1. ICT sector booming

    February 23, 2010 by AURP Canada

    Economy: Atlantic Canada’s information and communication technologies sector rapidly expanding, but region must spend more, latest APEC report reveals

    By John Pollack
    For the Telegraph-Journal

    Atlantic Canada’s information communication technology sector has expanded by almost 50 per cent over the last decade, but the rgion needs to spend more on technologies, states an Atlantic Provinces Economic Council report released Tuesday.

    The ICT industry contributed an estimated $2.65 billion to the regional economy in 2008, 3.7 per cent of GDP, up from 2.5 per cent in 1997, a 48 per cent increase.

    New Brunswick was slightly ahead of the average at 3.9 per cent, up from 2.7 per cent.

    But the East Coast lagged behind the national average of 4.4 per cent of GDP in 2008, up from 2.9 per cent in 1997.

    Despite the comparative position, David Chaundy, the think-tank’s chief economist, said the regional growth is a positive trend that must continue.

    “Where is the potential growth in this region coming from?” Chaundy said. “ICT is going to be an increasingly important part of the global economy.”

    As the world becomes more computerized and technology becomes more advanced, companies producing the goods and services will generate more wealth for their region.

    These technologies can also make any business more productive, but some companies in Atlantic Canada aren’t buying enough of the products and services, Chaundy said.

    Organizations spent $1,690 on ICT per worker on average in 2007, only 80 per cent of the national $2,110 ICT investment per worker.

    “We’ve slipped behind the rest of the nation in terms of investments on software, computers and other technologies,” Chaundy said. “We’re going to slide further behind if we don’t catch up.”

    New Brunswick spent the least on technology at $1,630 per worker, but Nova Scotia helped bring the average down as well only spending $1,670 per employee, while Newfoundland and Labrador and P.E.I. spent $1,770 and $1,860 per worker, respectively.

    “New Brunswick has had a history of leadership in the telecommunications sector,” Chaudy said referring to the McKenna-era call centre boom. “But are we still seeing the broader ICT investment?”

    This is a top concern for the New Brunswick IT Council.

    The three-month old organization will develop a program throughout this quarter to encourage more ICT investment.

    “We’re going to work on communicating the opportunities technology can bring,” said Scott MacIntosh, co-chairman of the council.

    Richard LeBlanc, president and chief executive of the New Brunswick Business Council, said ICT workers are important to all businesses.

    “It’s not just ICT companies but ICT positions within various sectors,” he said.

    He wouldn’t comment how much ICT investment is needed because his organization hasn’t studied it, but he said it is important.

    “We have to look at ways we can retain our employees and one of the ways is to invest in on-going education, leadership training and IT,” he said. “I would see investment in IT as investment in the future growth of our sectors in New Brunswick.”

    The APEC report said that the region has 2,000 firms employing 32,000 people, paying them about 20 per cent higher wages than the average for all other industries.

    Given these numbers, LeBlanc said the sector’s growth is encouraging and needs to continue.

    “Do we need more high paying jobs?” he said. “Absolutely.”

    New Brunswick’s ICT share of provincial GDP, 3.9 per cent, is ahead of Newfoundland and Labrador, 2.8 per cent and P.E.I., 3.0 per cent, but behind Nova Scotia, 4.3 per cent.

    The IT council is happy with the growth so far and is planning programs to help continue to expand the sector.

    Statistics Canada puts New Brunswick’s ICT percentage of the GDP at 3.8 per cent while the province quotes nine per cent.

    The numbers can vary depending on what is considered ICT. Larger figures often include contact centers, which provide services over the phone and internet, but many of those products and services may not considered information communication technologies.

     

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  2. OnX Enterprise Solutions helps organization optimize use of technology

    by AURP Canada

    By Glenna Hanley
    The Daily Gleaner

    A Canadian IT company that has survived the booms and bust of the high tech industry is starting to put down roots in the Atlantic region with its first branch office in Fredericton.

    OnX Enterprise Solutions, an IT solutions provider, established an office here in July and will soon add another in Halifax.

