Health Innovation Roundup

The Health Innovation Roundup, sponsored by Health Cities, is written and published weekly by Taproot Edmonton to bring you the latest news and events in research, technology, companies and people changing health for the better in Edmonton.

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Here are some highlights from this week’s Health Innovation Roundup:

Headlines

• The Canadian Critical Drug Initiative, which received $80.5 million from the federal government, is expected act as a catalyst for further pharmaceutical development in the region, in addition to securing a domestic supply of crucial medications and supporting new drug discoveries. “Edmonton has the makings of a cluster. We just have too few anchor tenants,” Andrew MacIsaac of Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API) told Taproot, adding that more companies on the scale of Gilead Sciences would help create a robust industry.
• Pacylex and 48Hour Discovery are among the 16 startups selected to present at Sweet Biopharma Day in Quebec on April 12.
• Alberta has become the first province to list Trodelvy for triple-negative breast cancer treatment. Gilead Sciences produces the linker for the antibody-drug conjugate, and it is now part of the Outpatient Cancer Drug program. Alberta Health Services will provide eligible residents with the treatment at no cost.
• The Business Council of Alberta invited Health Cities CEO Reg Joseph to provide insights on improving healthcare delivery using technology and innovation as part of its Define the Decade project. Joseph shared more insights on the AlbertaBETTER podcast
• Team CarePal founder Cindy Sim was featured in Women of Influence. Sim created the app and software to help unsupported caregivers cope with burnout, depression, and financial insecurity.
• Folio highlighted Connecting Today, a new virtual visiting program for people with dementia in long-term care. The program was developed by Hannah O’Rourke of the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Nursing. “Social connectedness is just a human need and people living with dementia are no different,” said O’Rourke.
• Gummy Nutrition Lab founder Jolene Ali spoke to CTV News about launching a line of natural health gummies in the next few weeks. She spoke to Taproot about her lab earlier this year.
• The Better Choices, Better Health program is a six-week series of workshops offered by Alberta Health Services designed to empower individuals with chronic pain.

Events

• April 11, 10am: Startup TNT Summit VII Company Info Session
• April 13, 5pm: Health Innovators’ Meetup: Innovation Mixer with Startup TNT at Northern Chicken
• April 18, 5:30pm: Ready. Set. Global: Demo Day for Alberta Accelerator by 500 at the Edmonton Convention Centre
• April 19, 7pm: Building Your Bench Strength with Erin Brennan, presented by Emerging Health Leaders
• April 26-27: Health Gamechangers: The Impact of Digital Technologies in Research at the University of Alberta
• May 2: Genome-Based Precision Health with Don Husereau presented by BioAlberta
• May 4: Top 20 Pitch Night — Startup TNT Investment Summit VII
• May 18: Research Day 2023 presented by the University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
• May 23-26: Upper Bound, presented by Amii
• May 31-June 2: Inventures in Calgary

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