cultivating new pharms · the age of five each year. in 2005, a new variety called golden rice 2,...

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Cultivating new Pharms

Plant-made pharmaceuticals resurrect from the biotech scrap heap

Novel Foods • Montreal • Philadelphia

Championing the Business of BioteChnology in Canada March/April 2013

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also inside

standards

Contents

Championing the Business of BioteChnology in Canada

5 Editorial

7 NEWS

22 BuSiNESS lEadErShip

Canada is a very sophisticated nation in regards to this technology—it has all the capability to be a leader in PMPs.

-Rene Van Acker, Professor and Associate Dean External Relations for Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph

”“

hope for pharming returns

Plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs) were the next big thing in pharma two decades ago. But after almost disappearing from the consciousness of industry leaders, PMPs could be poised to make a big comeback with Canadian companies playing a vital role.

8 agriculture Canada The Ontario Genomics Institute says Canada must leverage its existing scientific knowledge in areas like genomics to address issues such as food safety and traceability, supply and yield to maintain its leadership in the global economy.

10 regional profile: Montreal All the key public and private stakeholders are mobilizing in Montreal to make the city a top biotech hotspot.

12 regional profile: philadelphia Co-operation and collaboration is the focus in the City of Brotherly Love as Philadelphia positions itself as a life sciences and health care destination.

18 Novel Foods With a rapidly growing population and limited arable land, Canadian farmers are looking for ways to feed the world and science keeps cropping up.

20

15

Cover photo credit: Dean Palmer

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Editorial

I’ll admit it. Starting this issue of Bio Business, I was sceptical of anything genetically modified.I’d read stories about Monsanto and

heard all the negative attention that GMOs receive in general and I classified this technology as a negative thing.

But the more I explored the technol-ogy the more I saw these aren’t all mon-strous creations and there are multiple humanitarian benefits.

Take Golden Rice. Golden Rice was produced through genetic engineering in 2000 to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A. It was produced to be grown and consumed in underde-veloped countries where a shortage of vitamin A kills 670,000 children under the age of five each year. In 2005, a new variety called Golden Rice 2, which pro-duces up to 23 times more beta-carotene than the original golden rice, was announced but neither variation has been

Championing the Business of Biotechnology in Canada

Publisher Christopher J. Forbes & CEO [email protected]

Executive Editor Theresa Rogers [email protected]

Associate Editor Nicolas Heffernan [email protected]

Staff Writer Lindsay Grummett [email protected]

Editorial Intern Chelsea Kowalski

Contributor Ontario Genomics Institute

Art Tammy Malabre Director [email protected]

Secretary/ Treasurer Susan A. Browne

Marketing Lisa Pressacco Manager [email protected]

Marketing Keri LaPLante Co-ordinator [email protected]

VP of Roberta Dick Production [email protected]

Production Crystal Himes Manager [email protected]

Production Joanna Forbes Co-ordinator [email protected]

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Canadian biotech business opps in Japan

Bio Business Business

Novel Pharming

nicolas HeffernanAssociate editor

Do the flip!Visit the University of Guelph’s Food lab.

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Cultivating new Pharms

Plant made pharmacueticals resurrect from the biotech scrap heap

Novel Foods • Montreal • Philadelphia

Championing the Business of BioteChnology in Canada March/April 2013

On the Web at www.biobusinessmag.com

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@

approved for wide-scale use in any coun-try. It’s been nearly 15 years. That’s more than eight million dead.

But that could be about to change. According to the International Rice Research Institute, the Philippine Rice Institute (Philrice) finished field testing of Golden Rice. It will be made available to farmers and consumers in the Philippines once the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry approves the rice and its proponent’s claims that it reduces vitamin A defi-ciency in community conditions.

As it seems with nearly all GMOs, it is receiving heavy opposition but the potential for this technology is enor-mous. Due to the numerous regulatory hurdles, Golden Rice will definitely not be planted this year.

But it’s a start. And the sooner the better.

January/February 2013 www.labbusinessmag.comMarch/April 2013 www.labbusinessmag.com

The definitive source for lab products, news and developments

Pittcon

Safety Eaquipment

Alain Moreau

Protecting our Food

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Guelph lab has been keeping food safe for 125 years

6 Bio Business March/April 2013

The networks of Centres of excellence (nCe) awarded

MaRS Innovation $14.95 million to further commercialize world-lead-

ing Canadian innovations.Member institution fees, grants from

the Government of Ontario and the MI-Global Industry framework fund will provide matching funding. In total, four centres were extended for a total of $48.1 million through the recent competition.

“Congratulations to MaRS Innovation for its successful application to the recent

Budget Hope for Life SciencesThere’s something to smile about for businesses and researchers in the new federal budget. In the latest federal budget, presented by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, entitled “Economic Action Plan 2013,” the gov-ernment introduced a package of commitments targeted at investment into economic growth, including research and development programs. There are new investments in innovation, support for manufacturers and new skills training initiatives.

$325$15

$165 $225 $121$20

$20$60

$100$70

$225

million in new funding to Sustainable Development Technology Canada

million per year to Canadian Institutes of Health Research for patient-oriented research

million in new funding for Genome Canada

million in funding to the Canada Foundation for Innovation for advanced research infrastructure priorities

million to invest in the National Research Council’s strategy to accelerate the growth of innovative companies

-million Industrial Research Assistance Program voucher program to help small businesses commercialize products more quickly by helping them pay for research, technology and business services at universities and non-profit organizations

million to enhance the efficacy of the Scientific Research and Experimental Development program

million to help outstanding incubator and accelerator organizations expand their services to entrepreneurs

million in new funding for Genome Canada

million to support paid internships for recent graduates through organizations like BioTalent

million to extend and expand the temporary Hiring Credit for Small Business

A few of the initiatives include:

CGPA Slams Alberta’s Price Cuts to Generic Prescription Meds

The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA) recently slammed the Alberta government’s plan for further cuts to generic prescription drug prices.