    OnX is privately owned, with headquarters in Toronto. First created in 1983, it is one of the older IT companies, with offices in five major cities and in Cambridge, Ont. in Canada and offices in Dallas, Texas, Atlanta, Georgia, and one in the United Kingdom.

    The company employs about 250 and uses as many as 100 independent contractors.

    Greg Guy, general manager for the eastern region and based on Ottawa, said in a telephone interview there was always a plan to expand into the Atlantic provinces.

    “What drove that a little bit faster than even I anticipated was that Ryan (Veino) was working for us here in Ottawa and, like all good Maritimers, wanted to go home.”

    Ryan Vieno, who grew up in Nova Scotia, is a senior consultant and OnX’s first representative in the Atlantic provinces. By February there will be a second one, located in Halifax.

    Guy said Veino was one of the most senior technical resources in the Ottawa office so he was the best choice to send to Fredericton.

    “We knew he would serve us well and be a great first person on the ground in the Atlantic provinces,” said Guy.

    For his part Veino said he’s happy to be back in the Maritimes. But aside from that he saw that Fredericton had a particular potential for his company.

    “When we looked at the Atlantic provinces Fredericton was definitely on the map because a lot of other IT companies were starting to locate here or have roots here. I certainly took into account that Fredericton was voted one of the top intelligent communities in the world,” said Veino.

    Since coming here in July, Veino has already had contact with government representatives, talking about potential projects.

    OnX is a multifaceted organization, providing a range of services, mainly to large companies and organization, including banks, insurance companies, universities, hospitals and all three levels of government.

    “The Atlantic provinces customers are the same as customers elsewhere. They’re looking for organizations to help them work their way through what is sometimes a pretty complicated decision as far as what to build and how to build it and how to implement it,” said Guy.

    What enables the company to deliver a broad range of services is its partnerships with other IT companies, many of them already operating in Atlantic Canada.

    One of the largest is Cisco, and American-based multinational IT giant. OnX holds a gold certification from Cisco. Other partners are EMC, a storage organization and BM Ware.

    “When we are helping a client is coming up with a solution it’s always a mix of a technical architect, the technical folks that come up with a design, guys like Ryan, and specific products. So we do a lot of work with Cisco-based solutions,” said Guy.

    Helping organization to optimize the use of the technology and infrastructure they already have is one of OnX’s areas of expertise. Another is data centres.

    “There is quite a bit of advancement in data centre technology over the last couple of years.

    “There is a way to design, build and operate them to make them more efficient. That is certainly a sweet spot for us,” said Guy.

    There may be other companies in this area that do what they do but Guy said OnX picks leading technology companies as partners. And in addition they will always choose the product and solutions that are best for their client.

    “We work for our client and they like our unbiased, objective view of technology assessment.”

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  3. New Strategy: Ambir moves beyond IT

    by AURP Canada

    Service: Firm launches business solution practice

    By John Pollack
    Telegraph-Journal

    A prominent Maritime IT firm is expanding beyond technology.

    Traditionally an IT-solutions-for-businesses provider, Ambir recently launched a business solution practice that will offer consulting on business strategy, transition and smaller transitions.

    The new line of business was launched after many of the firm’s senior consultants and executives found that they were working on issues for clients that had little or nothing to do with technology, and more to do with improving their clients business.

    “The technology is only a small part of what tends to be a broader change initiative,” said Phil Holmes, Ambir’s vice president in charge of the new business solutions service. “Very often it’s about the people and the overall direction of the business.”

    To help the firm shape its new business line and shape its clients’ businesses, Ambir announced last week it has recruited former Atlantic Lottery Corp. chief operations officer Adrienne O’Pray.

    “It’s sort of in the building phases,” O’Pray said of the new line of business. “I’ll have a lot of opportunity in shaping that, so it’s pretty interesting.”

    Prior to her six-year stint at the regional gambling corporation, O’Pray worked for NBTel and was around when the company’s successor, Aliant Inc, was starting to have competition.

    “A lot of what I’ve done is to explore strategy and make it come real,” she said.

    O’Pray will be working two-days-a-week for Ambir while she spends more time with her young family and other commitments.

