Stand Up To Cancer Canada Announces New Cancer Stem Cell Dream Team To Attack Brain Cancer in Children and Adults

Pan-Canadian Team of Researchers Will Receive CA $11.7 Million in Funding from Stand Up To Cancer Canada, Genome Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Cancer Stem Cell Consortium, and Ontario Institute for Cancer Research

February, 4, 2016—TORONTO—A team of top Canadian scientists, including leading pioneers of stem cell research, was named today to lead a new attack on brain cancers in children and adults, using genomic and molecular profiling technologies to focus on the cancer stem cells that drive the growth of tumours.

“Brain tumours are not as common as many other forms of cancer, but they are devastating, especially when they strike the very young,” said Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, Nobel laureate and institute professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and co-chair of the Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) Canada Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). “The Dream Team will bring new insights to brain cancer research, which has been an underfunded area.”

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Real time outbreak surveillance using genomics now possible in resource-limited conditions

New research published in Nature has shown how genome sequencing can be rapidly established to monitor outbreaks.

TORONTO, Feb. 3, 2016 /CNW/ – Researchers designed a “genome sequencing laboratory in a suitcase”, employing a novel DNA sequencer, transporting the equipment in less than 50kg of airline luggage. This was initially deployed in Conakry, Guinea in April 2015 where Ebola samples from patients could be sequenced as soon as new cases were diagnosed. This reduced delays shipping to traditional genome laboratories often located on a different continent. The team found that they could generate sequencing information in as little as 24 hours after receiving a sample, with the sequencing process taking less than an hour.

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Trillium Therapeutics Acquires Fluorinov Pharma

Combined entity creates strong foundation for leading Canadian immuno-oncology company

TORONTO, ON (January 28, 2016) – FACIT has announced that Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIL, TSX:TR; “Trillium”) has acquired all of the outstanding shares of privately-held Fluorinov Pharma Inc. (“Fluorinov” or the “Company”), a FACIT portfolio company. The transaction combines Fluorinov’s pipeline of oncology therapeutics and risk-reduced drug discovery engine, with Trillium’s pool of innovative immuno-oncology therapies. The resulting impressive arsenal of clinical and near-clinical stage products is positioned to benefit greatly from the capital and development resources available to Trillium. The acquisition also reflects the strength of innovation within the province, as well as the current momentum behind biotechnology and product development expertise in Ontario.

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OICR’s Jonathan Dursi and team win hackathon aimed at fixing Toronto’s traffic woes

During the week, Jonathan Dursi uses his skills at OICR to help tackle one of the world’s biggest problems – cancer. But this fall Dursi instead used his talents to come up with ways to mitigate one of the greatest annoyances of life in Toronto – traffic. He did this with more than a hundred others interested in traffic and planning at the TrafficJam, a two-day hackathon organized by the City of Toronto to find solutions to traffic problems in the city. Twenty-two teams participated in the event and Dursi and his team, the Traffic Jam Tacos, came out on top.

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3CTN-funded clinical trial to test new method of finding genomic changes in patients with aggressive prostate cancer

The Canadian Cancer Clinical Trials Network (3CTN) is pleased to announce, in collaboration with Janssen Canada, funding of $500,000 to a study led by Dr. Kim Chi of the Vancouver Prostate Centre and the BC Cancer Agency. The study will evaluate the use of cell-free (or cfDNA) profiling to identify genomic alterations in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), the lethal form of prostate cancer that has become resistant to hormone treatments.

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Ontario Institute for Cancer Research invests $1.2 million to support oncology drug development in Ontario

Five promising early stage research projects that would benefit from OICR’s input and expertise were selected from a province-wide call for proposals.

Toronto (January 7, 2016) – Dr. Tom Hudson, President and Scientific Director of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) announced today that OICR will invest $1.2 million in funding, plus expertise and in-kind support, to help bring five promising oncology drug development projects closer to the clinic.

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OICR funds world-first clinical trial using cancer-fighting viruses

Drs. John Bell, David Stojdl and Brian Lichty have together been investigating viral therapies for over 15 years. On July 10 in Ottawa they announced that this work has now moved to the clinic, with the launch of a world-first clinical trial using their custom-made cancer-fighting viruses.

Dr. Bell is leader of OICR’s Immuno- and Bio-therapies Program (ORBiT), based at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

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OICR partnership with Johnson and Johnson to develop new treatments for haematological cancers

Development of a set of novel therapeutic compounds identified by OICR’s Drug Discovery Program and researchers at the University Health Network (UHN) will be accelerated thanks to a recently announced collaboration between Johnson & Johnson and the Institute, UHN and Novera Therapeutics, a new company established by the Fight Against Cancer Innovation Trust (FACIT) to enable further development of the compounds.

