To mark Canada’s 150th birthday, we are counting down to Canada Day with profiles of 150 noteworthy British Columbians. In 1971, Dr. Victor Ling was frustrated and full of doubt. It was an unusual period for Ling, who is known for his optimism about finding a cure for cancer. After getting his doctorate at the University of B.C., Ling was at Cambridge…
Qu Biologics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing Site Specific Immunomodulators (SSIs) designed to “reboot” the body’s innate immune system, announces the peer-reviewed publication of proof of principle data in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the journal, Respiratory Research. The study demonstrates success with Qu Biologics’ QBKPN SSI in reducing airway inflammation in a smoke-induced lung inflammation mouse model of…
A clinical trial for a type of brain stimulation therapy is underway at Surrey Memorial Hospital, and one expert says it can help youth suffering from addiction and depression, when all other options have failed. Faranak Farzan, an assistant professor of mechatronic engineering at Simon Fraser University, says transcranial magnetic stimulation — or TMS — is much less invasive than other methods…
New medicines are no longer one-size-fits-all. Therapies are more complex, manufactured in smaller batches and personalized for specific patient groups or even individuals. New pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies with greater flexibility, cost-effectiveness and quality assurance are needed to make those therapies. Seated at their laptops, a microbiologist and an engineer wrote a business plan to upend how injectable therapies are manufactured.…
“Think of a multiple sclerosis lesion as the tip of the iceberg,” says Dr. Alex Rauscher. “It’s not just what’s happening inside the lesion that we need to think about – what happens in the surrounding tissue affects the brain as well.” By using advanced, highly-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, Dr. Rauscher and his team are hoping to better…
In one of the most comprehensive studies to date, UBC researchers have identified potential adverse reactions of a commonly used multiple sclerosis drug. The study aimed to identify potential adverse events related to beta-interferon treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis by analyzing health records of over 2,000 British Columbians with multiple sclerosis between 1995 and 2008. “Once a drug is released…
Researchers investigating genetically predisposed or at-risk individuals and their families affected by early onset cardiovascular disease (CVD), have received an additional $400K in funding from Genome BC and the Providence Health Care Research Institute (PCHRI) to continue this important work. The study, called SAVE BC (Study to Avoid cardioVascular Events in British Columbia) is aimed at identifying and closely observing…
MSFHR has announced 11 award recipients for its inaugural Health Professional-Investigator Program. These exceptional health professionals will receive funding to support research focused on answering questions derived from their practical experience and clinical expertise. The MSFHR Health Professional-Investigator Program is designed to develop BC’s research talent and help decrease the gap between health research and its implementation. The awards support…
Vancouver virtual life sciences company Novelogics Biotechnology Inc. has partnered with the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) to work on an innovative cancer treatment. Novelogics, which focuses on using the immune system to eliminate tumours in ways that have fewer side effects than traditional methods, has developed a technology that involves the discovery and development of antibodies that…
Faculty of Medicine scientists have uncovered seven new subtypes of ovarian cancer, which could result in new treatment strategies for some ovarian cancer patients including those that do not respond well to chemotherapy. The discovery, published in Nature Genetics, analyzed the genetic information of more than 100 ovarian cancer patients in order to identify abnormalities in the DNA of ovarian cancer…