    The new business line will help Ambir provide “end-to-end” solutions for its clients, Holmes said.

    “Very often technology solutions is only in reaction to some broader change or trend,” he said.

    The company expects its existing technology clients may be interesting in the new service and future business solutions projects may have a technology component to them and vice versa.

    The new service line put Ambir in more direct competition with large international consulting firms such as Deloitte.

    “Any large consulting firm can offer advice on strategy,” Holmes said. “Where we believe we have an advantage is that we can help organizations with sustainable business models.”

    The business solutions practice will initially focus on the Atlantic Canadian market before expanding to other parts of Canada and the United States.

    “There are lots of great businesses out there, but we find businesses which were great when they were set up aren’t necessarily best position to play in an increasingly global market,” Holmes said. “The business solutions practice is about evolving business from where you are to where you want to be, to make sure you have continued relevance in the global market place.”

    Ambir, which employs about 55 people in its offices in Fredericton, Saint John and Halifax, only has the two employees working on the business solutions practice compared to about 40 on the technology side, with the remaining employees in executive or administrative jobs.

    Holmes plans to hire three more to his team in the next few months and the division could continue to multiply in staff over the next year or two depending on how well it does.

    “(But) the technology will still be our core service in the short-term,” he said.

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  4. Professor knows need for speed

    February 22, 2010 by AURP Canada

    By Paola Loriggio
    Telegraph-Journal

    Computers UNB researcher working on Java Virtual Machine efficiency

    University of New Brunswick researcher Kenneth Kent plans to make computer systems – from the top online shops to government servers – run faster.

    The computer science professor has spent years improving Java Virtual Machine, a set of computer software programs and data structures that allow Java applications to run on various operating systems. Java is a popular programming language with widespread commercial use.

    Now he’s preparing to take the help of a new centre at the university’s Fredericton campus that will work to speed up Java Virtual Machine on large, complex computer systems.

    The centre, a partnership with IBM, will have some 20 staff and employees about as many graduate students from UNB’s Faculty of Computer Science, according to a statement by the university. The project will receive roughly $3 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over four years. Total costs should reach $5.1 million.

    Eventually, the centre “will have a larger team working on Java technologies than IBM has in its commercial shop in Ottawa,” Kent said in a phone interview from his campus office.

    The project could bring short- and long-term jobs to Fredericton, boost the university’s reputation as a leader in technological research and reduce the province’s brain drain in computer science, Kent said.

    He wants to show student they have options in the province, and hopes IBM will set up a permanent facility in Fredericton if the project proves successful. “We product good workers, but they’re always running away to Ontario,” he said.

    IBM spokeswoman Carrie Bendzsa said the company “works with specific professors on specific projects,” but wouldn’t say whether it would set up shop in New Brunswick after the project is over.

    The centre is “a recognition of the high caliber of staff and research taking place as UNB,” Bendzsa wrote in an email. “Some of our new graduate working on cutting-edge projects like the Java Virtual Machine come from UNB.”

    For students, the centre is a foot in the door of a top company as it races to enhance efficiency on multi-core computer systems, Kent said.

    Computer companies can’t make processors – also called the “cores” much faster, so they can boost performance by linking several processor, he said. Some gaming systems boast 32 processors, he said.

    As multi-core systems gain in power, the often lose in efficiency, the computer science professor added. Most problems concern memory and communication, he said.

    “It’s like going from one employee to 32,” he explains. “You have two challenges, where to put the information so everyone can get it and how to make it so that all the workers are talking to each other.”

    The centre will work to identify bottlenecks and low-performance areas while running Java Virtual Machine technologies on multi-core systems, Kent said. The team will then design algorithms to fix these problems.

    He expects some progress within a year, but the bulk should occur in the third and fourth years. The software tools and techniques created by Kent’s team could hit the market quickly, thanks to the direct link with IBM, he said.

    “Practically, everything would go faster,” he said of the impact on consumers, noting Service New Brunswick’s back-end servers run on Java. Online stores such as Amazon also include Java applications.

