Canadian biopharma corporations are capitalizing on elevated authorities funding stimulated by the current pandemic to strengthen home capabilities and foster multinational partnerships that improve drug discovery and improvement worldwide.
By Brian Owens
Canada has lengthy punched above its weight in life sciences and biotechnology, with lots of the elementary discoveries that underpin in the present day’s essential blockbuster medicine and therapeutic approaches tracing their origins again to the nation’s universities and researchers.
The lipid nanoparticles that ship messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for COVID-19—and doubtlessly quickly for different ailments resembling most cancers and neurological issues—have been developed by Pieter Cullis, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology on the College of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, whereas the existence of stem cells was first found on the College of Toronto by Ernest McCulloch and James Until within the Sixties.
“Some individuals name regenerative medication ‘Canada’s science’,” stated Declan Hamill, VP of coverage, regulatory and authorized affairs at Modern Medicines Canada, a nationwide affiliation of pharmaceutical corporations.
And far of the early improvement of synthetic intelligence (AI) which is remodeling drug discovery and scientific science was performed by 2024 Nobel Laureate Geoffrey Hinton on the College of Toronto.
“Canada has traditionally all the time been a participant in these fields,” stated Hamill.
The nation is residence to greater than 1,000 biotech corporations, together with native subsidiaries of worldwide gamers resembling Roche, Novo Nordisk, AbbVie and Amgen. Most are clustered in and across the three main hubs of Montreal in Quebec, Toronto in Ontario, and Vancouver in British Columbia, with one other rising cluster within the Calgary‒Edmonton Hall in Alberta (Fig. 1). Montreal is residence to the most important cluster, however essentially the most vibrant proper now’s in Vancouver, stated Andrew Casey, president and CEO of BIOTECanada, a biotechnology business affiliation.
“A lot of the motion is there, there’s loads of actually incredible innovation popping out of Vancouver,” he added.
Tamer Mohamed, founder and CEO of Vancouver-based Side Biosystems, which develops bioprinted tissue therapeutics, stated the town is residence to many visionary biotech corporations that have been spun-out of UBC and constructed on broadly relevant platform applied sciences in antibody therapies or gene and mobile medicines.
“There’s an actual highly effective synergy between engineering and biology that’s popping out of UBC, and we now have these founder-led organizations which can be capable of push the boundaries to create a majority of these generational corporations,” he stated. “We’re creating our personal playbook to provide a thriving ecosystem.”
Pandemic renewal
The COVID-19 pandemic generated a renewed curiosity and sense of urgency about biotechnology and pharmaceutical improvement amongst governments all over the world, stated Hamel. “They now see home capability in biotech not as a ‘good to have’, however as a ‘should have’,” he stated.
Casey stated each federal and provincial governments in Canada are investing considerably in build up biomanufacturing capability and the life-sciences sector extra broadly, in an effort to not be caught off-guard once more when the subsequent pandemic or different public-health disaster inevitably arrives.
“We do not know what the subsequent problem, or resolution, will probably be, so constructing our broader capability provides us a greater probability of succeeding sooner or later,” he stated. “It’s an essential strategic pillar for Canada and the world.”
In 2021, the federal authorities unveiled its Can$2.2 billion Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Technique, which goals to strengthen the nation’s home vaccine, therapeutics and biomanufacturing capability by strengthened governance and regulation, and funding for analysis and innovation. It additionally encompasses the Can$126 million Biologics Manufacturing Centre in Montreal, constructed at breakneck velocity throughout the pandemic—although it has since sat largely idle. A contract to make COVID-19 vaccines for US-based Novavax seems to be useless within the water, and no different purchasers have but come on board.
As well as, the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia every have their very own life-sciences methods that purpose to help the business of their native jurisdictions.
Rising partnerships
The federal and provincial investments are serving to progressive Canadian corporations to develop and get observed, stimulating new funding and partnerships with large multinational pharmaceutical corporations.
“We’re seeing much more partnerships with international pharma who are actually right here and on the lookout for funding alternatives or pipeline-replenishment alternatives resulting in a really strong ecosystem proper now,” stated Casey.
Denmark’s Novo Nordisk, for instance, acquired Montreal-based Inversago Pharma for simply over US$1 billion in August 2023, to help improvement of the corporate’s cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1)-based therapies for the remedy of weight problems, diabetes and different metabolic issues. That adopted an April 2023 deal between Novo Nordisk and Side Biosystems to license and develop its therapeutics, value US$75 million in preliminary funds and as much as US$650 million in future milestone funds per product, plus royalties.
Side CEO Mohamed, stated the Novo Nordisk partnership is targeted on creating an islet-replacement remedy for diabetes that might not want power immune suppression. That builds on the wealthy historical past of diabetes analysis and remedy in each Canada—the place insulin was found in 1921—and at Novo Nordisk, which was based to provide insulin in Denmark simply two years later.
“Now, over 100 years later, we’re paving the best way collectively for the subsequent era of therapeutics within the diabetes house—solely this time utilizing a cellular-based method that once more leverages Canadian innovation by stem-cell discoveries,” stated Mohamed.
One other fast-growing firm within the Vancouver cluster is AbCellera, which develops antibody medicines for a wide range of illness areas together with most cancers, metabolic and endocrine situations, and autoimmune issues. However its largest success by far has been the event of antibody therapies for COVID-19, in partnership with Eli Lilly, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Even earlier than COVID-19, AbCellera was engaged on pandemic response as the one Canadian member of the US Protection Superior Analysis Tasks Company’s Pandemic Prevention Platform (P3) program. Then, in February 2020, the corporate acquired a blood pattern from a COVID-19 affected person and, working with Eli Lilly, had the antibody drug bamlanivimab prepared for scientific trials in 90 days; this grew to become the primary to be licensed to be used, effectively earlier than the vaccines have been prepared, stated Tiffany Chiu, VP of communications for AbCellera.
