Business Corner

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Projects for Hydrogen Village

Toronto’s Hydrogen Village is growing.

Hydrogenics Corp. (Mississauga, ON) recently unveiled its HyLYZER™ hydrogen refueller technology, the first of its four projects that are to be part of the Hydrogen Village, a partnership formed last year between industry, government and academia that is being facilitated by Fuel Cells Canada (Vancouver, BC). The goal of Hydrogen Village is to accelerate the commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technology in Canada and strengthen the nation’s role as an international leader in this field.

HyLYZER is Toronto’s first public hydrogen refuelling station. Demonstration of the technology took place at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, Ont., where the refueller used electricity generated by the wind turbine situated at Exhibition Place to produce clean hydrogen. This fuel was then used to refuel a range of demonstration vehicles, all run by Hydrogenic’s fuel cell power module technology.

Upcoming projects over the next two years include fuel cell powered utility work vehicles, a back-up power generator, and a hybrid fuel cell/battery-delivery vehicle.

Hydrogenics will lead a consortium of partners to establish the four projects, which are supported by a $4.25-million Government of Canada strategic investment.

LAB International Expands Management Team
LAB International Inc. (Laval, QC) has expanded its management team. Luc Mainville has been appointed LAB’s executive vice-president, and Frédéric Dumais joins as director of Communications and Investor Relations. The firm has also taken on Denis Pilon, PhD as COO of its LAB Research division’s Canadian operations.

Mainville will continue in his existing role as CFO at LAB International, and will now also oversee all operational and financial aspects of both the LAB Research and LAB Pharma divisions. Prior to joining LAB, Mainville was CFO with Waratah Pharmaceuticals Inc. (now Transition Therapeutics Inc., Toronto, Ont.) and RTP Pharma Inc. (acquired by SkyePharma PLC, London, U.K.).

Dumais has more than 10 years of business-development experience and comes to LAB from CNW Telbec Ltd. (Montreal, QC), where he was sales manager, Corporate Accounts.

Pilon brings to LAB more than 18 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical, research and biotechnology industry. Until recently, Pilon was director for the department of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics at MDS Pharma Services (St-Laurent, QC).

$1M to Generex Biotechnology for Commercialization Venture
Buccal-delivery technology firm Generex Biotechnology Corp. (Toronto, ON) has received a $1-million deposit from Sejong Capital PLC (now known as Charmed Capital PLC, London, U.K.) under a letter of intent.

The non-refundable deposit goes toward the joint venture agreement between the two firms for the commercialization of Generex’s Oralin™ and the RapidMist™ Diabetes Management System.

Under the agreement’s terms, Sejong will invest $25 million, an amount that will be paid to Generex as a licence fee for exclusive rights to commercialize Oralin in India, China and Australia.

ViRexx CSO Receives CMA Award
ViRexx Medical Corp.’s (Edmonton, AB) CSO Dr. Lorne Tyrrell, PhD has been awarded the Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA) (Ottawa, ON) top medical honour.

A renowned virologist with a specialization in viral hepatitis, Tyrrell has received the Frederic Newton Gisborne (F.N.G.) Starr Award, an accolade bestowed upon a CMA member whose outstanding achievement serves as an inspiration and a challenge to the medical profession in Canada. Tyrrell was granted his award at the CMA’s 137th annual meeting in August.

Recipients of the award are recognized for one of the following: an outstanding contribution to science, the fine arts or non-medical literature; achievement in serving humanity under conditions calling for courage or the endurance of hardship in the promotion of health or the saving of life; advancing the humanitarian or cultural life of his or her community; or improving medical service in Canada.

Tyrrell’s work with chemist Morris Robins, PhD led to the worldwide licensing of Lamivudine as the first oral antiviral agent to treat hepatitis B. ViRexx develops therapeutic products for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, hepatitis C and selected solid tumours.

Inex Changes Lead Candidate’s Name
Inex Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Burnaby, BC) has announced a name change for its lead product candidate.

Marqibo™, formerly referred to as Onco TCS, is the new name for Inex’s single-agent treatment for patients with relapsed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The drug is based upon Inex’s Targeted Chemotherapy platform, which encapsulates and delivers therapeutic compounds through the bloodstream to tumour sites.

Inex’s New Drug Application for Marqibo was accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May. Completion of the review is targeted for January 15, 2005.

The firm has a partnership with Enzon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Bridgewater, NJ) for the commercialization of Marqibo in North America.