Dr. Stéphanie Michaud
President & CEO,
BioCanRx
BioCanRx is a network of scientists, clinicians, academic institutions, patients, NGOs and industry partners working together to accelerate the development of cancer
immunotherapies to get these to patients, more quickly
At a conference in 2016, Canadian researchers listened to US scientists talk about making CAR T cells. In CAR T-cell therapy, a patient’s own immune cells are used to recognize and kill cancer cells.
“Our researchers came out feeling deflated, because we didn’t have the capability to make CAR T cells in Canada,” says Dr. Stéphanie Michaud, CEO of BioCanRx. “We realized we had all the pieces to be able to make a CAR T cell and what we needed was to stitch up all of these components to deliver this therapy to patients. And that’s what we did.”
Researchers in Ottawa and British Columbia developed a made-in-Canada CAR T-cell therapy program using manufacturing equipment and facilities in Canada “We were able to provide this life-saving therapy to patients who would otherwise not have had access ,” Michaud says.
Working together to accelerate development of immunotherapy
This was one of the first projects of BioCanRx, a network of scientists, clinicians, academic institutions, patients, NGOs and industry partners working together to accelerate the development of cancer immunotherapy. Originally funded through the Government of Canada’s Networks of Centres of Excellence program, the network has continued to grow and impact immunotherapy research in Canada since it’s inception in 2015.
Today, CAR T-cell therapy is just one of many areas of research BioCanRx focuses on. “We operate nationally and our goal is to make all cancers treatable through the development of new immunotherapies,” Michaud says.
We operate nationally and our goal is to make all cancers treatable through the development of new immunotherapies.
Canada has a strong record of health discovery but does not perform as well at translating these discoveries to treatment. BioCanRx is addressing the structural issues that block this crucial step by reducing barriers and investing into translational research – the step that brings discovery from the lab bench to clinical trial and ultimately to patients.
“Key to continuing on this path is that we were recognized by the federal government with $38 million in funding from 2024 to 2029 through the inaugural Strategic Science Fund. This has enabled us to continue to deliver on our mission,” Michaud says.
“This network is about bridging that gap between the phenomenal research in Canada and turning it into reality via clinical trials for our patients.”
Learn more at biocanrx.com.