“The massive and indiscriminate cuts to reimbursed prices of generic pharma-ceutical products announced by the Government of Alberta in its March 7, 2013 budget are wholly unacceptable to Canada’s generic pharmaceutical manu-facturers and risk patient access to high-quality, affordable prescription medicines,” says Jim Keon, president of the CGPA.“These across-the-board cuts represent a betrayal of our industry and were announced without consultation, or prior notice to, generic pharmaceutical manu-facturers, community pharmacy or other key stakeholders in the pharmaceutical supply chain. The Alberta government must open collaborative discussions with stakeholders immediately to ensure any changes are made in the best interest of patients.”

In 2012, generic drugs filled 64 percent of all prescriptions in Alberta, but accounted for 30 per cent of all prescription drug spending. Generic pre-scription medicines represent less than three per cent of all health care spending in Canada. “Clearly, generic drugs are already provid-ing excellent value for Albertans,” says Keon.

MaRS Innovation Awarded $15 Millioncompetition,” says the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology). “MaRS has a strong record of generating results for small and medi-um-sized companies by helping them realize the commercial potential of inno-vative Canadian ideas.”

MaRS Innovation (MI), created in 2008, bridges the chasm between early-stage technologies and successful start-up companies and licensable technologies. By offering early-stage funding in tandem with hands-on management, mentorship

and IP strategy protection, MI acts as a commercialization agent for its 16 mem-ber institutions.

“MaRS Innovation’s application was a team effort in the truest sense, involving our staff, our Board of Directors and our colleagues within the members’ technolo-gy transfer offices,” says Dr. Raphael Hofstein, president & CeO. “Our team presented a rigorous strategic business plan and case for financial sustainability, based on detailed analysis and forecasts of our portfolio assets. ”


News

Canadian Farmers Plant Record-Breaking Acres of Biotech CropsLast year Canadian farmers planted close to 21 million acres of canola, more than 97 per cent of which was enhanced through biotechnology, according to a report from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA).

“It’s not surprising that Canadian farmers continue to embrace genetically modified crops. Farmers see the benefits in terms of improved yields and quality, environmental sustainability and efficiency,” says Lorne Hepworth, president of CropLife Canada.

The majority of canola, corn and soybeans planted in Canada are biotech variet-ies. Canada now ranks fourth on the list of countries that plant biotech crops in terms of acres planted, up from fifth the previous year. Last year Canadian farmers planted close to 29 million acres of biotech crops, which puts Canada behind only the united States, Brazil and Argentina.

“Canadian farmers are some of the most innovative and forward-looking in the world. They use tools like plant biotechnology to help them produce one of the saf-est, most abundant food supplies in the world,” says Hepworth.

In 2012, millions of farmers in 28 countries around the world planted biotech crops. The global area of biotech crops has increased one-hundred-fold since they were first commercialized in 1996.

The Government of Quebec announced a $10 million investment in the

Personalized Medicine Partnership for Cancer (PMPC).

The investment, to be disbursed over a four-year period, will be supplemented with $11.1 million of funding from private sector partners, for a total project value of $21.1 million.

This public-private partnership will be focused on establishing an integrated approach for the development and imple-mentation of clinical biomarkers and other personalized healthcare solu-tions to improve the outcome and cost-efficiency of healthcare ser-vices provided to cancer patients in the province of Quebec and abroad.

The PMPC will be under the leadership of Caprion Proteome Inc., a Montreal-based biotech compa-ny specializing in the discovery and development of protein-based diagnostic biomarkers. The other partners will include the Quebec Clinical Research Organization in Cancer (Q-CROC), a multidisciplinary network of clinicians, academic scientists and other members of the medical community involved in clini-cal and translational cancer research, as well as private partners Oncozyme Pharma Inc., Pfizer Canada Inc., Sanofi Canada Inc. and TeLuS Health.

“The rapid progress in clinical research enables us to decipher the underpinnings of cancer and to develop specific diagnos-tic tools and targeted drugs to treat spe-cific subtypes of common cancers such as lung, colon or breast. It is critical that these new tools and medicines be deployed for the benefit of patients across Québec,” says Gerald Batist, professor of oncology at McGill university and co-director of the Q-CROC and director of the Segal Cancer Centre at the Jewish General Hospital.

Art and science is teaming up to spur creativity and innovation. The Banff

Centre and The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), have entered into a partnership to strengthen Canada’s capacity in creativity and inno-vation. Together, both institutions repre-sent many of the world’s best minds engaged in research in the natural and social sciences and the humanities.

“Creativity is an essential tool for both artists and scientists,” says Jeff Melanson, president of The Banff Centre. “This partnership opens up the possibilities for artists to gain a deeper understanding of the world in which they explore for new meaning; and conversely, for scientists, the opportunity to find new viewpoints for problem solving. I am excited about the possibilities that we may be able to develop.”

The Banff Centre is the world’s largest arts incubator, bringing thousands of art-ists, leaders and researchers to its campus in the heart of Banff national Park every

Quebec Invests in Partnership for Personalized Medicine

CIFAR and Banff Centre Partner to Spur Creativity and Innovationyear. CIFAR’s global research networks bring together many of Canada’s and the world’s best scientists and scholars to frame and address important questions.

The partnership identifies a variety of ways in which the two institutions will work together, from co-hosting interna-tional research forums to co-incubating new areas of research inquiry and approaches to public engagement. The CIFAR Global Academy—an elite fel-lowship designed to build research and leadership capacity in gifted young schol-ars—will now have a permanent home at The Banff Centre.

“This partnership reflects CIFAR’s commitment to bring together the best minds from a diversity of backgrounds to create new knowledge,” says CIFAR President & CeO Alan Bernstein. “I hope that The Banff Centre/CIFAR partnership will catalyze and energize the global intellectual communities to explore links between the natural and social sci-ences and the humanities.”

By Alison Symington

Agriculture and agri-food is a vital part of Canada’s economy. The sector accounts for about eight per

cent of canada’s gross domestic product and employs more than two million peo-ple as of 2010. However, the challenges this sector faces continue to increase. The world population is expected to grow to more than eight billion in 2030 and changes in climate have reduced arable land globally, putting pressure on the food supply system. Canada’s agri-food sector faces ongoing international competition. In addition, there is a growing need to address the environmental impact of pro-duction as consumers demand sustainable agriculture.

