Harvest at the
Proof Centre

Reaping the rewards of Biomarker Discovery
our 2nd report to stakeholders, 2010-11

Play Video

Message from the Director
Bruce McManus
MD, PhD, FRSC, FCAHS

Play Andrew

A Physician's Viewpoint
Andrew Ignaszewski
MD FRCPC

Play Vivianne

A Patient's Viewpoint
Vivianne Toupin

Message from the Chair

With several biomarker initiatives underway in heart, lung and kidney failure, the PROOF Centre is now in the process of moving from theory to practice. Very real advances have been made in the validation of transplant rejection biomarker sets, with new blood tests expected to be trialed in the clinic next year. We have early data suggesting biomarkers that reflect progression of kidney disease and resolution of congestive heart failure, and will soon have developments on biomarkers for COPD exacerbation.

Collaborations are the heart of the PROOF Centre and are the reason for its continued success and growth. From the patients willing to be engaged in research such that others might benefit from their experience, to the healthcare professionals and administrators who are instrumental in ensuring new discoveries are implemented into the system.

Our collaborations with individuals, groups and organizations span geographical, institutional and disciplinary boundaries – all working towards a common goal of developing new solutions for heart, lung and kidney diseases.

Our progress, track record and unique business development model has attracted technology-oriented-business partners who have recognized the PROOF Centre’s potential as an excellent biomarker discovery collaborator.

Our next challenge is to translate our scientific insights into new clinical approaches for the management of patients with heart, lung, and kidney disease.

To that end, we are engaged in discussions with both diagnostic and pharmaceutical companies to partner clinical testing and development of our emerging biomarker panels. Completion of these business partnerships will be integral to bridging the gap between our discoveries and routine clinical use of new diagnostic tools.

This report highlights our research progress and some of the outcomes of our current academic and commercial collaborations. We anticipate being able to announce several more partnerships in the very near future.

We are gratified by the progress made in all fronts in our research and organization thus far.

The next year will be about continued growth of new programs, bringing our major biomarker initiatives to fruition and ensuring the further development of the PROOF Centre as a self-sufficient research organization dedicated to improving the quality of health care for Canadians and all sufferers from heart, lung and kidney diseases worldwide.

George Schreiner signature

George Schreiner MD, PhD
Chairman of the Board, PROOF Centre of Excellence

Productivity & Growth

At the PROOF Centre, biomarker initiatives focused on heart, lung, and kidney failure, and heart and kidney transplantation are well along. By the end of fiscal year 2011-2012, we look forward to having validated biomarker panels available in most programs, and being one step closer to bridging the gap from discovery of new diagnostic tools to their routine use in the clinic.

In each of the PROOF Centre’s programs, we are intent on delivering improved patient care. To do this we follow our Biomarker Development Pathway, which enables the vital journey from clinical need to clinical implementation.

We know that partnerships are the key to success and have worked hard to build each program with complementary partners, cohorts, technology platforms, and other resources as required for success.

We remain steadfast in our mission to discover, develop, commercialize, and implement blood-based biomarker tests for clinical value. Our team, experience, infrastructure, assets, and strategies provide a unique blend of attributes that overcome barriers and accelerate this process such that we can bring health benefits to patients sooner, reduce costs and business risks for our partners, and relieve our burdened health system promptly.

New Plantings for the Future

On each step of our journey we work closely with clinicians and patients to ensure we understand their needs and achieve results that will improve patient care that are cost-efficient, and will be available for clinical use as fast as possible.

This ethos has led to several new and exciting partnerships, projects and programs at the PROOF Centre. Although just in their early stages, we know you’ll be hearing more about these developments in the near future as we close in on our goal – bringing the best of diagnostic tools to the clinics.

Financials

Statement of Financial Position

(Expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars)
March 31, 2011, with comparative figures for 2010

2011 2010
Assets:
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents 1,100 7,585
Short-term investments 7,523 5,200
Interest receivable 13 117
Accounts receivable 61 65
Prepaid expenses and deposits 1,050 562
9,747 13,529
Capital assets, net of accumulated amortization of
$2,168 (2010 - $1,295) 603 631
10,350 14,160
Liabilitites and Net Assets:
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 125 877
Deferred operating contributions 9,300 12,138
Deferred capital contributions 548 574
Net assets:    
Unrestricted 322 514
Invested in capital assets 55 57
377 517
 
10,350 14,160

Statement of Operations

(Expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars)
Year ended March 31, 2011, with comparative figures for 2010

  2011 2010
Revenue    
Amortization of deferred operating contributions 3,605 2,599
Amortization of deferred capital contributions 823 950
Unrestricted contributions 974 1,118
Interest income 134 215
Unrealized gain on investments 10 -
5,546 4,882
 
Expenses:
Core facilities (biomarkers program) 3,286 2,154
Materials and supplies 1,243 1,356
Equipment 127 60
Administrative salaries 346 325
Administrative operations 108 199
Hosting conferences 53 17
Attending conferences 153 133
Other knowledge dissemination 53 70
Other commercialization - 12
Market studies and business development 152 105
Intellectual property 218 199
Space improvements 1 30
  5,740 4,660
 
Excess (deficiency) of revenue over expenses 194 222

Statement of Cash Flows

(Expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars)
Year ended March 31, 2011, with comparative figures for 2010

2011 2011
Cash provided by (used in):
Operations:
Excess (deficiency) of revenue over expenses (194) 222
Amortization of capital assets 873 998
Amortization of deferred capital contributions (823) (950)
Unrealized gain on investments (10) -
(154) 270
Changes in non-cash operating items:
Interest receivable 104 (4)
Accounts receivable 4 (45)
Prepaid expenses and deposits (488) (369)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (752) 673
Deferred operating contributions (2,838) (1,853)
(4,124) (1,328)
Investments:
Additions to capital assets (48) (48)
Additions to short-term and long-term investments (2,313) (200)
(2,361) (248)
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents (6,485) (1,576)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year 7,585 9,161
Cash and cash equivalents, end of year 1,100 7,585
Supplemental information:
Cash received for interest 238 211
Non-cash transactions:
In-kind donation of capital assets 797 834

Community of Partners

Funders

  • IO Informatics
  • Pfizer Canada
  • Providence Health Care
  • British Columbia Innovation Council (BCIC)
  • Transplant Research Foundation (TRF) of BC
  • Genome British Columbia
  • Provincial Health Services Authority
  • MITACS
  • Astellas Pharma Canada, Inc.
  • Networks of Centres of Excellence – Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR)
  • UBC Office of the Vice President Research & International
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation

Partners

  • Alberta HEART
  • Ariana
  • BC BioLibrary
  • BC Transplant (BCT)
  • Biomarkers Consortium
  • Canadian Heart Failure Network (CHFN)
  • Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR IRSC)
  • Collaboration for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE)
  • Fasken Martineau
  • Fenwick & West
  • Genome British Columbia
  • GlaxoSmithKline
  • HTG Molecular Diagnostics
  • Human Metabolome Project
  • Institute for Heart + Lung Health
  • IO Informatics
  • UBC James Hogg Research Centre
  • Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta

Partners

  • Luminex Corporation
  • Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute
  • Meso Scale Discovery (MSD)
  • Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research
  • OriGene
  • Providence Health Care
  • Providence Health Care Research Institute
  • Provincial Health Services Authority
  • Scripps Research Institute
  • Signals Design
  • Spheromics
  • University of British Columbia
  • UBC’s University-Industry Liaison Office
  • USC/CHLA Genome Core
  • UVic Genome BC Proteomics Centre
  • Vancouver Coastal Health
  • Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute