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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 How it looks to me.... by Mark Henderson, editor, RE$EARCH MONEY The dismantling of MPR Teltech is a disappointment for those who admired the success with which BC Telecom's feisty R&D arm met its parent's challenge to attain financial independence. In a province where large S&T-focused firms are scarce, its demise is to be lamented. But is it bad for the future growth and prosperity of BC high tech? In the long run it probably is. Accepting claims that the purchasing firms will maintain operations in the province, there is little stopping the new owners from moving the best and brightest elsewhere in their corporations. The precise ramifications of a talent exodus are hard to predict, but it's unlikely to be positive, and efforts to improve the province's economic climate should be forthcoming to ensure this won't occur. Yet the prospects of the BC administration taking an active role in championing the merits of a vibrant high tech sector seem slim. To hear many insiders tell it, the government is blissfully ignorant of the importance high tech holds for the province's future, and seemingly indifference to the corporate cherry picking emanating from south of the border. Most R&D performers ignore the government altogether, having grown increasingly frustrated by its reluctance to become a partner in their prosperity and its hollow strategy statements on S&T (R$, July 19/95). A concerted effort by all parties is essential if the fruits of BC's homegrown R&D expertise are to stay where they'll do the most good.
FEATURE REPORTS...
OPINION SPLIT ON IMPACT OF BC TEL's
STATSCAN MOVING FULL STEAM AHEAD TO DEVELOP NEW INDICATORS
LATEST STATSCAN INDUSTRIAL R&D SURVEY
MDS HEALTH GROUP MOVES INTO EARLY STAGE CONTRACT
LATEST STATSCAN FIGURES REVEAL FURTHER REDUCTIONS IN FEDERAL
CITI BEING WOUND DOWN AFTER NEGOTIATIONS TO PRIVATIZE LAB
INITIAL FLOOD OF PROPOSALS GIVE TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIPS
RESEARCH BRIEFS
Satellite demand spurs ComDev hiring boom Exploding demand for satellites has prompted a major hiring spree at ComDev Canada, a Cambridge ON supplier of satellite subsystems. The 120 already hired include 30 engineers and 30 technicians and assemblers. The firm anticipates further expanding staff by 120, bring the company total to 650....
Theratechnologies to develop delivery system for molecule Theratechnologies Inc has entered a research partnership with California-based ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc to develop a delivery system for ICN's 1-44 growth hormone-released factor molecule. The delivery vehicle to be developed is a slow release implant and will be overseen by Theratechnologies' project director Dr Paul Brazeau. The Montreal-based firm will conduct studies to assess potency of the delivery system in an animal model....
New federal biotech regulations announced The federal government has released amendments to regulations governing biotechnology substances. They relate to the health and environmental assessment of new products before they enter the market. The new regulations streamline the regulatory process of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act....
Dimethaid raises equity to purchase stake in Oxo Chemie Dimethaid Research Inc has completed a US$6 million private placement and will use the proceeds to make the first payment towards the purchase a 25% interest in Swiss-based Oxo Chemie AG. In addition to 600 preferred shares valued at $10,000 each, investors will also receive 2.1 million common shares which can be exercised within two years a $2.86/share to raise an additional $6 million. The purchase of the Oxo interest, which has a new AIDS drugs entering Phase III clinical trials in the US and Canada. calls for Dimethaid to pay $5 million by July 31 and an option to pay an additional $22 million to obtain a 25% share. Oxo is headed by German research pioneer Dr FW Kuhne and holds the rights to WF-10 which stimulates the immune system of AIDS patients to resist infections associated with the disease. Dimethaid holds the Canadian rights to WF-10. The independent pharmaceutical firm develops and commercializes therapeutic products which work in conjunction with the body's own healing mechanisms. It is in the final stages of developing and licensing Pennsaid, a topical lotion for the relief of arthritis pain....