The Eli Lilly partnership was very important, stated Chiu. “We’re glorious at discovery however didn’t have the capabilities for superior drug improvement and scientific trials,” she stated. The collaboration has led to 2 approved therapies, and was prolonged and expanded in July 2024 to incorporate applications in immunology, heart problems, and neuroscience.
There may be extra to the corporate than simply COVID-19 medicine although, stated Chiu. Working with 40 completely different companions, it has began greater than 100 tasks and introduced 14 to the clinic to this point. “We’re effectively positioned for pandemic response, nevertheless it’s only a small a part of the tasks we’ve performed,” she stated.
And it has large plans for growth, she added. An preliminary public providing (IPO) in December 2020 raised US$555 million—the most important ever for a Canadian biotech firm—and subsequent yr the corporate plans to open its new Vancouver campus which incorporates the primary good manufacturing apply (GMP)-certified facility for antibody medicine in Canada. Additional growth plans, partly funded by the governments of Canada and British Columbia, will permit AbCellera to convey its drug candidates all the best way to section 1 scientific trials. “We’re constructing our engine, and it’ll quickly be time to use it to our applications,” stated Chiu.
Chicago-based AbbVie has additionally partnered with AbCellera to develop antibody candidates for as much as 5 targets throughout a number of indications, however that isn’t its solely foray into Canadian biotech. In September 2024, AbbVie introduced a partnership with Toronto’s Ripple Therapeutics to develop next-generation sustained-release drug supply implants for the remedy of open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.
“AbbVie has taken discover of the good work being performed by Canadian biotech corporations and is all in favour of studying extra about these new applied sciences and improvements,” stated Rami Fayed, VP and basic supervisor of AbbVie’s Canadian operation.
A technique the corporate is looking for out potential companions in Canada is thru its new Biotech Innovators Award, which is able to present a yr of free laboratory house on the College of Toronto’s SpinUp incubator in addition to mentorship by AbbVie’s scientific and enterprise executives to 1 early-stage biotech firm working in areas that align with AbbVie’s therapeutic areas of focus: immunology, oncology, neuroscience and eye care.
However it isn’t simply innovation within the laboratory that’s serving to Canadian biotech to succeed. A robust laptop science and AI analysis sector can be attracting the eye of pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations trying to make use of AI and massive knowledge to reinforce their drug discovery and improvement.
“Informatics helps alongside the complete worth chain […] within the discovery of latest molecules, in optimizing scientific trials and regulatory submissions, and in manufacturing,” stated Brian Mereweather, the Mississauga informatics web site lead for Roche Canada, based mostly in Mississauga, Ontario.
In November 2024, Roche Canada introduced a partnership with the Ontario authorities to broaden its Mississauga international informatics hub, including as much as 250 new jobs in areas like AI, machine studying, computational biology, and knowledge analytics. That is one in every of Roche’s 5 hubs all over the world—Europe and Asia are every residence to 2 extra—and Mereweather defined that Canada has some distinctive benefits past its experience in science and analysis.
When contemplating the growth final yr, Roche’s senior management visited and have been impressed by how effectively completely different gamers within the sector labored collectively, stated Mereweather. “They’d not seen that elsewhere. The opposite 4 hubs have by no means had authorities companies, universities and AI institutes come to speak to them, not to mention all as one entity,” he stated. “It makes us distinctive, although we might not all the time notice it ourselves.”
Future plans
With a robust base of analysis and expertise to construct on (Fig. 2), the long run seems to be incredible for the business in Canada, stated Casey. However there are nonetheless challenges. Canada has all the time struggled to develop its progressive start-up corporations into international gamers.
“The one factor we have to do as a rustic is we now have but to develop our personal anchor corporations that have been began right here, develop right here, and keep right here and turn into globally business,” he stated—as Novo Nordisk has performed in Denmark. “That’s what we now have to be striving for and I believe that’s a very powerful lacking piece of the ecosystem extra broadly.”
Each Side Biosystems and AbCellera have ambitions to turn into such anchor corporations. “Side has a daring purpose of changing into a stand-alone US$100 billion firm,” stated Mohamed, which it goals to attain by strategic partnerships that may assist get its merchandise to market. A type of is a Can$200 million deal signed earlier this yr with the governments of Canada and British Columbia to construct up manufacturing capabilities to pave the best way for scientific and business manufacturing of mobile medicines in Canada for each home use and export.
AbCellera, stated Chiu, is already an anchor firm in Canada, however is trying to turn into a world anchor firm for therapeutic antibodies. “We’re displaying among the issues which can be potential right here,” she stated. “We’re making an attempt to construct a world biotech firm, however we’re additionally making an attempt to determine a legacy of innovation that we’re going to see for many years to come back.”
Hamill stated that constructing robust international corporations in Canada would require steady and sustained cooperation between authorities, universities, hospitals and business, and urged the sector to reap the benefits of the present curiosity from authorities in supporting the life sciences.
“The eye of policymakers is fleeting and might’t be taken with no consideration,” he stated. “However as we’ve seen in international locations with a robust life-sciences sector just like the UK and Denmark, it’s a marathon, not a dash.”
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d43747-024-00141-4
Learn the unique article right here – https://www.nature.com/articles/d43747-024-00141-4
