PEOPLE in B.C. will soon benefit from increased access to cutting-edge, life-saving medical therapies with a new clinical trials unit (CTU) that will allow life sciences companies and researchers to test their discoveries within the province.
“The new clinical trials unit will give significant opportunities for B.C.’s life sciences companies to keep their teams and intellectual property here at home,” said Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, on Tuesday. “Successful clinical trials will also lead to new business agreements with pharma companies that will better position us to commercialize new, life-changing drugs and treatments for people in B.C. and around the world.”
The Province is investing $4.2 million to create a six-bed unit for Phase 1 clinical trials at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in Vancouver, which is operated by Providence Health Care, to be operational in late 2024. It will be the only non-cancer Phase 1 CTU in Western Canada.
“Growing B.C.’s capacity for clinical trials is not only going to further scientific advancement, it is going to save lives,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “By investing in the new clinical trials unit, we are paving the way for groundbreaking life sciences innovation that will advance health care in our province for years to come and help more patients in B.C. achieve better health outcomes.”
Biotech companies and research institutes will soon have opportunities to conduct Phase 1 clinical trials within B.C. This will benefit B.C.-based patients by allowing participation in trials for new therapeutics they otherwise would not be able to access. This will open doors for B.C.’s biotech companies to create more high-quality jobs and keep crucial intellectual property in the province.
“Strengthening B.C.’s early-stage clinical trials ecosystem will advance life-saving medicines for patients by fostering collaboration between researchers, clinicians and industry experts,” said Anne Stevens, vice-president of business development, AbCellera. “This project will also help position B.C. as a leading destination for clinical trials, which will attract investments and partnerships from global biopharmaceutical companies.”
The Province is also providing $2.4 million to the University of British Columbia (UBC) to support the establishment of an endowed research chair focused on accelerating the province’s capacity to design and donduct trials ofnext-generation therapeutics. The new chair will provide academic leadership for the CTU and lead an integrated research and education program in clinical pharmacology at UBC. The chair will also work to establish a new residency training program in clinical pharmacology that will strengthen the talent pipeline of clinical researchers and clinical trial investigators in the province.
Providence aims to include a purpose-built Phase 1 to 3 clinical trials unit in its plans for the envisioned clinical support and research centre (CSRC) directly adjacent to the new St. Paul’s Hospital at the Jim Pattison Medical Campus. The CSRC will be strategically designed as a dynamic life-sciences ecosystem, proactively driving research and development, strategic partnerships with industry and talent retention.
Michael Smith Health Research BC, the province’s health-research agency, will seek opportunities to leverage and support these initiatives as they contribute to a world-class destination for clinical trials. The agency will contribute an additional $1.2 million.
Expanding B.C.’s clinical trial capacity and capabilities is part of the StrongerBC Economic Plan’s Life Sciences and Biomanufacturing Strategy. The strategy outlines key actions developed in close consultation with industry and academia to position British Columbia as a global hub for life sciences and biomanufacturing, and as a leading centre for commercial-scale biopharmaceutical and medical manufacturing.
Quick Facts:
* The new CTU will focus primarily on non-cancer related Phase 1 clinical trials, which test drugs or treatments for the first time in healthy human volunteers.
* This is the first step all new drugs and therapies must go through prior to testing in symptomatic patients and then obtaining Health Canada approval for commercialization.
* The new residency training program at UBC will be one of only a few like it in North America and the first of its kind in British Columbia.
BACKGROUNDER
Clinical trials, clinical pharmacology
Successful Phase 1 clinical trials can lead to high-value licensing agreements with global pharmaceutical companies, resulting in increased revenues for B.C. companies and the Province.
* This clinical trials unit (CTU) will allow B.C. to host the entire life cycle of non-cancer drug and therapy development within the province.
* As more novel drugs and therapies can be developed fully within the province, it will expand access to therapies for patients in British Columbia.
* Establishing a permanent chair in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of British Columbia (UBC) will enhance the province’s ability to design, evaluate and trial next-generation therapeutics by strengthening research, deepening collaborations between academia and industry, and training next-generation talent.
* Clinical pharmacology is an emerging specialty that plays an important role in the design and evaluation of new drugs and in the delivery of all stages of clinical trials, from early-phase all the way to late-stage trials.
* Clinical pharmacologists work in a variety of roles within academia, private industry, health care and regulatory agencies, with a focus on drug development, clinical trials, optimizing patient care and policy formation related to medication use.