    Ken came late into the world of computing. While at Memorial University, he studied history and math, with the ultimate goal of becoming a teacher like his parents.

    He took a mandatory computer science class as part of his math coursework. “I liked it, and I did well, so I thought, ‘I should do another one’” he said.

    When his computer grades surpassed his marks in history, Kent switched minors. When they topped those he got in math, he made computer science his major.

    As a master’s student, he started tinkering with Java Virtual Machine. He modified networked computers to execute the program on several machines at once. At the PhD level, he worked with a supervisor to blend the program with hardware/software co-design.

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  5. Celebrate your innovative achievements

    by AURP Canada

    By Reid Southwick
    Telegraph-Journal

    Report Saint John area focus group told success stories aren’t being properly communicated

    Greater Saint John is already home to innovative and successful companies, and doesn’t have to change very much, but the region is not able to effectively tell its success stories, a new report concludes.

    Officials for the area should measure and monitor those successes and celebrate achievements, says the report, compiled by consultants for two local economic development groups, the Saint John Board of Trade and Enterprise Saint John.

    “Such an influential group as the Board of Trade needs to be tapping its collective membership on their shoulders and saying, tell us how you’re innovating in your little shop,” said Gary Stairs, co-author and CEO of Stellar Learning Strategies. “Or, on an annual basis, who is going to win the innovator of the year award?”

    Stairs and co-author Chris Baker, CEO of Continuum Research, held a focus group with 18 business and civic officials last November about whether they consider their organizations to be innovative and how innovation is achieved, among other considerations.

    Their final report largely concludes that Saint John was and continues to be home to many important innovators, including iMagicTV, a now-defunct company that was the first in the world to offer software for Internet protocol television, and T4G, a technology firm.

    As well, the report says, the city is the site of what authors call “social innovation”, referring to projects, programs, and organizations aimed at reducing poverty.

    The problem is that Saint John leaders are not able to properly communicate their successes, the report found.

    “Really, community leaders feel that there’s not much that need to be changed, except doing a ‘better job of telling our story and not being ashamed of where we come from’,” the report reads.

    “Saint John is no longer a blue collar, industrial community as it was 30 years ago – it is white collar with blue stitching – perhaps all it needs is a new package or a pretty ribbon.”

    Focus group participants said there is a need to change the external – and internal – perceptions of the city, celebrate past, present and future innovation, and attract “visionary” leadership to inspire others.

    “Although a big infusion of population as seen as helpful, more importantly, it was stated that Saint John needs visionary, well-informed and inspired influences and leadership at all levels in the community,” the report reads.

    “The emerging imperative, then, is for the region to attract energetic, youthful and potentially understated leaders who can engage beyond the regional perspective as well as advance the important dialogue among the five regional communities.”

    Stairs said economic development groups should also play a role in fostering “innovation.” Enterprise Saint John should continue to lure innovative investors and businesses to the region, while Fusion Saint John has to keep attracting young people, he said.

    At propellCT, a non-profit association focused on growing the information and communications technology sector, should continue its work, Stairs said.

    “It’s all of those in concert,” he said. “I wish I could say there was a big A-bomb of innovation that I’m about to drop.”

    The 18 officials involved in the focus group were Jane Barry, David Baxter, Andrew Beckett, Jane Fullerton, Randy Hatfield, Dale Knox, Wendy MacDermott, Glenn MacLean, Bob McVicar, Shawn Peterson, Eric Poirier, Anita Punamiya, David Reid, Jeff Roach, Claire Ryan, Eric Savoie, Marilyn Singh, and Jennifer Tupper.

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  6. KIRA to recognize achievements in the N.B. knowledge industry

    by AURP Canada

    By The Daily Gleaner

    It’s time to celebrate New Brunswick’s best in the knowledge industry with the call for nominations for the 12th annual KIRA Awards.

    This year’s event is expected to attract close to 450 knowledge industry professionals from around the province.

    The deadline for nominations in March 26th.

    The Awards ceremony will be held on May 6 at the Delta Fredericton Hotel.

