MEDICAL BRIEFS

Milestone Medica funds Univ of Ottawa spin-off

Milestone Medica Corp (MMC) and the Univ of Ottawa have created a new private company to develop new therapies targeting heart disease and stroke based on the university's research using proprietary zinz compounds. Zinc Therapeutics was formed with a $625,000 investment from MMC over two years. The funding will be used for pre-clinical development leading up to Investigation New Grug regulatory filings and initial clinical trials. The part-time position of president will be held by Monique Laliberté, MMC's VP for Quebec and Maritime region. The position of VP R&D is held by U of O's Dr Henry Fliss, a professor in the department of cellular and molecular medicine....

ID Biomedical to collaborate with UBC

ID Biomedical Corp has entered a collaboration and licensing agreement with the Univ of British Columbia for technology relating to the oral delivery of vaccines and drugs. Developed by Dr Brent Finlay, the technology will be developed to deliver proteins and small molecules directly into gastrointestinal cells. The collaboration will focus on novel delivery technology for two types of ecoli bacteria responsible for so-called hamburger disease and a less severe strain that causes diarrhea and dehydration in infants and young children. The agreement also includes definitive licensing terms to the ecoli vaccine being jointly developed by the two parties....

QLT and CIBA Vision extend research collaboration

QLT Phototherapeutics Inc and CIBA Vision have signed a new agreement broadening their partnership to include development of other compounds used alone or in conjunction with photodynamic therapy agents developed by QLT. CIBA Vision, the eye care unit of Novartis AG, has conducted joint research for five years resulting in the development and approval of Visudyne, a treatment for the wet form of age-related macular degeneration. The extended agreement will examine potential treatments for other causes of abnormal blood vessels in the eye, including macular edema and diabetic retinopathy. The two firms will share equally in the R&D costs and jointly conduct and manage the program. CIBA Vision will handle for sales and marketing of compounds....

Dimethaid opens new manufacturing and R&D facility

Dimethaid Research Inc, Markham ON, has officially opened its new manufacturing and research facility in Varennes PQ in preparation for the production of Pensaid Topical Lotion, the firm's pain relief compound for osteoarthritis. Marketing approval for Pensaid is pending in the UK, and further regulatory approvals are anticipated in the US, Canada and elsewhere. The facility is composed of three buildings located on 17 acres of land and includes a manufacturing operation and a research laboratory. It will initially have a staff of 21 which will increase once Pensiad is launched....