Bioniche projects receive $17.6 million from TPC

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc has received $17.2 million from Technology Partnerships Canada (TPC) for two R&D projects that will create nearly 600 jobs in Belleville ON. TPC is providing $7.6 million to the first project targeting a vaccine to reduce E.coli bacteria in cattle. The second project will receive $9.6 million to develop mycobacterial cell wall DNA complex (MCC) technology to combat human bladder and prostate cancers, as well as livestock diseases and growth enhancement through the stimulation of immune response. The E.coli project will also involve scaling up production to compliance with certified Good Manufacturing Practice and locating it in Belleville. The project was the subject of an earlier collaboration between Bioniche, Alberta Research Council and Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network, the latter being the original developer of the vaccine technology (R$, January 29/01). The MCC project has already completed Phase I/II clinical trials based upon mycobacterium phlei, a pure culture of non-patheogenic micro-organism. MCC technology stimulates the immune system while inhibiting cellular proliferation through apoptosis (programmed cell death)....