    KIRA 2010 will honour excellence in New Brunswick’s knowledge industry by recognizing companies and individuals.

    Hosted by Enterprise Fredericton, KRIA has seven award categories. Visit www.kirawards.ca to see listings and entry forms.

    New Brunswick companies and individuals can initiate their entries or be nominated by someone else.

    “In New Brunswick, we have lots of amazing work being developed that we should be proud of,” said KIRA 2010 co-chairwoman Colleen Benson. “The KIRA Awards give New Brunswick’s knowledge industry the opportunity to profile companies and individuals leading the way in entrepreneurship and innovation.”

    “Receiving a KIRA Award remains coveted in its recognition,” said co-chairwoman Carolyn Kervin. “In a vibrant industry such as this one, these awards have truly become a symbol of peer recognition and achievement of the highest standard.”

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  7. Canadian digital gaming industry on a roll with new companies, jobs

    January 15, 2010 by AURP Canada

    A recent report by Game Developer Research uncovers a Canadian digital gaming scene that’s extraordinarily bright.  Despite the recession, there’s a thriving gaming industry in Canada with new development studios and job opportunities.

    1/5/2010

    by Alex Wawro and Joaquim P. Menezes

    An independent 2009 games sector census reveals a thriving industry in Canada with new development studios and job opportunities.

    The U.S. games industry, meanwhile, has shown marginal growth sine 2008.

    The U.S game industry has managed to hang on through 2009, an industry census report released by this month by Game Developer Research (GDR) indicates.

    However, it uncovers a Canadian game development scene that’s extraordinarily bright.

    In Canada, the number of game developers grew from 9,500 at the close of 2008 to more than 12,480 in 2009 – an estimated 30 percent increase.

    The fact that video gaming can be an incredible lucrative industry and potentially , a rich rewarding career for students willing to train for, was a recurring motif at the Go Into Games (GIG) Speaker Series event held at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., last year.

    The event was organized by Interactive Ontario, a non-profit trade organization representing more than 200 members in the digital media industry.

    At the event attendees were offered an overview of Canada’s gaming industry, and practical tops how to equip themselves for a career in this sector.

    “For starters, realize its something you can get paid very well to do, if you take a disciplined approach,” said Trevor Fencott, president and CEO of Toronto-based Bedlam Games Inc., a mid-sized developer of frontline console games.

    Fencott urged the students in attendance to notify the naysayers – “perhaps your parents or grandparents” – that there are valid careers in this sector. “It’s a real industry with sophisticated games, big budgets, and an enormous market.”

    At a time when other sectors were lagging, ne noted that video gaming revenues were soaring.

    This market’s 12 per cent compounded annual growth is exceptional when compared to other industries, Fencott said.  “And growth hasn’t abated though we’re in a recession or what it’s being called now.”

    According to the Game Developer Research report, much of the Canadian growth is centered in urban hugs such as Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.

    It’s being attributed to a slew of new studios popping up throughout the country, especially in Montréal and Ontario.

    With government subsidies and a deep pool of experienced talent to draw from, Canada may be poised to lead the gaming industry’s post-recession climb in 2010.

    Overall employment in the North American videogame industry improved slightly in 2009 despite declining sales throughout the latter half of the year.

    The GDR report reveals that the U.S. game development is becoming les dependent on urban hubs like San Francisco and Seattle, as many new studios psorng up in the wake of significant industry layoffs.

    Employment is marginally better at the close of 2009 that it was a year earlier, with 44,806 citizens actively working in the videogame industry (44,400 reported active employment in 2008).

    Mobile and casual games developed by small independent studios account for a significant chunk of that number.

    Casual game studios such as PopCap and Zynga led the fundraising and employment charts in 2009 (Zynga alone netted more than $200 million, including $180 million investment from Russian company Digital Sky Technologies).

    Fencott from Bedlam Games emphasizes that video gaming is an entertainment as well as a “software technology” industry – and this blend of disciplines is one reason it’s doing so well.

    But he cautioned that working in this industry isn’t all fun and games.  “It involves structure, requires a high degree of discipline, and a more than average amount of intelligence.”

