BREAKING THROUGH: DELIVERING ON THE PROMISE OF GENE THERAPY

Janet Rossant, PhD, C.C., FRSC

President,
Gairdner Foundation
(Toronto, ON)

Dr. Janet Rossant, C.C., FRSC, is SickKids Chief of Research Emeritus at the SickKids Research Institute, Senior Scientist, Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Program at the Hospital for Sick Children, and a world-renowned expert in developmental biology. She has established SickKids as a global forerunner in genetic research. Dr. Rossant is also University Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto and began her term as the Gairdner Foundation’s President and Scientific Director in 2016.

Dr. Rossant trained at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, United Kingdom. She has been in Canada since 1977, first at Brock University and then at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute within Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, from 1985 to 2005. Her research interests centre on understanding the genetic control of normal and abnormal development in the early mouse embryo using both cellular and genetic manipulation techniques. Her interests in the early embryo have led to the discovery of a novel placental stem cell type, the trophoblast stem cell.

Dr. Rossant has been recognized for her contributions to science with many awards, including the 10th ISTT Prize, from the International Society for Transgenic Technologies; the Ross G. Harrison Medal (lifetime achievement award) from the International Society of Developmental Biologists; the Killam Prize for Health Sciences; the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology; the Conklin Medal from the Society for Developmental Biology; and the CIHR Michael Smith Prize in Health Research, Canada’s most prestigious health research award. She is a Fellow of both the Royal Societies of London and Canada, and is a foreign Associate of the U.S. National Academy of Science. Dr. Rossant received the 2015 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award, the first woman to do so.

Dr. Rossant is actively involved in the international developmental and stem cell biology communities and has contributed to the scientific and ethical discussion on public issues related to stem cell research. She chaired the working group of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research on Stem Cell Research, which came up with guidelines for CIHR funded research in this area.

December 2, 2020
11:00 am - 11:05 am

WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS

Speaker

December 3, 2020
11:30 am - 11:50 am

Main Findings from the CCA's Expert Panel on the Approval and Use of Gene Therapies in Canada

Chair, Expert Panel on the Approval and Use of Somatic Gene Therapies in Canada

December 3, 2020
11:50 am - 12:15 pm

DISCUSSION WITH THE CCA'S EXPERT PANEL ON THE approval and use of somatic gene therapies in canada

Chair, Expert Panel on the Approval and Use of Somatic Gene Therapies in Canada

December 3, 2020
1:40 pm - 2:40 pm

COMING SOON: THE FUTURE OF GENE EDITING AND GENE THERAPIES

Speaker

Michael Hayden, MB, ChB, PhD, FRCP(C), FRSC, C.M., O.B.C

University Killam Professor, Senior Scientist, Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Department of Medical Genetics,
University of British Columbia
(Vancouver, BC)

Dr. Hayden is a Killam Professor at the University of British Columbia and Senior Scientist at the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics.

Author of over 900 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Hayden’s research focuses on genetic diseases, including gene therapy, Huntington disease, predictive and personalized medicine and drug development. Dr. Hayden identified the first mutations underlying lipoprotein lipase (LPL) deficiency and developed gene therapy approaches to treat this condition, the first approved gene therapy (Glybera) in the western world.

He is the most cited author in the world on ABCA1 and Huntington disease.

Dr. Hayden is the recipient of numerous prestigious honours and awards. He was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2017; awarded the Order of Canada (2011), and the Order of British Columbia (2010). Dr. Hayden is committed to empowering others. In addition to mentoring over 100 graduate students and postdocs, he is also a TED mentor.

