In the News

Here’s a quick snapshot update of recent events, activities and news from CDRD!

CDRD will provide a portfolio of targeted antibodies and Schrödinger will apply its advanced computation platform in order to prioritize these drug candidates and otherwise accelerate discovery. The initial project will involve an immune checkpoint target that is present on cancer stem cells.

As an Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Sacha Mann will work with CDRD leadership to identify specific areas of strategic commercial opportunity, and then in partnership with other stakeholders, drive the building of a new company of scale that can develop those opportunities, and grow into a strong new anchor for Canada’s life science sector. Sacha has a unique breadth of experience in life sciences companies. Sacha has been a life sciences investor, company innovator, and leader, and she has managed the entire commercialization cycle from spinning technology out of academia, raising venture capital financing, in-licensing assets into emerging companies, and partnering with global players. She has worked and invested across Canada and globally, most recently as CEO and Director of Biosys UK Ltd., a venture-backed, clinical stage microbiome company headquartered in London.

As an Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Dr. Janes will work with CDRD leadership to identify specific areas of strategic commercial opportunity, and then in partnership with other stakeholders, drive the building of a new company of scale that can develop those opportunities, and grow into a strong new anchor for Canada’s life science sector.

CDRD and Pfizer Canada today announced the launch of  the CDRD Executive Institute under the umbrella of The CDRD Academy. The Institute, made possible by a significant $1,000,000 contribution by Pfizer Canada, aims to provide ongoing executive development to ensure that the Canadian life sciences sector has the management talent it needs to lead the world.

Zucara is now moving forward with GLP toxicology, GMP manufacturing and other Investigational New Drug/Clinical Trial Application enabling activities to bring its lead drug “ZT-01” to Phase I clinical trials in 2019.

CDRD, together with The MS Society, are overcoming challenges in the drug discovery pipeline by funding translational research. By tapping into the infrastructure and expertise in drug development and commercialization offered by CDRD, highly promising targets such as those being investigated by Dr. Granville and Dr. Spain can be taken to the next level and nudged into the treatment pipeline.

CDRD, Canada’s national drug development and commercialization centre, is pleased to share that “ZW49” by Zymeworks is the first product candidate selected for clinical development utilizing the ZymeLink™ antibody-drug conjugate…

Canadian life sciences can lead the world – but we’re not there yet. The good news is we now have many of the tools to get there.