Producing more high-quality food with less available land and minimal envi-ronmental impact provides Canada with an opportunity to exploit the wealth of excellence in agri-food research. We must leverage our existing scientific knowledge in areas like genomics to address issues such as food safety and traceability, supply and yield to maintain Canada’s leadership at home and within the global economy.

Canada’s scientific expertise is pro-foundly impacting a variety of agricultural food production areas. Selective breeding has improved cattle and pork products through better milk and higher quality meat. Canadian research significantly contributed to the development of com-mercial technologies, including a panel of genetic markers which predict favourable characteristics in cattle. One such tech-nology has revolutionized breeding in the dairy industry by providing an affordable and effective way to determine which animals have the best genetic traits. This test alone provides an economic benefit of $180 million to the Canadian dairy indus-

try each year. Other researchers at the university of Guelph and the university of Toronto discovered a gene responsible for porcine stress syn-drome in pigs which results in pale, soft pork that is unappeal-ing to customers. The gene was licensed worldwide and its elimination in pig populations has improved meat quality.

Although perhaps more contentious, plants can be geneti-cally modified to grow in different condi-tions or make foods with higher nutri-tional value, addressing issues such as world hunger and malnutrition. Vitamin A enriched rice, which has been approved for production in Bangladesh and the Philippines, provides an example of how modified food can save lives. Vitamin A is essential for brain development and vision. An estimated quarter to half mil-lion children go blind every year from vitamin A deficiency, and half of these die within a year. Many of these countries rely on staple foods such as rice, and for-tifying inexpensive and readily available food sources could prevent illness and death for millions worldwide.

Science-based solutions could impact every stage of the food production and distribution process. A recent scandal in europe, where horse meat was discov-ered in products labeled as beef high-lights the need for monitoring our food supply. As the public hears more of such stories, consumers will demand confi-

Maintaining Canada’s Global Leadership in the Agri-food Sector

Agriculture Canada


dence in their food supply. Monitoring strategies such as DnA barcoding could be used to track food from the farm to fork, benefit-ting both consumers and producers. Developed at the university of Guelph by Dr. Paul Hebert and his team, DnA barcoding uses small pieces of DnA from a standard part of the genome to accurately

identify species. This technology has been used to identify mislabeled food and health products. In a recent Oceana study, 44 per cent of u.S. retail outlets evaluated were selling mislabeled fish. These results demonstrate the need to monitor our food using advanced tech-nologies. Similar tools can detect food borne illnesses and contaminants that enter during food processing.

These advances show that genomics can solve some of the most pressing food supply problems at home and abroad. It is important that research and policy continue to support this system as these technologies become part of our food production process. While private invest-ment continues in this sector, it is impor-tant that public funding continues to promote research which is vital to all Canadians. BB

Alison Symington is VP Corporate Development at the Ontario Genomics Institute. She can be reached at asymington @ontariogenomics.ca


Montreal’s spirit of collaboration is helping turn one of Canada’s most beautiful cities into a biotech hotspot

Montreal isn’t just a pretty place. The city may have been appoint-ed a uneSCO City of Design

in 2006 but it’s also the hub of Quebec’s resurgent biotech industry.

“Montreal is just a nice place to live,” says Yves Cornellier, President and CeO of Alethia Biotherapeutics, a company focusing on bone loss in acute disorders, invasive carcinomas and on cancer-associ-ated epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. “But I think from a scientific point of view you can find all kinds of organizations that can support the development of a product.”

With many organizations dedicated to biotech in Montreal, the most important characteristic of the cluster is collaboration and perhaps nobody fosters that better than Montreal InVivo, of which Cornellier is a member. InVivo is an economic devel-opment organization dedicated to the cre-ation of a business environment conducive to the growth of companies and organiza-tions in the life sciences and health tech-nologies sector.

“everyone around the table… repre-sents different interests but when it’s time to do something everyone tries to work together, really together, to help each other to build something and this is not some-thing common,” says nathalie Ouimet, Montreal InVivo interim CeO.

Government delegates also participate with InVivo. This leads to an awareness of the industry’s problems and results in mea-sures to support the sector.

“Particularly at Montreal InVivo, all the key players and stakeholders of the sector are participating and participating very, very actively, so there’s a real climate of collaboration ranging from universities all the way to the private sector,” says Cornellier. “I think everybody wants the success of the industry and I think this is seen in that spirit of collaboration that everybody talks about.”

A recent result of this collaboration was a new personal health care initiative under the Quebec Research and Innovation Strategy that saw the government of

Help me, help youBy Nicolas Heffernan

“i think everybody wants the success of the industry and i

think this is seen in that spirit of collaboration that everybody

talks about.”


Regional Profile

Quebec pledge $20 million. The money will be matched by the private sector.

Various sectors, including the indus-trial, service and academic, came together to convince the government to invest enough to launch a large pilot project on personal health care. Ouimet says, “Such an example shows what we can do all together.”

The Montreal cluster is composed of more than 600 organizations, including 150 research centres and 40,000 highly qualified jobs. The life sciences and health technology sector’s (LSHT) contribution to Quebec’s GDP was valued at $3.9 bil-lion in 2010, which corresponds to 1.2 per cent of Quebec’s GDP. On average, the LSHT sector creates 47 per cent more tax revenues per job than all of the province’s manufacturing industries, which helps increase the Quebec economy’s total pro-ductivity and per capita income.

“One of the key special features of the cluster is that we are in excellent position to grab a significant share of the global market, especially because of creativity and innovation,” says Ouimet. “Our assets are recognized as one of the few places in the world where you can discover, develop and manufacture a drug. The so-called one-stop-shop.”

The key to this one-stop-shop is tal-ent. The population is well-educated, however, a large talent pool also exists as a result of big pharma closures.

“In the last couple of years, a couple of the research centres from big companies like AstraZeneca or Boehringer Ingelheim closed some of their research centres here,” says Louis Saint-Jacques, executive Director of Quebec Biotechnology Innovation Centre (QBIC), a Montreal life sciences incubator. “So you have on the market a lot of good people—well educated and experienced people—who can be hired in start-ups or in companies that want to have a presence in Quebec or Canada.”