December 3, 2020
12:25 pm - 1:20 pm

GENE THERAPY: THE CANADIAN CONTEXT
GLYBERA REINVENTED: A WINDING STORY OF COMMITMENT, CREATIVITY, AND INNOVATION

Panelist

Katherine A. High, MD

Professor Emerita, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania,
Co-founder and former President and Head of R&D, Spark Therapeutics,
Visiting Professor, Rockefeller University
(Philadelphia, USA)

Dr. Katherine High trained in internal medicine, hematology, and molecular genetics. Her pioneering bench-to-bedside studies of gene therapy for hemophilia led to a series of basic and clinical investigations that characterized the human immune response to gene delivery vectors. Her work evolved to encompass clinical translation of genetic therapies for multiple inherited disorders, and as the inaugural director of a Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she was also an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Dr. High assembled a multidisciplinary team of scientists and physicians to discover and develop new gene therapies for genetic diseases. In 2013, her Center at CHOP spun out as Spark Therapeutics, where she led the team that achieved the first FDA approval of a gene therapy for a genetic disease. She is the author of more than 200 scientific papers and holds multiple patents in gene therapy. She is currently a Visiting Professor at Rockefeller University.

December 2, 2020
11:45 am - 12:25 pm

Turning Genes into Medicines: Highlights and Hurdles in Development of Gene Therapies for Genetic Disease

Ubaka Ogbogu, LLB, SJD

Associate Professor, Faculties of Law and Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of Alberta
(Edmonton, AB)

Dr. Ubaka Ogbogu is an Associate Professor in the Faculties of Law and Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Katz Research Fellow in Health Law and Science Policy at the University of Alberta. He holds bachelor’s and graduate degrees in law from the Universities of Benin (Nigeria) and Alberta, and he completed his doctoral work on the legal history of vaccination policies in Canada in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. His scholarly work is focused broadly on the ethical, legal and societal implications of novel and emerging biomedical research and healthcare technologies, primarily stem cell research, and on the ethical, legal and social challenges associated with existing medical and public health systems, practices and infrastructures. He has held and worked on numerous stem cell and cell therapy research grants, and he is a member of the Canadian Stem Cell Network. His academic publications have explored a diverse range of issues in healthcare and science policy, including health information privacy protections, genetic testing, bio-banks, stem cell research, ownership of the human body, genetic discrimination, global health, public health, vaccination, infectious diseases and research ethics, and ethical and legal issues surrounding complementary and alternative medicine.

Dr. Ogbogu is the recipient of the 2015 Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations Distinguished Academic Early Career Award and a member of the University of Alberta’s prestigious Health Law Institute.

December 3, 2020
11:50 am - 12:15 pm

DISCUSSION WITH THE CCA'S EXPERT PANEL ON THE approval and use of somatic gene therapies in canada

Panel member, Panel member, Expert Panel on the Approval and Use of Somatic Gene Therapies in Canada

Jay Ingram, C.M.

Science broadcaster and writer, Former Co-Host, Discovery Channel’s “Daily Planet”
(Calgary, AB)

Jay Ingram has hosted both the premier radio science program in Canada, CBC’s Quirks and Quarks, and its TV counterpart, Discovery Channel Canada’s Daily Planet.

A prolific author, Ingram has written 19 books, many of which have been best-sellers. His books have been translated into 15 languages. He wrote a science column for The Toronto Star for 12 years, and was a contributing editor to Owl magazine.

From 2005-2015, he was Chair of the Science Communications Program at the Banff Centre. He is also co-founder and board member of the arts and engineering smashup called Beakerhead, which began in September 2013 in Calgary.

In 2010, Ingram was appointed as a member to the Order of Canada for a lifetime of service in science communication. He has also been awarded the Sandford Fleming Medal from the Royal Canadian Institute, the Royal Society of Canada’s McNeil Medal for the Public Awareness of Science, the Michael Smith Award (now the NSERC Award for Science Promotion), the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and 6 honorary degrees.

December 3, 2020
1:40 pm - 2:40 pm

COMING SOON: THE FUTURE OF GENE EDITING AND GENE THERAPIES

Speaker

Duncan J. Stewart, MD, FRCPC, FCAHS

Executive Vice-President, Research,
The Ottawa Hospital;
Professor, University of Ottawa
(Ottawa, ON)

Dr. Duncan Stewart is a pioneering Canadian cardiovascular researcher, recognized for his many important discoveries in blood vessel biology and regenerative medicine, as well as his dedication to translating these discoveries into benefits for patients and society. After beginning his career in academic cardiology at McGill University in Montreal, he moved to Toronto as Head of Cardiology at St. Michael’s Hospital and later became the Division Director of Cardiology at the University of Toronto, and Executive Director of the McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine. He was recruited to lead the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) in 2007.

