences investment in Canada, working with the Fonds de solidarité FTQ on a mission that is perfectly aligned with CDRD’s, to contribute to Québec’s and Canada’s economic growth by creating jobs through investments in small and medium-sized businesses, helping them scale up to be new life sciences anchor companies.”

Mr. Leconte holds a degree in materials engineering from Paris XIII University as well as a Masters of Business Administration (MBA), specializing in technology management from UQAM-ESG. He also holds a university certification in Corporate Governance from Université Laval’s Collège des administrateurs de sociétés.

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About The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD):
CDRD is Canada’s national life sciences venture, powering the country’s life sciences industry by creating and growing companies of scale – while training the scientific and business talent needed to drive them to become leading global anchors for Canada. We do this by building collaborations with the very best partners from academia, industry, patient foundations, the investment community, and other Key Opinion Leaders , and providing the specialized expertise and infrastructure to identify, validate and advance promising discoveries, and transform them into commercially viable investment opportunities for the private sector — and ultimately into new therapies for patients. www.cdrd.ca

For additional Information, please contact:
Julia White
Senior Manager, Communications, CDRD
604-307-2372
jwhite@cdrd.ca

Ottawa and Vancouver, Canada: CDRD, The Centre for Drug Research and Development will be honoured with the 2018 BIOTECanada Gold Leaf Ecosystem Builder Award at a special Global Biotech Week event tonight in Ottawa.

The award recognizes CDRD’s contributions and impact as Canada’s national life sciences venture, bringing together national and international partners to be a catalyst for Canadian life sciences leading the world; and powering the country’s industry by creating and growing companies of scale while training the scientific business talent needed to drive them to become leading global anchors for Canada.

The Ecosystem Builder Award will be presented to CDRD at “Catching the Future,” the centrepiece of Canada’s Global Biotech Week celebrations, to be held tonight at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Featuring Juan Enriquez, eminent author, Harvard professor, and renowned biotechnology entrepreneur and investor, the event will highlight the rapid changes occurring globally in life sciences, and the opportunities and challenges these changes are bringing to business, technology, politics and society. Mr. Enriquez will be joined for a panel discussion led by Alison Smith of CPAC, by leading Canadian clinician and researcher Dr. Kym Boycott from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). Dr. Boycott’s world-leading work in utilizing genomics and other related cutting-edge technologies to solve some of the most difficult rare diseases is seeing dramatic results in the children she treats, while greatly enhancing our broader understanding of such diseases.

“This event is a perfect example of how CDRD brings partners and stakeholders together at a national level with global thought leaders to help build and advance the Canadian life sciences ecosystem,” said Gordon C. McCauley, CDRD’s President and CEO. “The BIOTECanada Gold Leaf Ecosystem Builder Award is a testament to the dedication of everyone on the CDRD team, and the success they have achieved in advancing and commercializing innovation, attracting investment, and helping to grow globally competitive Canadian companies that will provide long term, highly-skilled employment opportunities for Canadians. We sincerely thank BIOTECanada for this honour.”

“CDRD is an integral part of Canada’s biotech innovation ecosystem. The organization has forged strong collaborations with academia, industry, patient foundations, and the investment community to establish vital funding partnerships which have supported the advancement of research discoveries and promising early stage drug candidates of Canadian small- and medium-sized enterprises,” said Andrew Casey, President and CEO BIOTECanada. “CDRD’s recently launched Executive Institute, with support from Pfizer Canada, will develop and mentor senior industry leaders through the 10-month, focused executive development program. This timely and important initiative will greatly enhance Canada’s existing senior leadership ranks by helping to arm it with the unique skill set required for commercialization.”

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About The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD):
CDRD is Canada’s national life sciences venture, powering the country’s life sciences industry by creating and growing companies of scale – while training the scientific and business talent needed to drive them to become leading global anchors for Canada. We do this by building collaborations with the very best partners from academia, industry, patient foundations, the investment community, and other Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), and providing the specialized expertise and infrastructure to identify, validate and advance promising discoveries, and transform them into commercially viable investment opportunities for the private sector — and ultimately into new therapies for patients. www.cdrd.ca

About BIOTECanada:
BIOTECanada is the national industry association with more than 200 members located nationwide, reflecting the diverse nature of Canada’s health, industrial and agricultural biotechnology sectors. In addition to providing significant health benefits for Canadians, the biotechnology industry has quickly become an essential part of the transformation of many traditional cornerstones of the Canadian economy including manufacturing, automotive, energy, aerospace and forestry. www.biotech.ca

For media Information:
Julia White                                                     Nadine Lunt
CDRD                                                              BIOTECanada
604-307-2372                                                613-230-5585 ext. 257
jwhite@cdrd.ca                                             Nadine.Lunt@biotech.ca
www.cdrd.ca                                                  www.biotech.ca

In celebration of Global Biotech Week, CDRD and BIOTECanada invite you to a thought-provoking evening to experience the change unfolding in real time.

