Women in Bio: Commercializing CAR-T Immunotherapy in Canada

Chimeric antigen receptor T cell immunotherapy is a cancer treatment where a patient’s T cells are modified to attack cancer. It has been suggested that CAR-T therapy might eventually replace all chemotherapy and stem cell transplants. However challenges remain. On June 13, 2019, at the NEOMED Institute, the Greater Montreal chapter of Women In Bio will host a half-day conference bringing together various players in CAR-T immunotherapy to discuss the challenges as well as the opportunities of CAR-T therapy within Quebec and Canadian contexts. Helen Trifonopoulos, MBA Head of Health Policy and Patient Access at Novartis Canada will open the event with a presentation titled “The CAR-T Journey in Canada” and the approval of Kymriah®, the first CAR-T therapy to receive regulatory approval in Canada. Two panels will follow canvassing opportunities and challenges in CAR-T immunotherapy including the translational research taking place in Canada, manufacturing and delivery challenges and successes as well as the regulatory and economic considerations for funding CAR-T treatments. Panelists will include Stéphanie Michaud, PhD, President And CEO, BioCanRx, Kelley Parato,PhD, Director, Health Challenge Program, NRC, Dr. Michèle de Guise, Director of health services and technology evaluation INESSS, Joanne Castonguay, MSc, Economist and Associate Professor Pôle Santé HEC, Research Director, Institute for Research on Public Policy, Nadine Kolas, PhD, Senior Policy Analyst Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate, Martin Giroux, Director of Operatios at CETC (Centre for Excellence in Cellular Therapy) of the CIUSSS de l’Est de Montreal, Dr. Sonia Cellot, MD, PhD Division of Hematology and Oncology, CHU Sainte-Justine and Ella-Korets-Smith, M.Sc, MBA, CBO of Virica Biotech.