    Those considering a career in videogames should plan their training now, he said.

    Another senior Bedlam executive spoke at length about the kinds of course that could equip someone for a career in the digital gaming industry.

    There are plenty of options to choose from – and much would depend upon what you want to specialize in, noted Jon Paul Schelter, technical director and lead programmer at Bedlam.

    He said core principles represented in most frontline developer teams are: Art, Code, Design, Production, Quality Assurance and Business / Management. “There’s plenty of interaction between these.”

    Frontline teams, he said, typically comprise around 50 people, while the budget for creating a frontline console game could range from $5 – $20 million.

    Of the 50 or so team members, the engineering group alone would comprise around 14 persons.

    Source: www.pcworld.com

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  8. Technology: Subsidiary Chalk Media doubling its workforce in Fredericton with government funding

    by AURP Canada

    FREDERICTON – RIM’s subsidiary Chalk Media Corp. is doubling its workforce in Fredericton making the firm more competitive, company representatives said at an announcement Monday.

    With the help of an $800,000 payroll rebate from the provincial government, over the next two years Chalk Media will hire up to 50 programmers, quality assurance workers, analysts and project managers.

    “The goal is to make sure that the product is something that is highly stable and a high-quality offering, which is why we need more software developers to bring it to a new level,” said Dave Jaworsky, Research In Motion Ltd.’s (TSX:RIM) senior director of corporate relations. The spokesman for the BlackBerry maker flew in from Waterloo, Ont. for the announcement.

    The new jobs will bring the Fredericton office to more than 100 employees, which will shorten the development cycles, said Susan Holt, a locally-based global programs advisor for RIM.

    “The product is already in the market now, but the enhancements that we’re making to it can happen more quickly,” she said.

    Holt wouldn’t say what the planned upgrades will be to the Blackberry service that allows secure access to complex content.

    RIM revolutionized communication in 2002 when they put email capabilities into a cellphone. Then in 2006 Chalk Media built off of the Blackberry innovation by adding the ability to deliver multimedia-rich content such as training programs or full-length TV shows. RIM bought Chalk Media last February.

    RIM employs about 10,000 people in offices across North America and in Europe, but when it came time to expand Chalk Media, the Waterloo, Ont.-based company wanted to keep the jobs in Fredericton.

    “We’re the kind of company that tends to grow other aspects of our company in place,” Jaworsky said. “Other companies take on a new technology and move it back to head office, but we’re not that kind of company.”

    This combined with the “partnership” with the provincial government made it “a natural evolution to continue to grow here,” he said.

    The $16,000 per worker will be given as the company completes the hires, and will be used to recoup recruitment, training, equipment and office space expense to expanding.

    Jaworsky said the money is more of a gesture.

    “The key thing is that it really demonstrates the partnership. It shows that the government cares about growing this industry,” he said. “Much like an engagement ring is for a marriage: it’s not required, but this really is a key demonstrator.”

    Without the government funding Jaworsky said the Fredericton operations would have expanded, but more gradually instead of a committed 50 jobs in two years. Recruitment for the positions began late last year and about 10 people have been hired.

    “When Jim Balsillie (co-CEO of RIM) and I talked about this acquisition,” Premier Shawn Graham said, “he said this was just the start of a long partnership, which we would see substantial growth over a long period of time. And we’re witnessing that growth.”

    With the jobs expected to be in the $60,000 to $75,000 a year range, New Brunswick computer science graduates will have a great incentive to stay in the province, said Graham.

    RIM has relationships with universities in many of the cities it has offices in and the premier said the University of New Brunswick will benefit from the expanded Chalk Media office.

    “There’s going to be unique opportunities that will show themselves in the future,” said Graham, declining to comment further.

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  9. New investments further enhance infrastructure at Huntsman Marine Science Centre

    January 11, 2010 by AURP Canada

    October 19, 2009

    St. Andrews, NB – Two levels of government and the Huntsman Marine Science Centre recently announced investments aimed at the development of a 1,858-sq-metre (20,000 sq. ft.) discovery centre to replace the existing aquarium at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre (HMSC) in St. Andrews.  The provincial and federal governments each announced commitments of $2.5 million for the project, valued at more than $8 million, to develop the discovery centre on its lower campus property.  Federal contributions are being delivered via ACOPA, under the Community Adjustment Fund (CAF), which is part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.

