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reports and analyses of the forces driving science and technology investment in Canada
editor: Mark Henderson How it looks to me.... by Mark Henderson FEATURE REPORTS | RESEARCH BRIEFS | PERSONALITIES How it looks to me.... by Mark Henderson, editor, RE$EARCH MONEY It's a tidy sum, but the $500-million annual pricetag attached to the Medical Research Council's dramatic new proposal isn't excessive. Nor is its underlying expectation that government should be the banker for the nation's future health and prosperity. The concept of a network of Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is precisely the kind of bold vision this country needs to maintain and improve upon its enviable place among the world's most prosperous, and healthy, of nations. The welcome return to FY94-95 funding levels contained in the last federal Budget achieved little more than to temporarily stave off collapse of the structural supports for medical research. The success rate for MRC grants still runs under 30%, and the underfunding of top-flight researchers continues to strengthen the competitive hand of US-based medical research institutions. The CIHR concept wisely builds on existing strengths, leveraging new capabilities introduced by advances in telecommunications to create a series of networks that enhance homegrown expertise. The next federal Budget is considered the earliest opportunity for the government to respond to the CIHR idea. The excitement is already building across the country and CIHR is rightly being viewed as one of Canada's last chances to cut its losses stemming from years of neglect and indifference.
FEATURE REPORTS...
RESEARCH BRIEFS
CFI creates new fund for small infrastructure projects The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has announced the creation of a $10-million fund to assist colleges, institutes and affiliated research centres strengthen their research infrastructure. The fund covers projects of less than $2 million, with a maximum CFI contribution of $800,000. Projects will be assessed on the basis of their quality of research, contributions to strengthening the capacity for innovation, and the potential benefits of research to Canada. A committee has been established to review fund project proposals. The proposal deadline is March 1/99....
Sofinov makes Ontario investment with placement in Morphometrix Sofinov has invested $5 million in Morphometrix Inc as part of a $13-million private placement that will see the Toronto-based firm increase its presence in Quebec through R&D and clinical testing. Morphometrix develops, manufactures and markets instruments designed to automate laboratory processes typically conducted manually. The firm recently completed prototype development of two products for the automated diagnosis of cervical cancer. Morphometrix will use part of the new funding to proceed with clinical trials to obtain approval from the FDA....
AMC and NSERC team to create chair for thin film engineering The Alberta Microelectronic Corp and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council are funding a $2.2-million senior industrial research chair in thin film engineering at the Univ of Alberta. The research chair program will investigate glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technologies with applications in micro-electro-mechanical systems, optics, magnetics, acoustics, biomedical engineering and catalysis. The chair is held by Dr Michael Brett, a professor of electrical and computing engineering and director of engineering physics. GLAD thin films are unique due to their structure and porous nature....
Tm Bioscience raises $14.4 million through private placement Tm Bioscience Corp is raising $14.4 million through a private placement of 18 million special warrants. Yorkton Securities Inc will underwrite $10 million of the placement, with the balance ($4.2 million) to be purchased by Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund Inc. The Toronto-based biomedical firm has 90 days (from June 10) to file a prospectus qualifying the common shares and common share purchase warrants....
In related news, BioChem has signed a "heads of agreement" for a strategic alliance with SmithKline Beecham Biologicals to cover the development, manufacturing and marketing of its influenza vaccines. The agreement covers BioChem's cell-derived injectable and egg-derived and cell-derived nasal vaccines, which are undergoing clinical trials. Under the agreement -- which includes the licensing of a delivery technology from Biovector Therapeutics SA -- BioChem will retain exclusive rights to the vaccines, including marketing in Canada. A joint venture with SmithKline will be formed for the US market, for which SmithKline will be responsible with profit sharing on a pre-arranged basis....
PERSONALITIESJames Close has been appointed president and CEO of the Canadian Marconi Co, effective July 1, replacing Carmen Lloyd who announced his resignation earlier this year. Close moved to CMC from Allied Signal Aerospace Ltd where he served as president from 1996. Prior to that, he held a variety of positions with Allied in the US. Close received a BSc in industrial engineering from Perdue Univ, Indiana, and an MBA from the Univ of Bridgeport in Connecticut.... Reinhard Schmidt has been appointed president and GM of Surgical Navigation Specialists, a new joint venture between Mississauga-based ISG Technologies Inc and Carl Zeiss Inc. Schmidt assumes overall responsibility for the new firm's operations and performance producing and marketing plus-and-play image-guided surgery software for the Surgical Navigation Network. Prior to his appointment, he worked with Siemens Healthcare Services, a joint venture between Siemens Medical and Siemens Nixdorf which he was instrumental in establishing. Prior to that, he was a manager at General Electric Medical Systems.... Carleton Univ's Dr Herb Saravan-amuttoo has been awarded one of four Pratt & Whitney Canada Technology Partnership Awards. Saravan-amuttoo was selected for his contribution to teaching and research in the field of gas turbine engines and for his work with P&WC. Other awards were made to Ecole Polytechnique, Concordia Univ and the UBC in the areas of materials, numerical simulation and manufacturing.... Vern Racz has been appointed executive director of the Prairie Feed Resource Centre (PFRC), a joint venture of the agricultural and feed ingredient industries and the Univ of Saskatchewan (U of S). Racz has been involved in technology transfer while serving as director of the Saskatchewan Feed Test Laboratory at the U of S , and through PFRC and the department of animal and poultry science. Racz holds an MSc in animal science (nutrition) from the U of S....
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