A SHEEP pain relief product developed in Australia by Emergence client, Animal Ethics, has been approved for clinical trials for human use in the United Kingdom. Click here to read the full story!

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved its application for a Phase IIa clinical trial of Tri-Solfen® (for human use the product will be branded as Medi-Solfen®)  for the treatment of pain during the surgical debridement of venous leg ulcers.

Medi-Solfen® is an innovative medicine designed to  provide rapid onset and both short and prolonged analgesia effects for up to 24 hours. The topical gel contains two local anaesthetic agents and an antiseptic, and other active ingredients, designed to minimise bleeding and potentially protect against infection as well as promote healing.

The Phase IIa clinical trial will assess the safety and efficacy profile of Medi-Solfen® in providing anaesthesia when applied topically to venous leg ulcers, prior to and post-surgical debridement.  

“We are thrilled to announce the MHRA approval of our Phase IIa clinical trial design for Medi-Solfen® for the treatment of pain during the surgical debridement of venous leg ulcers. The application is based on an extensive body of evidence, which demonstrate the potential of Medi-Solfen® in providing a convenient, safe and effective method of pain mitigation in wounds and we look forward to investigating this further in venous leg ulcers, where there is a significant unmet patient need. This approval is an important milestone for Medical Ethics, with Medi-Solfen® being our first product candidate for human use progressed for clinical development and as we move towards building a proprietary wound care and pain mitigation platform.”

Allan Giffard, Managing Director of Medical Ethics

The open, randomised, parallel group-controlled study will be conducted in 90 patients in three successive stages, which aim to study the time taken to achieve surface anaesthesia, degree of post-operative pain relief and patient’s assessment of overall quality as an anaesthetic during this procedure.

Secondary objectives include the duration and quality of post-operative pain relief following a single-dose, levels of anaesthesia achieved, and influence on the early healing trajectory of the leg ulcer.

Patients with venous leg ulcers report pain to be the worst aspect of having an ulcer, especially during debridement.^1-4 Pain tolerated over a long time can cause a negative mood, decreased activities of daily living, sleep disturbance, reduced mobility and social withdrawal.⁵ In the UK alone, there are 278,000 venous leg ulcers being treated per annum, plus an additional 420,000 leg ulcers with no specific classification, however, it is broadly accepted that a number of these are venous in origin.⁶

Emergence client, Tieös Pharmaceuticals, has been selected to participate in the next C2MP cohort, and will join MATTER’s Chicago Innovation Mentors program to jumpstart their next phase of development.

Tieös Pharmaceuticals is a next-generation biotech company focused on cancer metabolic therapies. The venture has been selected to join MATTER’s Chicago Innovation Mentors (CIM) mentorship program as part of the Canada-Chicago Mentoring Program (C2MP), in collaboration with the Consulate General of Canada in Chicago. 

The company is one of just five selected following a competitive nationwide application process. CIM is a 6-month, team-based mentoring and scholarship program focused on science-based ventures.

CIM has helped more than 220 early stage, science-based ventures, which cumulatively have raised $200M. CIM was founded by a consortium of Chicago-area universities and industry partners in November 2010 and was acquired in January 2016 by MATTER, the life sciences/healthcare incubator hub in downtown Chicago.

“We’re excited to have Tieös take part in the C2MP program – they have a unique approach in developing oncology therapeutics with exciting potential. We are looking forward to collaborating with them to help accelerate their growth in 2019.”

Chantal Glass, Trade Commissioner, Consulate General of Canada – Chicago.

C2MP provides Tieös with the opportunity to strategically position the company for future development in the US healthcare market and provides a framework to tailor the accelerated progress of various drug development programs to the US regulatory environment and business landscape.

“As we continue to see exciting results in our preclinical validation and development, we are thrilled to be joining CIM,” Arun Anand, CEO of Tieös told us. “The program offers an exciting opportunity for us to tailor our scientific and business development programs to the US market and positions the company well for future expansion.”

The 2019 C2MP cohort will kick off the six-month program in February 2019 with a “Day of Acceleration.” The companies will travel to MATTER in Chicago, where they will meet with MATTER member startups, partner institutions and present their ventures to the CIM mentor community.

About Tieös Pharmaceuticals
Tieös Pharmaceuticals is a privately held pre-clinical stage biotech company, focused on developing novel small molecule inhibitors which target the unique metabolic characteristics of cancer cells. Tieös’ lead compounds in development target multiple metabolic pathways simultaneously, while utilizing intelligent drug design elements to minimize drug resistance and collateral damage to healthy and vital cells. Founded in 2016, the company has offices in Ontario and New Brunswick, Canada. For more information, visit www.tieospharma.ca

Genome Atlantic reports that warming sea temperatures in the North Atlantic are a big concern for Atlantic Canada’s aquaculture industry.

“Rising summer water temperatures of even a few degrees, especially in combination with low water oxygen levels, can pose a number of challenges to salmon aquaculture including an increase in the incidence of disease and mortalities.”  

But help is on the way, thanks to a $4.4 million Atlantic regional research project called Mitigating the Impact of Climate-Related Challenges on Salmon Aquaculture (MICCSA). Read the full story here!

The project is using genomics and genetic sequencing to provide the east coast salmon aquaculture industry with tools and knowledge that can be used to adapt its production to rising ocean temperatures and to select more disease-resistant broodstock.

Announced last year in St. John’s, NL, MICCSA was enabled by Genome Atlantic and funded by $3 million from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)’s Atlantic Innovation Fund, $0.5 million from Innovate NL and another $0.5 million from industry and national academic partners. The project is co-led by researchers at Memorial University and the University of Prince Edward Island.  

Industry partner, Emergence client, the Centre for Aquaculture Technologies (CATC) based in Souris, Prince Edward Island, agrees that this research is critical to the aquaculture industry.  “The ability to predict what strains of Atlantic salmon perform better under elevated temperatures could soon become an urgent need for commercial breeding programs,” said Debbie Plouffe, the company’s executive vice president of research. 

Plouffe believes that aquaculture will play a key role in supplying economical, high-quality and sustainably produced protein for human consumption in the coming years.

“In order for the industry to reach its maximum potential, the application of state-of-the-art approaches to breeding are going to be essential.  CATC’s participation in this collaborative project is one of the many ways that our company is working with Genome Atlantic and Canadian public and private sector partners to drive innovation in the aquaculture sector.”

The Centre for Aquaculture Technologies Canada is a contract research organization (CRO) providing support for R&D and commercialization activities in the aquaculture industry, with particular expertise in GxP-compliant research.

Emergence client, Advanced Extraction Systems is hiring…

AESI is actively seeking applications from qualified candidates for a draftsperson.

AESI offers customers the cleanest and most advanced semi and fully automated supercritical fluid CO2 botanical extraction systems for legal marijuana and hemp industries globally.

AESI offers clients an environmentally friendly, Sub- and Supercritical CO2 extraction system which allows for tuneable operating conditions for gentle and thorough extraction and fractionation of cannabis extracts.

They currently have an opportunity for a Draftsperson.

The Draftsperson is responsible for the preparation of mechanical designs and drawings using Solid Edge, and ensuring that design drawings conform to specifications provided. The role will create and coordinate Build of Materials for small to large assemblies and, using knowledge of mechanical process and applicable safety codes.

Click here to apply!