Dr. Stewart has published more than 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has received a number of distinctions and prizes, including the Dexter Man Chair of Cardiology and Research Achievement Award of the University of Toronto, and the Research Achievement Award of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Throughout his career, Dr. Stewart has demonstrated leadership in bringing diverse groups of clinicians and scientists together to put Canada on the world stage for translational cardiovascular and regenerative medicine research.

As well as serving as Executive Vice-President of Research at The Ottawa Hospital and CEO and Scientific Director of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Dr. Stewart is an active senior scientist in The Ottawa Hospital’s Regenerative Medicine Program and holds the Evelyne and Rowell Laishley Chair. He is also a Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, President and Scientific Director of the Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Scientific Director of the Canadian Vascular Network and a practicing cardiologist.

December 2, 2020
2:10 pm - 2:15 pm

CLOSING REMARKS

Speaker

Bartha Maria Knoppers, PhD, O.C., O.Q., FRSC, FCAHS

Full Professor and Director, Centre of Genomics and Policy, Faculty of Medicine, Human Genetics,
McGill University
(Montréal, QC)

Bartha Maria Knoppers, PhD (Comparative Medical Law, Sorbonne, France), is a Full Professor and Director of the Centre of Genomics and Policy, Faculty of Medicine, Human Genetics, McGill University.

She holds the Canada Research Chair in Law and Medicine (Tier 1, since 2001), and she is the founder of the Population Project in Genomics (P3G) and CARTaGENE Quebec’s population biobank. Chair of the Ethics Working Party of the International Stem Cell Forum (2005-2015); Co-Chair of the Sampling/ELSI Committee of the 1000 Genomes Project (2007-2014); Scientific Steering Committee Member of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (2009- ), she is Co-Chair, Regulatory and Ethics Working Group, and one of the Founding Members of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health.

In 2016, Bartha Maria Knoppers was named a Commander of the Order of Montréal. She received the Medal Paul-André Crépeau for her work in comparative medical law (The Canadian Bar Association) in 2015, and was inducted into the Academy of Great Montrealers in the Scientific category in 2014 by the Montreal Board of Trade. She was named Champion of Genetics by the Canadian Gene Cure Foundation (2013), and received the Montréal InVivo Prize for the life sciences and health technologies sector in 2012.

She holds four Doctorates Honoris Causa and she is Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Hastings Center (bioethics), the Canadian Academy Health Sciences (CAHS) and, most recently in November 2016, she was named Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (Academy of Social Sciences). She is also an Officer of the Order of Canada and of Quebec.

December 3, 2020
12:25 pm - 1:20 pm

GENE THERAPY: THE CANADIAN CONTEXT
The Right to Science and Somatic Conundrums

Speaker

Christopher McCabe, PhD

CEO and Executive Director,
Institute of Health Economics
(Edmonton, AB)

Dr. Christopher McCabe is the CEO and Executive Director of the Institute of Health Economics (IHE). Dr. McCabe brings more than 25 years of experience as a health economist to his role with the organization. He trained and worked for 20 years in the UK before emigrating to Canada. During this time he held Full Professorships at the Universities of Sheffield, Warwick and Leeds. He was more recently a Professor of Health Economics at the University of Alberta, where he was appointed Capital Health Endowed Research Chair at the University of Alberta, leading two Genome Canada research groups focused on the evaluation, adoption and implementation of Precision Medicine technologies. He also served on the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health Care (CADTH) Health Economics Working Group, which authored the 4th Edition of the CADTH Guidelines for the Economic Evaluation of Health Technologies in 2017. He was lead author of the addendum to the CADTH Guidelines focused on co-dependent therapies, published in 2019. More recently Dr. McCabe advised the Patented Medicines Price Review Board on the technical issues related to the revision of their regulations for setting the price of new drugs in Canada. He is currently Chair of the Royal Society of Canada COVID Task Force Working Group on the Economy.