But no cluster is perfect. Montreal is no different, and the problem, like most other clusters, revolves around money. “Like everywhere in the world, the gov-ernment has reached its capacity to pay,”

says Ouimet. Innovations are increasingly expensive to develop and though govern-ment is a major buyer, it has limited capacity to pay.

In a way, the lack of funds has also proven to be a catalyst for change. “That weakness, though, I think this is one of the key reasons why the mobilization is so strong now,” says Ouimet. “everyone realizes we need to do things a little bit differently and mobilization is key to succeed.”

Cornellier will still be keeping an eye out for fiscal or investment measures that will help companies. “I think that’s prob-

them. I think for young companies it’s a good thing to have in mind. You try to keep your costs lower because getting VC money is not easy so you must start lean and mean.”

That doesn’t really help Alethia which is already fairly established. It’s part of the downtown university of Quebec at Montreal’s Science Complex and in close proximity to business and scientific partners.

But Cornellier is hoping for Alethia’s sake that InVivo and the government are looking a little bit further into the future. “I think we have a lot of VC groups here,

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Life sciences and health technology sector contribution to GDP of Quebec's GDP

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ably the next step for the industry here. I think there are some discussions to look at measures to make it happen,” he says.

In order to take Montreal and Quebec to the next level, InVivo is looking to put more emphasis on smaller companies. “The large companies will be the major employer in Quebec but we believe that SMes will take an even greater share in the future. We are developing a concrete action plan to support that,” says Ouimet.

The QBIC, recognized as a world leader in the field of life sciences and health technologies business start-ups, is there to help companies get off the ground. “We’re bringing added value with our network of consultants,” Saint-Jacques says. “We have the infrastructure to help

we have sufficient capital to launch new organizations,” says Cornellier. “I think what the missing link seems to be is the bridge to reach the inflection point so when we go elsewhere to shop, to get the necessary capital to get to phase two, to phase three, for example, where it costs a lot of money, if at least we have reached a point where the value creation is high enough then the risk of bringing new investors on board and not losing the con-trol of the companies will be certainly less.

“And I think, in my opinion, that’s an explanation as to why at a certain point it’s difficult to build those companies locally because you need so much money in our area that it’s a challenge to remain in con-trol of our companies.” BB


“First-time entrepreneurs are like first-time parents—don’t really have

a clue, but have to keep it going. there’s a lot of discovery and

mistake-making.”

lishment that nurtures technology-based R&D. This year the centre is celebrating 50 years in operation and continues to pursue innovative ventures to bring new talent and capital to the region by sup-porting business incubation, targeting niche areas and fostering university-industry relationships. The groundbreak-ing on a new residential project that will add a 27-storey apartment to the campus will take place this fall.

“The whole idea is to transform the campus into more of a 24/7 community. In other words, not just having innova-tors, entrepreneurs and people who con-tribute to higher education and medicine in Philadelphia working here, but actually living and playing here as well,” says Tang of the new project.

With more than 2,500 certificates and degrees in biological and biomedical sci-ences being awarded during the 2009/2010 academic year, Philadelphia businesses are guaranteed a steady supply of educated employees to draw from.

“We’re working very hard to position ourselves as a destination location for investment in life sciences and really the broader health care industry,” explains Tang. “It comes down to the simple ques-tion: does the place matter? If you can do it all virtually, then your argument for local economic development isn’t great.”

Statistically, Philadelphia has it all

Pittcon president Ronald Bargiel, on the city’s features that contributed to the event’s success. “In addition, it houses 80 per cent of the world’s largest biomedical and pharmaceutical companies and is a centre for five national cancer institutes and 125 hospitals.”

Philadelphia is home to the first chil-dren’s hospital, first medical school, first college of pharmacy, as well as the first hospital in the united States—the Pennsylvania Hospital. The area’s medi-cal schools and hospitals are said to have educated one of every five physicians in the united States. This regional focus on medicine creates a harmonious partner-ship with the dedication to education shown in Greater Philadelphia’s 101 universities and colleges.

“We call it ‘eds and meds’ economic development,” says Stephen Tang, presi-dent and CeO of the university City Science Center.

The Science Center is the third-oldest research park in the united States falling short of the famed Stanford Research Park and Research Triangle Park in north Carolina. It’s also the largest urban research park and has 15 buildings occu-pying four city blocks on a 17-acre cam-pus in West Philadelphia.

not unlike Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District, the Science Center is a collaborative, interdisciplinary estab-

Philadelphia is known as a hip, cul-tural hub offering endless enter-tainment from famous sports

teams like the Flyers to historical land-marks like the Liberty Bell, but the city also presents promising potential for busi-nesses looking to make their mark in the life sciences industry.

With almost 1,200 life sciences estab-lishments, the Philadelphia region offers fresh opportunities for both entrepreneurs and innovators working in the life sciences industry.

In March, the city hosted the largest annual conference and exposition on labo-ratory science in the world—Pittcon. The

Philadelphia Positions Itself as a Life Sciences and Health Care Destination Community and collaboration are the focus in the City of Brotherly Love

By Lindsay Grummett

event brought together more than 18,000 attendees with 40 per cent attending the conference for the first time.

“Philadelphia is home to one of the top life sciences clusters in the nation to include pharma, biotech, R&D, medical devices and supporting industries,” says


“First-time entrepreneurs are like first-time parents—don’t really have a clue, but have to keep it going. There’s a lot of dis-covery and mistake-making,” says Tang with a laugh.

Business incubation creates the capac-ity for innovation and collaboration allow-ing for the transfer of new technologies to the marketplace and the achievements of the Science Center’s incubator program are visible through its graduates. Organizations that have received mentor-ship through the Science Center have created tens of thousands of jobs, hun-dreds of millions in earnings and contrib-uted back to the Philadelphia economy.

