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.

Sign up to get the full edition delivered directly to your inbox. Use the code HEALTHCITY & you’ll get 10% off the first year.

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

Headlines

• Pacylex has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to start a trial of its PCLX-001 drug as a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia at the University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center. The company will be presenting data backing the rationale for the use of PCLX-001 in AML patients at the American Society of Hematology’s annual meeting and exposition in December.
• The ASTech Awards on Nov. 4 honoured several Edmonton-based health innovators, including Future Fields, researcher Xiaoli (Lilly) Pang of the University of Alberta, John Lewis of Entos Pharmaceuticals, and Avtar Mandaher of Sarcomere Dynamics.
• Three health and life sciences companies — 48Hour Discovery, Kidney-Chek, and Umay — are among the Edmonton startups chosen to pitch at Startup TNT‘s Investment Summit VI on Nov. 17.
• Kidney-Chek co-founder and CEO Hillary Sweet talked to Bloom about the community support she has received on her company’s way to developing and marketing a product to help pet owners look after their beloved dogs and cats.
• Catalina Vasquez, co-founder and COO of Nanostics, spoke to the Health Innovation Hub about her work and Alberta’s health innovation ecosystem.
• Health Cities has released video of its Entrepreneurs In Action: The Journey from Startup to Scaleup and Beyond event, which took place during Edmonton Startup Week. It features Izabella Roth of Infinity Healthcare, Myrna Bittner of RUNWITHIT Synthetics, and Dornoosh Zonoobi of Exo Imaging, which acquired her startup, Medo AI.
• Ceapro has signed a licence agreement with the University of Alberta to use designated areas within Agri-Food Discovery Place to further scale up its technology in preparation for commercial partnerships in nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals.
• GlycoNet has invested $2.46 million in 21 glycomics projects across Canada. Industry collaborators, health foundations, and business partners are co-investing $4 million, bringing the total funding to almost $6.5 million to support the study of carbohydrates and their intersection with health.
• The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta has opened applications for its Healthier Albertan Grant, which is open to physicians, physician assistants, organizations, and individuals with projects aiming to directly benefit the health of Albertans and improve their care. Expressions of intent are due by Dec. 15. A total of $5 million is available to be granted.
• BioTalent Canada opened applications for its Skilled Newcomer Internships for the Bio-economy, offering wage subsidies of up to $20,000 for recent immigrants and internationally educated professionals seeking work in bio-health, bio-energy, the bio-industrial sector, or the agri-bio sector.
• The University Hospital Foundation’s Festival of Trees will be raising money to support the creation of a Neuro Rehabilitation Innovation Centre at the University of Alberta Hospital to help patients recovering from brain and spinal cord injuries.
• Alberta Health Services has completed its largest launch of Connect Care to date, involving more than 25,000 staff and physicians at 135 sites. The medical information system is now being used by almost 75,000 healthcare providers. “It’s not only a consolidation, it’s also making care smarter,” said Dr. Jeremy Theal, chief medical information officer for AHS. “We can reduce the number of repeat tests and find more efficient ways of referring patients.”
• Alberta has put in place new rules related to organ donation that should help create a “culture of donation,” experts at the University of Alberta told Folio. “The changes should save lives and money,” said Lori West, who leads the Alberta Transplant Institute.
• A pharmaceutical compounding company called Medisca, which recently acquired all IP assets of Edmonton’s Maxima Pharmaceuticals, is building a new repackaging and distribution centre in Plattsburgh, NY.

• Events

• Nov. 10, 4pm: Health Innovators’ Meetup: Get to Know Your Investors at Enterprise Square
• Nov. 15, 9am: Dean’s Lecture Series: Partnering with Indigenous Peoples for the Development of Indigenous Health Content from the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry
• Nov. 16, 4pm: Virtual Expedition: Never Say Never, presented by the University Hospital Foundation
• Nov. 17, 4:30pm: Startup TNT Investment Summit VI Finale
• Nov. 19, 10am: ELIXR Simulation: Virtual Reality Day at MacEwan University
• Nov. 22, 12pm: AI Meetup on building AI-based models for healthcare
• Nov. 24: Rainforest Summit at the Edmonton Convention Centre
• Nov. 25, 7pm: Silver Bell Soiree for the University Hospital Foundation
• Nov. 29-30: Plug and Play Alberta Expo Day in Banff
• Nov. 29-Dec. 2: Leading in Learning Forum, presented by Alberta Innovates

Become a “Roundup Cultivator” and sponsor Taproot Edmonton to help them chronicle health innovation in Edmonton. Learn more