December 2, 2020
12:45 pm - 1:30 pm

Equity and Sustainability in Canadian Access to Gene Therapy Innovations

Speaker

Danica B. Stanimirovic, MD, PhD

Director Research, Translational Bioscience,
National Research Council of Canada
(Ottawa, ON)

Danica Stanimirovic, MD, PhD is Director of the Translational Bioscience Department, NRC’s Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre. She manages a portfolio of R&D projects aimed at developing, de-risking and advancing complex bio-therapeutics through preclinical development, in partnership with academia and biopharma companies. Her scientific focus is on antibody and gene therapies for neurological diseases. A recipient of several Canadian and international awards, Danica has led strategic NRC Programs and served on Scientific Advisory Boards of biopharma companies and international R&D initiatives such as EU Innovative Medicines Initiative. She is a founding member of the International Brain Barriers Society and Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa. Trained in medicine and neurology at the University of Belgrade, and in brain research at the National Institutes of Health, USA, she has authored over 170 manuscripts and 22 patents in the field of integrative neuroscience, innovative biologics and drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier.

December 3, 2020
12:25 pm - 1:20 pm

GENE THERAPY: THE CANADIAN CONTEXT

Moderator

Durhane Wong-Rieger, PhD

President and CEO,
Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders (CORD)
(Toronto, ON)

Dr. Durhane Wong-Rieger, PhD is Chair of Rare Disease International, Vice-Chair of Asia Pacific Rare Disease International, member of the Editorial Board of The Patient-Patient Centred Outcomes Research, member of the Global Commission to End the Diagnosis Odyssey for Rare Diseases and member of Health Technology Assessment International Patient /Citizen Involvement Inter-est Group. In Canada, she is President & CEO of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders, Chair of the Consumer Advocare Network, President & CEO of the Institute for Optimizing Health Outcomes and Chair of Canadian Heart Patient Alliance. She is a certified Health Coach.

Dr. Wong-Rieger has served on numerous health policy advisory committees and panels and is a member of Ontario’s Rare Disease Implementation Working Group and member of Genome Canada Steering Committee for the Rare Dis-ease Precision Health Initiative.

Durhane has a PhD in psychology from McGill University and was professor at the University of Windsor, Canada. She is a trainer and frequent lecturer and author of three books and many articles.

December 3, 2020
11:10 am - 11:30 am

Leave No One Behind: Multiple Pathways for Access to Transformative Therapies

Speaker

Eric M. Meslin, PhD, FRSC, FCAHS

President and CEO,
Council of Canadian Academies (CCA)
(Ottawa, ON)

Eric M. Meslin, PhD, FRSC, FCAHS, is President and CEO of the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA). Eric joined the CCA in 2016 after 30 years in university and government settings, including the previous 15 years at Indiana University where he was Founding Director of the IU Center for Bioethics, Associate Dean for Bioethics in the IU School of Medicine, and Professor of Medicine, of Philosophy, of Medical & Molecular Genetics, of Bioethics & Law, and of Public Health.

Trained in bioethics and philosophy at York University (BA) and Georgetown University (MA, PhD) he has held academic positions at the University of Toronto, University of Oxford, University of Western Australia, and Université de Toulouse, publishing more than 150 articles and book chapters on bioethics aspects of genomics, international health, big data, and human subjects research. His policy experience includes Bioethics Research Director in the Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) program at the National Human Genome Research Institute, and Executive Director of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission appointed by President Clinton. He has been a member of advisory committees to the World Health Organization, UNESCO, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Institute of Medicine, UK Biobank, CDC, and Genome Canada.

