BUSINESS CORNER

International Wex Technologies to Establish Canadian Subsidiary

Montreal, Que. is the selected location for IWT Bio Inc., the upcoming Canadian subsidiary of International Wex Technologies Inc. (Vancouver, BC).

Through IWT, which will serve as Wex’s research and development centre for North America, Wex plans to maximize the favourable R&D conditions offered by Quebec — a major R&D biotech centre of excellence — and to minimize its overall R&D cost. IWT will have exclusive Canadian marketing and distribution rights to Wex’s product line. The subsidiary will also manage GMP manufacturing, either directly or on a subcontract basis.

IWT will initially be involved in manufacturing clinical trial batches as Wex nears the initiation of studies in Canada and anticipates an IND application in the U.S.

Wex is a neuro-bioscience firm working on drug products focused mainly on pain management.

Four Senior Appointments at Celmed
Montreal, Que.-based Celmed BioSciences Inc. has made four appointments to its scientific managerial team.

Mark Kaufmann, currently vice-president of Corporate Development, will also assume the role of chief operating officer. With 15 years of experience in the North American biopharmaceutical industry, Kaufmann has previously worked with MedImmune Inc. (Gaithersburg, MD) and Nexia Biotechnologies Inc. (Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC).

Reporting to Kaufmann will be three new team members: Dr. Pierre A. Caudrelier as VP of Clinical Affairs; Pascal Puchois, PhD, PharmD as VP of Preclinical Research and Technologies; and Raphaela Borenstein as VP of Regulatory Affairs and Product Strategy.

Celmed focuses on applications in oncology and neurology.

Transition to Oil and Gas for SignalGene
SignalGene Inc. (Montreal, QC) purchased its first oilpatch in December, making its transition from former drug developer to an oil and gas enterprise.

The firm announced it would pay $7.8 million and three million shares to an unnamed private company for oil and gas assets in the Greater Carrot Creek area of west-central Alberta.

The transition from biotech to energy was orchestrated by investment management company Network Capital Inc. (Calgary, AB), which specializes in the oil and gas sector. In November, SignalGene announced its completion of a previously announced private placement with Network Capital.

Totalling $8.68 million, the agreement involved the acquisition by Network Portfolio Management Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Network Capital, of over 100.73 million common shares and over 21.19 million preferred shares, Series 1, at a price of $0.071 per share.

As a result of the transaction, Network Capital owns approximately 48 per cent of SignalGene’s close to 222.66 million common shares outstanding, as well as all of the outstanding preferred shares, Series 1.

Also part of the placement, SignalGene has appointed J. Cameron Bailey, David V. Richards, George Watson, Barry R. Giovanetto and Bernard Coupal as directors of the company. Bailey was also appointed the firm’s CEO.

Acquisition for ChondroGene
Toronto, Ont.-based ChondroGene Ltd. has completed the acquisition of GeneNews Inc., a private Ontario company.

Through the acquisition, ChondroGene took over all outstanding GeneNews shares via the issuance of four million common shares of ChondroGene to the shareholders of GeneNews. Each share cost $0.50.

ChondroGene currently holds certain licensing rights in proprietary GeneNews technology in the areas of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and traumatic joint injury.