Natural products and cancer immunotherapy selected in latest CECR competition

Sustainability a key criterion

A stronger focus on commercialization helped to distinguish two new networks joining the Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) program in a tough competition that saw two winners out of field of nine full proposals. The successful networks are Natural Products Canada (NPC) — the first CECR awarded for R&D in the field of natural products — and the Centre for Commercialization of Cancer Immunotherapy (C3i), which aims to work closely with Biotherapeutics for Cancer Treatment (BioCanRx) — a recently establish Network of Centres of Excellence.

NPC will receive $14 million over five years to establish four nodes in a national network for commercializing natural products in several diverse fields from human and animal health to agricultural products and industrial chemicals. Spearheaded by the PEI BioAlliance, the Charlottetown-based NPC is one of just a few among the 23 networks supported through the current CECR program with industrial rather than academic roots. It is also the first CECR to be headquartered in the Maritimes.

The Montreal-based C3i was awarded $15 million to implement its proposal to position itself as a one-stop shop for cancer treatment development, translation and commercialization. The network is headquartered at the Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont facility of the Centres intégrés universitaires de santé et de services sociaux de l'Est-de-l'île-de-Montréal and combines three interacting units for biomarker and diagnostics testing, standards for good manufacturing practices and access to clinical trials and regulatory support.

The decision to fund only two of the nine proposed networks was not a function of budget but the nature of the proposals, according to Reginald Thériault, deputy director of the NCE program.

"The expert review panels and private sector advisory board noted the importance of some of the sectors (represented in the proposals) but seven of them were less than perfect," says Thériault. "They can go through the process more than once. Groups can take the feedback and improve their proposals for the next competition," expected in late 2016.

NPC

The PEI BioAlliance's backing of the NPC was instrumental in developing a winning proposal, which leveraged its extensive contacts in academia, the private sector and research institutions across the country. The resulting network brings together the natural products sector for the first time, helping to give it much needed exposure. In addition to PEI BioAlliance, the existing centres that comprise the network are: AgWest Bio Inc, Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization, Laval Univ's Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods

NPC has already received commitments of $9 million in cash and in-kind from its partners, increasing the network's funding total to $23 million.

"The sector is not very well recognized or understood. Until now there's been no organizing structure to align resources towards commercialization," says Rory Francis, the alliance's executive director. "NPC pulls together all the pieces including multinationals and their supply chains."

The network is structured around four themes: communications, evaluation of potential products and companies, investment in technologies, companies or development projects and accelerate (access to specialized services for business development, intellectual property management and clinical trials).

Francis credits NPC's success to a strong focus on commercialization — 70% of its overall budget is devoted to the network's investment theme -— and a strong business model emphasizing sustainability.

"We received many letters of commitment (and) that got us in the door but NPC's business model had to deliver and it included declining funding," says Francis. "It also has private sector partners, investments and return on investment which would kick in during the second five years if we're successful (in securing renewed funding)."

Attracting all players in the natural product ecosystem strengthens the potential of new companies and products reaching the marketplace.

While human (non-pharmaceutical) and animal health are NPC's top priority areas, there's considerable potential in agricultural ingredients, fish feed stocks, food and sectors where companies are seeking alternatives to petroleum.

"Canada has complementary expertise and infrastructure and we built it into a functional network to leverage those existing resources," says NPC CEO Shelley King. "All sectors (of the economy) can benefit from natural products and there's a lot of convergence between sectors."

C3i

C3i is another area where a strong network of commercialization entities can assist in leveraging Canada's strong research and institutional base in the rapidly evolving field of cancer immunotherapy. The network — headed by CEO Luc Vachon and chief medical officer Dr Lambert Busque — will also benefit from the work of Ottawa-headquartered BioCanRx to achieve its commercialization targets with the primary objectives of reducing the cost of treatment and accelerating access of immuno-therapies for patients.

(RE$EARCH MONEY will feature C3i in greater detail in a forthcoming issue).

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