December 3, 2020
11:00 am - 11:10 am

OPENING REMARKS

Speaker

December 3, 2020
11:50 am - 12:15 pm

DISCUSSION WITH THE CCA'S EXPERT PANEL ON THE approval and use of somatic gene therapies in canada

Moderator

December 3, 2020
2:40 pm - 2:45 pm

CLOSING REMARKS

Speaker

Harold Atkins, MD, FRCPC

Physician, The Ottawa Hospital;
Scientist, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
(Ottawa, ON)

Dr. Harold Atkins is a physician at the Ottawa Hospital Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, a scientist in the Centre for Innovative Cancer Research, and medical director of the Regenerative Medicine Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa.

Dr. Atkins received his Bachelor of Medical Science and medical degree from the University of Ottawa, followed by a rotating internship year at the Victoria General Hospital in Victoria, B.C. He received specialty training in internal medicine at the University of Ottawa, with subsequent clinical and research fellowships in Hematology, Stem Cell Transplantation, and Experimental Hematology, at the University of Washington and the Ontario Cancer Institute.

Dr. Atkins specializes in the management of patients requiring stem cell transplantation and has spearheaded the use of stem cell transplantation for immune repair to treat patients with severe autoimmune diseases, particularly multiple sclerosis. He has also developed clinical trials exploring the role of dose-escalated radiation therapy to treat refractory blood cancers. His research includes a longstanding and fruitful collaboration with Dr. John Bell developing oncolytic viruses. More recently, he has been part of a multidisciplinary group of investigators involved with BioCanRx, working to develop CAR-T cell therapies.

December 3, 2020
11:50 am - 12:15 pm

DISCUSSION WITH THE CCA'S EXPERT PANEL ON THE approval and use of somatic gene therapies in canada

Panel member, Expert Panel on the Approval and Use of Somatic Gene Therapies in Canada

Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD

Director, Center for Cell Engineering
Stephen and Barbara Friedman Chair
Member, Immunology Program
Member, Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
(New York, NY)

Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD, is the Director of the Center for Cell Engineering and the incumbent of the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Chair at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He is a Member of the Immunology Program and the Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics.

Dr. Sadelain’s research focuses on human cell engineering and cell therapy to treat cancer and hereditary blood disorders. His laboratory has made several seminal contributions to the field of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), from their conceptualization and optimization to their clinical translation for cancer immunotherapy. His group was the first to publish dramatic molecular remissions in patients with chemorefractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia following treatment with autologous CD19-targeted T cells.

Dr. Sadelain is the recipient of the Cancer Research Institute’s Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Tumor Immunology, the Sultan Bin Khalifa International Award for Innovative Medical Research on Thalassemia, the NYPLA Inventor of the Year award, the Passano award, the Pasteur-Weizmann award, the Gabbay award the INSERM International Prize Laureate and the Laureate of the 48th Foundation ARC Léopold Griffuel. He previously served on the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee and as President of the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy.

December 2, 2020
11:05 am - 11:45 am

LIVING DRUGS: CAR T CELLS, FIRST FDA-APPROVED GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CELL THERAPY

Speaker

Murray Krahn, MD, MSc

Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, University of Toronto,
Director, THETA (Toronto Health Economics and Technology Assessment Collaborative)
(Toronto, ON)

Dr. Murray Krahn is the founding Director of THETA (Toronto Health Economics and Technology Assessment Collaborative), Division Director for Support, Systems & Outcome at Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, Health Technology Assessment, TGHRI. He is a Professor in the Faculties of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Toronto, a Senior Scientist at the Toronto General Research Institute, and an Adjunct Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto. He is also an attending physician in the division of General Internal Medicine at the Toronto General Hospital.

Dr. Krahn obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Manitoba and completed specialty training in Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Clinical Epidemiology from McMaster University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Decision Making at the New England Medical Center. His work has focused on how decisions should be made for publicly funded health technologies.

Dr. Krahn has received many honours and awards, including lifetime achievement awards from the Society for Medical Decision Making (2018) and the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (Dr. Jill M. Sanders Award, 2014), the Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada (2009), and the Canadian Society for Internal Medicine (2007).