One of the Center’s more recent suc-cesses is biotechnology company Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, which developed a compound to diagnose Alzheimer’s dis-ease earlier than what is currently possible. Founder Dr. Daniel Skovronsky devel-oped the technology in 2004 and gradu-ated from the incubator program in 2009. That year he also received the ernst & Young entrepreneur of the Year award in the emerging Company category for

Greater Philadelphia. “By 2010, his com-

pany was acquired by eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical giant out of Indiana, for half a billion dollars in cash plus $300 million in progress payments,” says Tang. “He’s become the head of a $2 billion divi-

with the lowest labour costs among northeastern peer cities and an advanced manufacturing sector that includes the production of aerospace equipment, bio-medical and optoelectronic materials, chemicals, medical instruments, pharma-ceuticals and more. This allows busi-nesses to commission manufacturing facilities in the area, creating more growth and development economically. Manufactured goods and finished prod-ucts then move easily through the area’s strong logistics network.

Pharmaceutical giants, medical device diagnostics, biotechnology and contract research organizations are among some of the hundreds of establishments across Greater Philadelphia who are actively engaging in R&D and helping to create the next generation of innovative prod-ucts, technologies and services. In 2008, the private sector was responsible for just over 85 per cent of the total $10.5 billion R&D spending with colleges and univer-sities comprising most of the remainder. More than 20 universities in the region sponsor technology and incubators like the one at the Science Center.

Regional Profile

sion in neuroscience at eli Lilly, but the most important thing is that Avid and eli Lilly’s presence remains in Philadelphia.”

Philadelphia organizations are getting involved in more than just incubator pro-grams to ensure the success of the life sci-ences in Philadelphia; they’re also working with Philadelphia youth to create interest in the sector at a young age.

The QueST program is built on the premise youth need an introduction to career options before selecting a university program utilizing mentorship and practi-cal exposure. Students who are highly motivated and gifted in STeM are chosen to work with incubator companies and the lucky few are hired on for summer posi-tions at the Science Center. Since one in every six professional jobs in the region are life sciences-related and more than 151,000 workers in the area are employed in STeM, developing interest in youth creates a buzz amongst future generations and promotes the entrepreneurial spirit that’s made Philadelphia famous.

Although the future looks favourable for Philadelphia, Tang cites particular areas of growth that are necessary for the life sciences sector to continue to move forward.

“I’ll be frank with you, one of the chal-lenges in Philadelphia compared to Boston or San Francisco or Silicon Valley is that we don’t have enough interplay between the local venture capital community and the local entrepreneurs or start-up compa-nies. We are still seeking critical mass in that type of interaction.”

With the second-highest concentra-tion of federally funded research in the country as well as one of the highest con-centrations of hospitals and medical teach-ing facilities, Philadelphia has all the ingredients to advance the commercializa-tion of the life sciences sector. Currently, Tang and other influential parties in the life sciences are working at a city level to make it more appealing for companies to locate themselves in Philadelphia.

“I’m very optimistic with the resources that we have in the city and region that we can play a transformative role in health care.” BB


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barrier to things that can contaminate the production system such as human viruses, animal viruses and animal diseases, has been created.

until now, the risks seemed to hold more sway as most of big pharma spun off or disposed of their agriculture-biotech drug divisions, while many smaller biotech companies were either acquired by competitors or shut down. As a result, only a handful of small companies and universities worldwide forged ahead with this field of research.

“nobody had ever really produced drugs in plants yet, it hadn’t gone to market, it was hard to go out to the field with drugs in plants especially in Canada through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA),” says Holbrook of the CFIA’s strict regulatory requirements. “It was almost disappearing half a dozen years ago but there was a belief that if we learned from our problems there was a lot of basic good technology out there and there [could be] a revival.”

PotentialThe potential for large-scale, low-cost agricultural production of recombinant protein therapeutics is vast. The global market for botanical and plant-derived drugs is expected to reach $32 billion in 2013, with a five-year compound annual growth rate of 11 per cent, according to a BCC Research market report.

So companies left the field and moved in to the greenhouse and in May 2012, the PMP industry received a major boost when Israel’s Protalix BioTherapeutics developed elelyso, the first biological drug produced inside modified plant cells won FDA approval for a human disease (in this case, for Type 1 Gaucher disease).

Among the many companies to be heartened by the news of Protalix’s success was PlantForm Corporation with headquarters in Guelph and offices in Toronto and Sarnia. “[Protalix] is very important for us as that sort of reduces the barriers in people’s minds going forward,” says Don Stewart, PlantForm president and CeO. “I think as we introduce drugs in the market and as others do, it makes the industry more aware of the capability [of PMPs] and more comfortable with it.”

using technology developed by Dr. J. Christopher Hall at the university of Guelph 10 years before the company was formed, PlantForm uses tobacco plants grown in greenhouses to produce very low-cost antibodies with a focus on antibody drugs. Because

Plant Pharma

Plant-made pharmaceuticals might offer a cheap, new way to produce drugs

Plant-made pharmaceuticals were the next great hope for the biotech industry two decades ago but due to a combi-nation of lack of financing, environmental and regulatory

constraints, the technology almost disappeared from the con-sciousness of industry leaders.

But that could be about to change. Last year the FDA approved the first PMP for human use and with PlantForm aim-ing to have its plant-based version of the breast cancer drug Herceptin on the market by 2017, PMPs could be poised to become a player on the market.

“We think there’s a bit of a revival and there’s the acceptance coming along and marketability is closer to use plants to produce drugs,” says Larry Holbrook, Chief Scientific Officer at Prairie Plant Systems Inc. (PPS). “We think there’s a revival if you do it in a smart way.”

The next great hopeTwo decades ago “pharming” held great appeal for drug and bio-tech companies who hoped plant-produced proteins would be safer and cheaper than those produced by microbial and mam-malian cell culture methods. In the early to mid-1990s there were more than 180 companies and organizations involved in PMP research. Regulatory uncertainties, improvements in fermentation techniques and environmental opposition diminished interest.

But scares like the one Prodigene Inc. faced in nebraska when a small quantity of genetically modified corn was detected in a soybean crop in the same field the following season led to increased environmental restrictions from the united States Department of Agriculture. When plants are produced in the field, the two main concerns are pollen and seed-mediated gene flow.