AltaRex enters partnership with Germany's Medac AltaRex Corp (formerly Allrich Energy Group Inc) has entered a strategic alliance with Medac GmbH, Hamburg, Germany, granting the latter Western European rights to its Ovarex vaccine for ovarian cancer, in return for meeting certain funding and clinical supervision obligations. The partnership commits Medac to fund and manage European clinical trials, pay for product registration fees, and purchase Ovarex at defined transfer prices. AltaRex is an Edmonton-based biotechnology firm that developed its ovarian cancer vaccine based on its anti-idiotype (AIT) induction therapy platform technology, and is currently developing products for the treatment of breast and colorectal cancers. Its name change occurred last month after a reverse takeover of an ASE-listed firm (AltaRex) which became a wholly-owned subsidiary. AltaRex Inc is the active arm of the corporation....
New laboratory, contracts spur Phase Atlantic growth Phase Atlantic Ltd (PAL) has announced the creation of a laboratory at its production facility in the Moncton NB Caledonia Industrial Park, as well as three new contracts with a US-based multinational worth $3.5 million. The Microwave Technology Laboratory will be used to train PAL employees as well as students from the New Brunswick Community College, a partner in the venture. The laboratory will specialize in training for cellular and wireless communications testing and production. Funding support was provided in the form of a repayable loan from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. PAL is a joint venture between ComDev International, Cambridge ON and Phase Devices Ltd, Dunstable UK (R$, May 17/95). Employment at PAL will increase by 24 as a result of the contracts, which should be announced soon....
BC Telecom to provide broadband network for UBC The Univ of British Columbia has entered a 10-year collaboration with BC Telecom to construct a broadband, fibre-optic telecommunications network through the university's 400-hectare campus, providing classrooms, laboratories, offices and student residents with high-speed access to electronic mail and the Internet. The alliance makes BC Telecom the university's principal telecommunications carrier. It will provide for distance learning links outside the Greater Vancouver area and calls for the construction of a training centre for professors to learn how to use new information technologies in all levels of education. The collaboration stems from the provincial Electronic Highway Accord which calls for government, academia and industry to provide universal and affordable access to the electronic highway and develop BC's IT industry....
ISTS awarded contract to analyze stratosphere Ontario's Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science has been awarded a contract to conduct an ozone light radar measurement campaign in the Northwest Territories by the Atmospheric Environment Services (AES) branch of Environment Canada. ISTS scientists will travel to Eureka NWT in December to carry out data collection, which will be used in advanced research on atmospheric properties, particularly those pertaining to stratosphere ozone, aerosols, temperature and polar stratospheric clouds. They will be using LIDAR (light detection and ranging) technology which uses laser lightwaves to create reflected light which is then analyzed with optical and electronic devices to derive information. The LIDAR system was built by ISTS in collaboration with Optech Inc, North York ON and AES. The Eureka scientific station is one of five used in the international Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change....
Quorum Growth invest $1.5 million in DynaTekAutomation Quorum Growth Inc has invested an additional $1.5 million in DynaTek Automation Systems Inc, to enhance DynaTek's R&D capabilities by establishing a facility in Boulder CO. The equity injection into the Bedford NS developer and manufacturer of high capacity data storage systems follows an initial $3-million investment last year that gave Quorum a 16.5% stake (R$, September 20/95). DynaTek has assembled a team of software engineers in Boulder specializing in hierarchical storage management. The firm posted revenue of $75 million last year and is focused on video-on-demand, networking, digital imaging and multimedia.... In other news, Quorum is leading a $2-million investment in OpTx 2000 Corp, an oncology medical management and technology firm based in Winnipeg, with $1 million in convertible debt. OpTx has developed software programs and databases to improve the quality and consistency of cancer therapy. Its products assist oncologists and medical practitioners to develop treatment plans and deliver cancer care. The proceeds of the investment will be used for ongoing R&D, marketing and sales efforts....
Applied PeR$pectivesBuilding with CCNB-INNOV… Relationships that go a Long Way! CCNB-INNOV, the applied research and development arm of CCNB has adapted its range of services to better meet the unique needs of the regional shipbuilding industry.
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