He has led an internationally known research collaborative at the University of Toronto since 2007 (THETA), and has trained many of the leaders of HTA in Canada as graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

December 3, 2020
12:25 pm - 1:20 pm

GENE THERAPY: THE CANADIAN CONTEXT
Challenges in the Adoption of Regenerative Medicine Therapies

Speaker

Michel Goldman, MD, PhD

Emeritus professor and Founder of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Innovation in healthcare,
Université libre de Bruxelles
(Brussels, BE)

Dr. Michel Goldman (born 1 January 1955) is a Belgian medical doctor specialized in immunology and internal medicine. He is the Founder of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Innovation in healthcare (I3h) at the Université libre de Bruxelles.

He was the first Executive Director of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), from 2009 to 2014. With a €2 billion budget provided jointly by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations and the European Commission, he launched public-private consortia in areas of major importance, including antimicrobial resistance, Alzheimer’s dementia and drug safety.

Dr. Goldman is the Editor-in-Chief of Frontiers in Medicine, a Board member of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), the European Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative and the Friends of the Global Fund Europe. He also serves as a member of the Cancer Mission Assembly of the European Commission and of the Leadership Group of Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative. He is the President of the Belgian AstraZeneca Foundation and of the Belgian Kid’s Fund.

Dr. Goldman is a laureate of the Lucien Steinberg Prize (shared with Pr. Peter Piot, 1997), of the Quinquennial Prize of the Belgian National Fund of Scientific Research (2000), and of the Spinoza chair at the University of Amsterdam (2001). In 2007, Michel Goldman was awarded the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa of the Université of Lille.

December 2, 2020
1:30 pm - 2:10 pm

Gene therapies and the Common Good: a path to reasonable pricing?

Speaker

Ronald Cohn, MD, FACMG, FCAHS

President and CEO,
The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)
(Toronto, ON)

Dr. Ronald Cohn has served as President and CEO of the Hospital for Sick Children since May 1st, 2019. Dr. Cohn joined SickKids in 2012 as Chief of the Division of Clinical and Metabolic Genetics, Co-Director of the Centre for Genetic Medicine, and Senior Scientist, Research Institute.

Dr. Cohn received his medical degree from the University of Essen, Germany. After his postdoctoral fellowship at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, he became the first combined resident in paediatrics and genetics at Johns Hopkins University. He subsequently joined the faculty of the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins as director of the worlds’ first multidisciplinary centre for Hypotonia. Dr. Cohn was also the director of the medical genetics residency program at Johns Hopkins.

Dr. Cohn has developed an interest in Precision Child Health. His research focusses on implementing genome editing technologies for the treatment of neurogenetic disorders in children.

December 3, 2020
12:25 pm - 1:20 pm

GENE THERAPY: THE CANADIAN CONTEXT
Genome editing and the promise for future therapies

Speaker

Vardit Ravitsky, PhD, FCAHS

Full Professor, Bioethics Program, Department of Social and Preventative Medicine, School of Public Health,
Université de Montréal;
President, International Association of Bioethics
(Montréal, QC)

Dr. Vardit Ravitsky is Associate Professor at the Bioethics Program, School of Public Health, University of Montreal. She is President of the International Association of Bioethics and Director of Ethics and Health at the Center for Research on Ethics. She is member of the Standing Committee on Ethics of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and of the National Human Genome Research Institute’s (NHGRI) Genomics & Society Working Group. Her research focuses on the ethics of genomics and reproduction and is funded by Canada’s leading funding agencies. She published over 160 articles and commentaries on bioethical issues.

Dr. Ravitsky’s research focuses on the ethics of genomics and reproduction and covers a variety of topics such as: public funding of In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF); the use of surplus frozen embryos; posthumous reproduction; pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD); gamete donation; epigenetics; prenatal testing, in particular the ethical, social and legal aspects of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT); germline and somatic gene editing; and mitochondrial replacement. She holds a BA from the Sorbonne University in Paris, an MA from the University of New Mexico in the US, and a PhD from Bar-Ilan University in Israel. Previously, she was faculty at the Department of Medical Ethics, School of Medicine, at the University of Pennsylvania. She was also a Senior Policy Advisor at CIHR’s Ethics Office and a GE3LS consultant to Genome Canada (GE3LS = genomics and its ethical, economic, environmental, legal and social implications).