For Rene Van Acker, professor and associate dean of external relations at the university of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College, who counts biosafety as one of his fields of expertise, the choice of plant species is also very important. “I don’t think it’s a great idea to pursue PMPs in main line food crops,” he says. “even if the potential is small for causing a contamination it would be disastrous if that was to occur.”

That being said, the potential of this platform is huge. The purported strengths of the technology are its efficiency of produc-tion, cost effectiveness and the idea it’s a new industry. The other one is the understanding that you’re working in a completely dif-ferent organism, a non-animal model so a natural separation or


By Nicolas Heffernan


tobacco is not a main line food crop, it’s the primary plant species that companies and researchers use. Fermentation is typically used to make complex biological drugs, a difficult and expensive pro-cess. PlantForm’s process differs slightly. It introduces the same gene that that’s used in the standard fermentation process into the tobacco plant nicotiana benthamiana. The plant is grown in a greenhouse until it reaches full maturity, which takes about five to six weeks, after which the gene is introduced and a week later the tobacco can be harvested. Then the drug is extracted and purified using standard pharmaceutical processing.

Compared to mammalian cell culture and other fermentation systems used to produce most biologic drugs on the market, PlantForm’s platform is fast, efficient, highly versatile and easily scalable. Perhaps most importantly, though, it’s capable of reduc-ing manufacturing costs for life-saving drugs by up to 90 per cent.

PlantForm has a few projects in the pipeline but the com-pany’s core focus is on biosimilars for cancer treatment, leading with a biosimilar for the breast cancer drug Herceptin. The market for biosimilars is virtually untapped and forecast to grow rapidly as $80-billion worth of biologic drugs will lose patent protection by 2013.

Herceptin is effective in about 30 per cent of breast cancer patients but costs about $40,000 for a treatment course in Canada while it can be up to $100,000 per year in the u.S. “We think the introduction of lower cost versions of drugs will have two effects,” says Stewart. “One is to reduce the cost to the health care systems. The second one is to make the drugs more widely available to people who would benefit from them. So we see a pretty signifi-cant impact going forward.”

Herceptin sells about $6 billion per year and is coming off pat-ent in europe in 2015 and 2018-19 in the u.S. PlantForm has successfully completed animal studies, with human clinical trials scheduled for 2014, and market entry anticipated in 2016.

Since Herceptin comes off patent in europe first, PlantForm is hoping to enter the market there, where the market is worth $3.5 billion. “With an effective marketing partner we feel that our reward in the european market for Herceptin when it comes off patent is going to be at least $50 million at an early stage,” says Stewart.

And one of PlantForm’s biggest fans will be cheering them on out in Saskatoon.

“We have to have somebody, it doesn’t have to be us—it has to be our colleagues, competitors if you like—with plant-made phar-maceuticals to be out to market,” says Holbrook. “So actually, as opposed to being competitors, we’re applauding our colleagues in the business to get out to market.”

“It’s easy to say,” Holbrook chuckles. “If there aren’t a whole lot of competitors it’s not a bad comment to make.”

PPS is 25 years old with the company originally specializing in the production of medicinal marijuana. PPS has been playing with PMP production on a small scale for the last four or five years but it’s ramped up PMP work in the last year after receiving a couple of grants including an Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) grant and hiring four technicians.

Holbrook wants to see companies like PlantForm and Protalix succeed to prove that PMPs can succeed commercially. “You’ll always see it stated that it can be done cheaper,” says Holbrook. “I’m saying it again; it’s not sufficiently proven. no one’s gone to market on a large enough scale. We don’t have the definitive num-bers to say yes, it really can be done more cheaply.

nevertheless, Holbrook sees potential in PMPs. “It’s a wait-see but it’s a risk thing,” he says. “All these ventures you take on have certain risk factors; we just think high-value proteins can come out of plants and that it will be feasible.”

PPS is producing a therapeutic to treat the very rare immuno-logical disorder Bubble Boy disease. But with only about 100 patients in north America, PPS is also selling adenosine deami-nase as a reagent for other researchers to test for asthma use, as an example. “We believe like all proteins that are used for one spe-cific thing in medicine, quite often people discover new uses or other indications for it and so we’re waiting for that idea,” says Holbrook. “So we’re sort of taking that tact that it might be a bigger market in the future than it currently is.”

But Prairie Plants has also maintained an older tradition of producing proteins in seeds, with a model using a lupin, a mem-ber of the legume family. “Proteins are very, very stable in seeds of plants, and then you can store those seeds and then just pro-cess it as needed in terms of purification.” Fears of cross con-tamination with food crops are allayed by using growth cham-bers and greenhouses.

The company is also looking at tubers—a fleshy underground stem, such as a potato, or root like a dahlia, that is an organ of vegetative reproduction and food storage—as a very good storage

Plant Pharma One that got awaySemBioSys Genetics Inc. was a development stage agri-cultural biotechnology company based in Calgary. Its lead pharmaceutical product under development was biosimilar insulin. The company signed a collaboration agreement with Tasly Pharmaceuticals, Ltd of Tianjin and a new com-pany was formed in China called Tasly-SemBioSys Bio-Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. When SemBioSys didn’t contrib-ute any intellectual property to the venture, Tasly terminat-ed the agreement.

Why tobacco?There are other plants that can be used but Don Stewart, president and CEO of PlantForm, estimates at least half the companies working in this area are using tobacco. One of the main reasons is the manufacturing cost, as tobacco offers the highest production per square-foot. In addition, tobacco plants are not part of the food chain. “If there were any problems where for some reason a plant escaped into the environment it would not contaminate the food chain which is a problem of some of the other approaches that are used,” says Stewart.


place for proteins. While PlantForm has targeted a large

market share, PPS is hoping to find a niche market it can exploit versus competing with products that an animal cell system can do already or do better.

“We believe there’s such a wide new array of potential medical value that it’s just going to become an open, competitive race,” Holbrook says of the increasing data coming out of the human genome project in the form of interest in proteins that could have therapeutic value. “If you can find a niche for two or three high-value products... A small company like us, if we can make a few mil-lion bucks a year, it’s fine. We’re not in the billion-dollar area; at least yet.”