Join futurist Dr. Juan Enriquez, noted author (As the Future Catches You), Harvard professor, biotechnology entrepreneur, and investor. Dr. Enriquez thinks and writes about the profound changes that genomics and other life sciences will bring in business, technology, politics and society.

Together we will explore the growing links between government’s overall policy direction, and the social imperative of addressing global health challenges. The discussion will encompass the rapid expansion of genomics and precision medicine, the potential it holds for so many aspects of the system of care, the practical application of new knowledge for Canadian patients, and the enormous economic opportunity it presents for Canada.

Wednesday September 26th
Cocktails 5:00-6:00 pm, Dinner 6:00-7:30 pm
National Arts Centre, O’Born Room Ottawa

RSVP required, please email: aurelina.rodrigues@biotech.ca 

• Sepsis is the body’s over active and toxic response to an infection that causes hospitalization of more than 18 million people around the world every year, including 30,000 Canadians
• Declared a Global Health Priority by the World Health Organization in 2017
• 80% of sepsis deaths in hospitals could be prevented with rapid diagnosis and treatment

Vancouver, Canada: Noting World Sepsis Day, Sepset Biosciences Inc., a spin-out company of The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) in collaboration with Dr. Robert Hancock at The University of British Columbia, is raising awareness about sepsis: a serious medical condition that is the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to infection that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. It more common than heart attack and claims more lives than any cancer but is often misdiagnosed. It was declared a Global Health Priority by the World Health Organization in 2017.

As many as 80% of sepsis deaths in hospitals could be prevented with rapid diagnosis and treatment. Sepset Biosciences is developing a novel rapid diagnostic test that will enable healthcare professionals to provide earlier and more targeted treatment of sepsis. Sepset’s blood-based test works by detecting a unique biomarker signature based on the body’s immune response rather than the presence of a pathogen. Mortality from sepsis increases by 8% for every hour that treatment is delayed. Current methods to diagnose sepsis take more than 24 hours, by which time patients are often well on their way towards tissue damage, organ failure, and death.

“Sepsis is a global problem and we need a better and faster way of detecting sepsis to save hundreds of thousands of lives around the globe. After receiving promising results from an initial pilot study, we initiated a multi-country, observational prospective clinical study last year to validate and refine Sepset’s proprietary gene signature to quickly and accurately identify patients with sepsis,” said Prof. Bob Hancock, co-founder of Sepset. Dr. Olga Pena, co-inventor of the technology and coordinator of the Sepset clinical study added, “We aim to complete review of the results in 2019. A successful study will allow us to define a commercial pathway for this much-needed diagnostic test.”

Sepsis causes the hospitalization of more than 18 million people around the world every year, including 30,000 Canadians, with a staggering 30% mortality rate while leaving most survivors suffering from long-term, physical and physiological effects. Many patients diagnosed with sepsis require care in the ICU, placing a considerable burden on the health care system. The total cost of treating sepsis in Canada amounts to $325 million annually. Despite the staggering number of Sepsis patients, and the devastating consequences caused by this illness, only 29% Canadians are aware of this condition.

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About Sepset Biosciences Inc.:
Sepset Biosciences Inc., a spin-off company by The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), in collaboration with Dr. Robert Hancock, UBC Killam Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Director of the Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunity Research at the University of British Columbia, is developing a first-in-class diagnostic assay for the early and rapid diagnosis of sepsis. www.sepset.ca

About The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD):
CDRD is Canada’s national drug development and commercialization centre working in partnership with academia, industry, government and foundations. CDRD provides the specialized expertise and infrastructure to identify, validate and advance promising discoveries, and transform them into commercially viable investment opportunities for the private sector — and ultimately into new therapies for patients. www.cdrd.ca

For additional information, please contact: 
Kamran Shaikh
PR Associates
Cell: 778-846-5406
kshaikh@prassociates.com