Today, the Ottawa Citizen featured members of the BioCanRx network in a feature on immunotherapy, “Is Immunotherapy a cancer game-changer? Here’s why scientists say yes,” about the state of the unfolding promise of biotherapeutic development for cancer treatment.
The feature is the result of BioCanRx’s Cancer Immunotherapy Journalism and Mentorship Award Program, a training and development fellowship that pairs a senior journalist with journalism students to increase capacity of health, biomedical and biotechnology reporting. This year’s recipients of the award were Andrew Duffy, senior writer at the Ottawa Citizen, and Kevin Bradley, a Master’s student at the University of King’s College. Duffy wrote the story while providing mentorship to Bradley, who contributed one of the side bars.
The article includes interviews with global experts in the field of immunotherapy who attended the inaugural Summit for Cancer Immunotherapy this past June in Halifax, including BioCanRx’s Scientific Director Dr. John Bell.
“Scientists have started to decipher cancer’s complex cloaking device. Among other things, they’ve discovered that tumours not only hide, but also commit acts of sabotage: They secrete proteins and other substances that cancel the immune system’s initial response,” writes Duffy.
Read the full story:
“Is Immunotherapy a cancer game-changer? Here’s why scientists say yes”
Series pieces:
“Immunotherapy 101: Everything you need to know”
“Ottawa researchers establish firm to find immunotherapy investors”
The BioCanRx Cancer Immunotherapy Journalism and Mentorship Award Program was made possible through financial support from the Canada Institutes of Health Research and Merck Canada Inc.
The BioCanRx network is accelerating to the clinic Canada’s most promising and innovative cancer biotherapeutics designed to save lives and enable a better quality of life. BioCanRx invests in Canadian innovations and the best the field has to offer, always looking for a clear path to the clinic for the benefit of patients. BioCanRx works in partnership with industry, charities and other agencies to translate immune-based technologies from the lab into early phase clinical trials, and addresses socio-economic considerations necessary for their adoption by health-care systems. The network is developing and attracting the talent needed for a thriving health biotechnology sector in Canada. BioCanRx is provided funding from the federal government’s Networks of Centres of Excellence, and support from industry, the provinces and many national charities.