FutureBecause the characteristics of a drug can be changed by the production system, Stewart sees room for both mammalian and plant expression. And with all the promise and uncertainty, Canada has the basic technology to become a world leader with PMPs.

“Certainly, Canada is a very sophisticated nation in regards to this technology—it has all the capability to be a leader in PMPs,” says Van Acker. “From my perspective, the context isn’t quite set up for commercial production.

The potential for PMPs is vast if the process can be proven. “Like any biotechnol-ogy or transgenic technology, it’s endless,” says Van Acker. “At the end of the day, that’s the wonder of biotechnology and that’s why there was so much excitement in the 70s and 80s as it was being launched and devel-oped—because the scientists recognized that truly novel potential. ” BB

To learn more about plant-made vaccines, see “Vaccine Gardens: Medicago’s growth is steady in a

field of science known for surprises” on p. 22 of the May/June 2012 issue.

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Plant biotechnology is changing agriculture forever

A Novel Approach to Farming By Lindsay Grummett


Novel Foods

were the ones using recombinant DnA, in other words, genetic engineering techniques, which people mostly think about with plant biotech.” Recombinant DnA (rDnA) is a form of artificial DnA that is created by combining two or more sequences that would otherwise not be found in biological organisms. It differs from genetic recombination in that it does not occur through natural processes within the cell, but is engineered.

Practical applications of recombinant DnA in the agricultural sector are found in herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant crops. Commercial crops ranging from corn to canola are developed with a recombinant gene that tolerates glyphosate, the active ingredient in herbicide. This allows farmers to spray fields with herbicides after herbicide-tolerant crops have sprouted, essentially killing the bad and keeping the good.

Yarrow explains other production methods and describes mutagenesis: “That’s where they use radiation or particular types of chemicals to cause changes in the genetics. It’s all about trying to create more variation in the genetics of plants. Then afterwards you try to select the most usable traits.”

now companies are cross-licensing these different herbicide-tolerant traits to offer the best choices to farmers.

“using multiple modes of action is a recommended way to improve the control over higher rates of glyphosate alone, and is a proven way to help delay the development and spread of herbi-cide resistance,” says Sean Chiki, Brand Manager for Herbicides at BASF Canada, in a recent press release.

Fields of yellow Biotechnology has played a major role in Canada’s growing canola industry. This oilseed has been bred to have characteristics that are supportive of heart health and is an excellent source of vitamin e and omega-3 fatty acids. Last year Canadian farmers planted close to 21 million acres of canola, 97 per cent of which was enhanced through plant biotechnology.

A 2011 study commissioned by the Canola Council shows that Canadian-grown canola contributes $15.4 billion to the Canadian economy every year. This figure includes the 228,000 jobs associated with the industry like the scientific research being done in one of the many agricultural research centres across the country. Facilities include 19 research centres run by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canadian Grain Commission’s Grain Research Laboratory. The latter has a biotechnology research program that develops and evaluates polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for detection, identification and quantifica-tion of genetically modified organisms in cereal grains and oil-

With the global population more than doubling in the last 40 years and the area for food production remaining virtually the same, farmers are using science to stretch

their yields and as a result, novel foods are cropping up in fields across the country.

novel foods are defined by Health Canada as foods resulting from a process not previously used for food, products that do not have a history of safe use as a food, as well as foods that have been genetically modified or derived through biotechnology.

That means everything from native fruits or nuts to a new species of fish can be considered a novel food. The umbrella term might cover a variety of foods and food products, but it’s the last category—genetically modified (GM) foods—that’s caused the biggest splash.

The topic of GM foods has a polarizing effect with supporters promoting the benefits and others arguing that they’re dangerous to humans and the environment. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, Canada has chosen a leading role in global plant biotechnology and research. Canada now ranks fourth on the list of countries that plant biotech crops in terms of acreage planted and is behind only the united States, Brazil and Argentina.

Innovative technology “These new technologies are revolutionary in helping farmers to efficiently control weeds in a very effective manner,” says Stephen Yarrow, vice president of plant biotechnology at CropLife Canada, a trade association representing the plant sci-ence industry.

A plant’s genetic material can be modified through a variety of techniques that will increase its shelf life, make it resistant to pesticides and insecticides or improve the crop’s nutritional con-tent. From a consumer perspective, the focus on value-added traits is of greatest importance especially concerning improved nutri-tion. From a weed-resistant seed to a slow-ripening tomato, novel processes have proven especially effective in the agriculture sector.

Plant biotechnology and pesticides elevate crop quality and yields which leads to about $7.9 billion in direct gain for farmers every year according to CropLife Canada. And it’s not just the farmers who are reaping the benefits—modern crop protection and biotech tools, mean Canadian families are saving about 60 per cent on their weekly grocery bill.

Canada is one of the largest agricultural producers and export-ers in the world, and it’s the development of novel processes in this sector that offer the most promising potential. Since the first wave of novel foods and products hit the market in the mid-90s, there’s been no shortage of innovation in the industry.

Types of plant biotechnology“At that time there were two classes of biotech products,” says Yarrow describing the novel agriculture boom in the 90s. “There

“these new technologies are revolutionary in helping farmers to efficiently control weeds in a very effective manner.”



seeds. Many countries have mandatory labelling of food products containing GM materials therefore establishing detection meth-ods for GMOs is very important.

At the university of Guelph, they’re researching weeds that have developed a resistance to herbicides (similar to the way the enhanced seeds resist herbicides). Dr. Francois Tardiff is a profes-sor of weed science and says the research has two goals: to provide solutions for growers and to understand how herbicide-resistance in weeds occurs as well as creating ways to prevent it.

“In the southern u.S., herbicide resistance is very widespread and it’s building up in other areas of the world which means that technology is less useful,” says Tardiff. “The way the seed and herbicide industry is responding is to look at alternatives. The challenge for them is to produce technology that works, but also keep the costs relatively low for farmers.”

