NMIN submitted its second Annual Progress Report to the NCE on 15 June 2021.
The report compiled the network’s progress as of the end of 2020-21, accomplished despite the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the achievements reported:
- NMIN has made 32 research investments, including 24 research projects, 2 commercialization-facilitating research platforms, and 6 strategic research initiatives (including one COVID-19-related project) resulting in 7 patents filed and 369 publications.
- NMIN has spun off 3 new companies and created 11 jobs, with the aim of creating 10 new companies and 100 new highly skilled jobs by 2024.
- NMIN has 97 partners (2020-21), leveraging $1.66 in partner contributions for every $1 of NCE investment in research. NMIN is uniting Canada’s world-leading nanomedicine sector and partnering strategically across sectors to foster a robust nanomedicine ecosystem.
- NMIN has engaged 163 HQP toward preparing the next generation of nanomedicine scientists and entrepreneurs. In 2019-21, NMIN partnered with Mitacs to award 6 studentships, issued 9 HQP Advanced Training Certificates, offered 47 capacity-building sessions, and made available 966 individual advanced capacity-building opportunities.
- NMIN has established 2 novel world-class Core Facilities that will continue to catalyze innovation in nanomedicines beyond NMIN’s NCE mandate: NanoCore, providing state-of-the-art nanoparticle formulations and a standardized nanomedicines characterization service to enable the ready manufacture of potent therapies for R&D purposes; and PharmaCore, supporting in vitro and in vivo studies, as well as scale-up, stability testing and manufacturing to help confirm commercial potential of new therapeutic compounds.
- Canadian nanomedicine technology and the work of NMIN researchers and their biotech companies contributed indispensably to Pfizer/BioNTech’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, and NMIN leaders are spearheading the development of a Canadian biomanufacturing strategy in response to COVID vaccine shortages.
- NMIN has built research support resources, including an online repository of capacity-building and scientific presentation videos, and three interactive online IP management tools developed in collaboration with a patent agent with expertise in biotech and pharmaceutical IP.