December 3, 2020
1:40 pm - 2:40 pm

COMING SOON: THE FUTURE OF GENE EDITING AND GENE THERAPIES

Speaker

William Charnetski, LLB

Executive Vice President, Health System Solutions and Government Affairs, PointClickCare;
Former Chief Health Innovation Strategist, Government of Ontario
(Toronto, ON)

Mr. Charnetski is an accomplished executive who has worked in the highest levels of business, law, and government on integrated health solutions and health innovation in Canada and around the world. He has a track record of leading transformational change, developing organizations, leading people to realize their potential, fostering partnerships and collaboration, and delivering results.

Prior to joining PointClickCare, he was the Chief Health Innovation Strategist for the Government of Ontario, where he drove collaboration across the public and private sectors to bring innovative health technologies to market in Ontario and beyond. He was a champion for leveraging Ontario’s investment in health as an economic driver; accelerating the shift towards value-based health care, including value-based procurement; and improved patient outcomes.

Prior to that, he worked on the United Kingdom with AstraZeneca, one of the world’s largest innovative pharmaceutical companies. He led the global government affairs and public policy function and had responsibilities for corporate social responsibility and regional communications. Previously, he was VP, Integrated Health Solutions and General Counsel for AstraZeneca Canada, where he focused on helping to bring an integrated approach to adopting value-adding innovative pharmaceutical technologies in Canada.

Before that, as a partner in the Toronto office of the law firm Torys LLP, Mr. Charnetski’s practice included mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, securities law, and public-private partnerships. He formed, and was head of, the Privacy Law Group. He has also been chief of staff to the Chair of the Canadian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, as well as a senior policy advisor to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

December 3, 2020
11:50 am - 12:15 pm

DISCUSSION WITH THE CCA'S EXPERT PANEL ON THE approval and use of somatic gene therapies in canada

Panel member, Expert Panel on the Approval and Use of Somatic Gene Therapies in Canada

Rob Annan, PhD

President and CEO,
Genome Canada
(Ottawa, ON)

As President and CEO of Genome Canada, Dr. Annan drives an overarching strategy that promotes the value and potential of genomics in Canada to key stakeholders, while raising the public profile of Genome Canada both nationally and internationally. He previously served as Genome Canada’s Vice-President of Public Affairs and Communications.

As an innovation strategist and a strong communicator, Dr. Annan consults with governments, organizations, and institutions across Canada on research strategy and speaks regularly with public and private audiences across Canada. As Fellow of the Public Policy Forum, he has led projects and convened discussions around Canadian research and innovation policy. During seven years at Mitacs, Dr. Annan helped build a Canadian success story in the development and delivery of policy-driven innovation programs in his role as Chief Research Officer.

For several years, Dr. Annan volunteered on the Board of Directors for Let’s Talk Science, a national charity dedicated to increasing STEM literacy among K-12 students. He has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from McGill University and undergraduate degrees in English from Queen’s University and in Biology from the University of Victoria.

December 3, 2020
1:40 pm - 2:40 pm

COMING SOON: THE FUTURE OF GENE EDITING AND GENE THERAPIES

Moderator

BREAKING THROUGH:
DELIVERING ON THE PROMISE OF GENE THERAPY

Speakers

Agenda

Sponsors and Partners

Partners

Sponsors

Gold

Silver

Bronze

FAQ

BREAKING THROUGH: DELIVERING ON THE PROMISE OF GENE THERAPY

Speakers

Agenda

Sponsors and Partners

Partners

Sponsors

Gold

Silver

Bronze

FAQ

News and Updates

CCA Launches New Assessment on Integrated Natural Resource Management in Canada

BREAKING THROUGH:
DELIVERING ON THE PROMISE OF GENE THERAPY