Novera will receive an upfront payment from Johnson & Johnson and can receive a total of approximately $450 million as well as funds from potential royalties and sales. As part of the deal, Janssen will have an exclusive license option for candidate drugs that are developed through the collaboration. After exercising this option Janssen will undertake all pre-clinical, clinical and commercial development.

“Janssen is an excellent partner for this exciting program and we welcome the opportunity to leverage their distinguished development expertise in haematological cancers. Patients in Ontario and worldwide will benefit from this collaborative and innovative model for translational research,” says Dr. Tom Hudson, President and Scientific Director of OICR.

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Stand Up to Cancer Canada announces breast cancer Dream Team

The first Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) Canadian Dream Team of researchers was announced September 30, with $9 million provided over four years to support Canadian research on aggressive types of breast cancer.

The team, led by Dr. Tak Mak at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, will be developing new therapies aimed at changes in the genomes of cancer cells that make breast cancer tumours unstable and vulnerable to attack – the so-called “Achilles’ heel” of aggressive breast tumours. The researchers will test three candidate drugs and hope to identify biomarkers that will help to better personalize treatment for patients.

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FACIT Announces Investment in Fusion Pharmaceuticals and Alpha-Emitting Radiotherapeutics

Image-guided medicines for hard to treat cancers built using next generation medical isotopes

TORONTO, ON (December 16, 2015) – FACIT and Fusion Pharmaceuticals (“Fusion”) announced today an investment to support the development of Fusion’s radiopharmaceutical FPX-01 for the treatment of cancer. Fusion’s drug candidate leverages the potent cell-killing potential of alpha particle-emitting medical isotopes, with the precise targeting ability of a monoclonal antibody to selectively internalize and destroy cancer cells while sparing neighbouring healthy cells. Early results from a Phase I imaging study demonstrated on-target delivery in patients with solid tumours. FACIT’s investment will support efforts to advance FPX-01 into a Phase I/II clinical trial to examine its potential to treat cancer.

Fusion is leveraging its unique expertise in creating alpha-emitting therapies to build and cultivate a pipeline of novel products through both in-licensing and academic/industrial collaborations. The effectiveness and value of alpha-emitting agents is validated by recent approvals and marketing launches of Bayer’s Xofigo®, which is administered on an out-patient basis. FPX-01 is expected to have the ability to treat a wide range of different tumour types given the high level of expression of the drug’s target in numerous cancers.

Jeff Courtney, FACIT’s Chief Commercial Officer, remarked “Given the re-invigoration of the radiopharmaceutical space, Fusion represents a unique opportunity to leverage the expertise of the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization in manufacturing radiopharmaceuticals and Fusion’s proprietary chemistry. We believe Fusion’s unique alpha-emitting therapies are positioned well to build on the recent successes in the field and, if proven to be effective in treating cancer, represent an attractive complement to existing and new oncology regimens.”

Fusion is a spin-out from the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (“CPDC”) at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Created in 2008 under the Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (“CECR”) program, CPDC has received funding support from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (“OICR”) and additional private and public sector support. The CPDC has grown to become a leader in the clinical development and manufacturing of radioimaging and radiotherapeutics. In 2015, CPDC conducted a clinical trial in which FPX-01 was administered in an imaging study lead by Drs. Rosalyn Juergens and Karen Gulenchyn, at Hamilton Health Sciences.

“Alpha (particle)-emitting agents have the potential to eradicate even the most resistant types of cancers and unlike previous generations of therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals they can be administered in conventional cancer treatment facilities,” said Dr. John Valliant, CEO of Fusion Pharmaceuticals and Professor at McMaster University. “Fusion’s approach has the added benefit that it uses non-invasive imaging to show that the drug hits the target of interest, and as a way to select patients who are most likely to respond to treatment. We are excited to be joined by FACIT to create a new Canadian biotechnology company to advance FPX-01 and build our pipeline of new drug candidates and tools to help deliver effective personalized treatments to cancer patients.”

About FACIT FACIT (Fight Against Cancer Innovation Trust) is an independent business trust established by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) to undertake development and commercialization activities related to cancer research, products and drug discovery. For more information, please visit the website at facit.ca or email info@facit.ca.

About Fusion Pharmaceuticals Fusion Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage company focused on developing novel radiotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer. Fusion is a spin-out from the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC) at McMaster University, Hamilton. Please visit the website at fusionpharma.com.

Contact David Koehler, PhD Director, Fund Operations | david.koehler@facit.ca

Lynn Wick Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. | info@fusionpharma.com

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