Research is a necessity to the overall success of plant biotech-nology which is why the plant science industry reinvests a portion of sales into R&D. BASF’s annual research and development spending in 2012 was around $660 million or nine per cent of annual sales. With canola uses ranging from biodiesel to livestock feed, the agriculture industry has taken note that this product could be the future of Canada’s agricultural export business.

ControversyWith innovation comes criticism, and there’s no shortage of either in the field of novel foods. In spite of the benefits brought about by the development of novel foods, there are also a num-ber of concerns that have been raised including the potential impact on the human health, labelling and consumer choice as well as patent policy.

One of the most important issues related to genetic engi-neering is determining who controls patents on living organ-isms. Agricultural heavyweight Monsanto has sued more than 140 farmers on patent infringements and earned more than $20

million from its targets. A number of these lawsuits include farmers who’ve saved seeds from one harvest for the next grow-ing season. Monsanto prohibits farmers from saving “second generation” crops used after the first harvest because those seeds are resistant to herbicides and could be used repeatedly without a license or fee.

Farmers view this type of stringent control of the market as dangerous to small farming operations now working at the dis-posal of major corporations. For companies like Monsanto, how-ever, it takes away incentive for continued innovation when farm-ers don’t pay the designated fee.

Organic agriculturalists are also concerned about how geneti-cally modified crops affect organic crops located in nearby fields. This type of contamination is caused most often by genetically engineered seeds cross pollinating with unchanged seeds resulting in a new seed with different DnA than its parent.

This is just another example of the potential impacts of plant biotechnology.

And yet with more than one trillion meals containing biotech-derived ingredients being consumed worldwide, continued devel-opment in the areas of research, laws and global relations will offer the best opportunity for resolving controversial concerns.


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Future of novel foods The adoption of biotech crops is happening at varying rates around the world with Canada at the forefront. nearly 870 mil-lion people—or one in eight—suffered from chronic under-nourishment in 2010-2012, according to a hunger report by the un Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Canadian companies are working to secure their role as global leaders in food security.

“The world population is growing and if agricultural produc-tion is going to keep up with demand, continued investment in

improving yields and farming techniques will be required. BASF invests in research because we

see opportunities to contribute to this chal-lenge,” says David Peters, national Marketing Manager at BASF Crop Protection Canada.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada reports that nearly 30 per cent of the food products Canada

exported in 2002 were grains, oilseeds and related products. These foods can be modified to endure harsher growing conditions, to have a higher potential nutritional value and less impact on the environment, offering the potential to decrease worldwide agricultural and hunger issues. With a 2012 report by the united nations Food and

Agriculture Organization (FAO) suggesting that agricultural investment is one of the most effective strategies for reducing poverty and hunger and promoting sustainability, plant biotech-nology should be looked at as a serious contender in helping to address these issues.

This is beginning to occur. In 2012, a record 17.3 million farmers grew biotech crops with more than 15 million located in developing countries on small, resource-poor farms. Promoting this type of production offers proactive approaches to agricultural sustainability, however, the complex situation surrounding novel foods isn’t going anywhere as influences in the political and social spectrum continue to battle it out over the right to modify food and crops. BB


Business Leadership

it took the death of a close colleague and the advice of a good friend to steer Rocco Rossi on his new career path.

After graduating from Princeton and McGill, Rossi worked for Advanced Material Resources (now neoMaterials), The Boston Consulting Group, Torstar, Labatt/Interbrew and MGI Software, while also working with the Liberal party and running for mayor in Toronto in 2010.

But when his boss and close friend died from overwork, it made Rossi think. It was the advice of a friend that motivated him to get out of the private sector saying, “At a certain point in your life, you move from just thinking about success to thinking about significance.”

For the past eight years, he has fought tirelessly for the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario. now, he’s making the jump to Prostate Cancer Canada (PCC) to become its new CeO. He plans to bring his creative ways and humble spirit to PCC, in hopes of raising the pub-lic’s awareness to explain why men, of all ages, need to pay attention.

Recently, Rossi started writing about his experiences with both private compa-nies and not-for–profit organizations. He knows how hard each side can be and explains his life-changing decision. “It’s tough because we all get caught up in our day-to-day lives. We all have responsibili-ties; we have to take care of our families,” he writes. “So when you are caught up in that, it’s hard. For me, it took the death of my friend and boss to cause me to take a second look and I know of people who are able to do it without that unfortunate occur-rence to shake you out of the stupor. It is possible. Different people get there in different ways.”

But the not-for-profit environment can be just as ruthless as the private sector. “There is no more competitive sector in the

economy than the nFP sector. It’s a complex organization chal-lenge,” he says. However, there is something that makes it all worth it for Rossi. “The biggest difference is that each and every day we get to wake up and make a significant difference in some-one’s life. That motivation and reward is very, very powerful.”

Rossi’s ultimate objective at PCC is saving lives and to do that, he’s trying to raise awareness of the risk of prostate cancer and make the facts widely known. “We want to be seen as the go-to destination for information and support,” Rossi says. PCC wants all men to know when and why they should get checked out. “Over 40, in your family, and your ethno-cultural background can all have an impact, and if you have a problem in all three of those things, you should be checking yourself out as soon as possible.”

Rossi is not one to shy away from physical exercise. He has completed the Camino de Santiago, a religious walk in Spain and

France (roughly the distance from Toronto to Quebec City) five times. This walk helps satisfy his spiritual side but he also applies the lessons from his physical activities in business. “You break down the distance that you have to walk, into chunks that you can handle... the same way in business, you set audacious goals for your organization, but then break it down into chunks that people can do and feel good about achieving and build that momentum until the final goal.”

While Rossi is fulfilled with his current position, he remains open-minded. He says he could return to a private company, but

only if he can make a societal difference there. “There are lots of businesses in the biotech area, for instance, where it’s not just about creating a product; it’s creating a product that could have an incredible impact on peoples’ lives,” he says. “But right now I have a phenomenal challenge and a phenomenal responsibility and I want to make the most of that.” BB

By Chelsea Kowalski

New CEO of Prostate Cancer Canada is determined to make a difference

“the biggest difference is

that each and every day we

get to wake up and make a

significant difference in

someone’s life. that

motivation and reward is

very, very powerful.”

Rocco rossi

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