    The HMSC is a registered not-for-profit which develops and transfer relevant science and technology to the private sector; contributes to the training and education of future generations of scientists and technologists; pioneers marine education for a broad range of students and the general public; and provides knowledge and service in the identification and classification of marine organisms through the Atlantic Reference Centre.

    The new discovery centre will replace the existing aquarium complex, and will include a self-guided orientation centre, a multiplex aquarium facility, a conference and lecture centre with live-video conference capabilities, and a renewable energy exhibit.  The new centre will house renewed teaching and lecturing facilities, and will become a four-season tourist destination that complements other initiatives currently underway in the Charlotte Country area of Southwestern New Brunswick.  The discovery Centre will offer improved education programs to elementary school students in New Brunswick, and improve research capabilities for universities and research organizations that partner with the HMSC.

    A recent study by BioAtlantech and its partners identified a significant marine bio-science cluster in New Brunswick, with economic activity and employment of $74 million, and 440 highly qualified persons, respectively, in 2007.  Southwestern New Brunswick alone accounts for nearly $40 million of this total.

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  10. Two New Brunswick organizations collaborate to improve outcomes in diagnostics of ovarian cancer

    by AURP Canada

    October 22, 2009

    Moncton, NB – BioProspecting NB Inc. (BPNBI) and the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (ACRI) recently announced that they have established a formal collaboration to develop early diagnostic for ovarian cancer based on BPNBI’s unique, proprietary cancer management platform.  The research and development program is being carried out at the ACRI facility in Moncton and the BPNBI research facility in Sackville.  The unique fit between ACRI’s work with cancer biomarkers and BPNBI’s discoveries and development capabilities will allow the two to move closer to an early diagnostic test for ovarian cancer.

    There are no approved early diagnostics for ovarian cancer. The program is capitalizing on recent findings by BPNBI that could lead to an entry-level diagnostic based on a simple blood test to measure the amount of a specific biomarker, since cancer tumors shed sells that circulate in the blood. Since the shed cells contain abundant amounts of the biomarker, it can be detected. Such an increase in the amount of biomarker in the blood test would suggest to the clinician that further testing is in order.  The novel biomarker is overproduced in ovarian, breast, and prostate cancers, and increases the severity of the biomarker increases as the cancer progresses.  The initial focus of the technology will be on the management of patients with ovarian cancer.

    According to the research partners, which include company founder Dr. Jack Stewart and the CEO of the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute, Dr. Rodney Ouellette, a major diagnostic challenge with ovarian cancer is that there are no symptoms until the very late stages, and that when ovarian cancer is detected in the first two of the four stages, a patients chances of survival are usually 80 per cent or higher.

    BioProspecting NB Inc. is a private early-stage drug development company created in 2005 by Professor Jack Stewart and Paul Gunn following the discovery and development of a proprietary peptide, soricidin. Soricidin is the basis for BPNBI’s targeted cancer management program focused on an ovarian cancer therapeutic and companion diagnostic.  The company works out of their state-of-the-art lab in Sackville, New Brunswick.  The Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (ACRI) is a non-profit organization founded in 1998 and housed at the Dr. Georges L. Dumont Regional Hospital in Moncton, New Brunswick.  Thanks to its unique expertise, the ACRI has become a true centre of excellence in cancer research.  Scientists are working with partners in Canada and round the world to discover the genetic origins of cancer and pursuing three main areas of development: early screening; enhanced diagnosis; and targeted treatment.

    A recent study by BioAtlantech and its partners identified New Brunswick’s most significant bio-medical research cluster in Moncton / Southeast NB, with economic activity and employment of $22 million and 212, respectively in 2007. These robust figures represent only discovery-based bioscience research in the public and private sector, and exclude health services and other health sectors, such as e-health. Southeastern New Brunswick is home to two significant universities.

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