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NOHFC Funds a shot in the arm for city's bio-med sector

Lilly Creek Vaccines spun off from AMRIC to develop a vaccine for Helicobacter pylori, a common bacterium that lives in the digestive tract and can lead to ulcers, gastritis and stomach cancer.
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The topic of vaccinations and one MPPs refusal to sign an exemption form for a Sudbury father whose daughter didn't want to get her MMR booster has been greatly debated at NorthernLife.ca.
Lilly Creek Vaccines spun off from AMRIC to develop a vaccine for Helicobacter pylori, a common bacterium that lives in the digestive tract and can lead to ulcers, gastritis and stomach cancer.

The province's early investment in the company shows potential investors it is on the right track, said Lilly Creek Vaccines president and CEO Sean Thompson.

“It gets the ball rolling,” he said.

But completing multiple rounds of clinical trials, and bringing a new vaccine to market can take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

To date, a small group of AMRIC researchers in Sudbury have brought the vaccine to the pre-clinical stage, and developed a proof of concept that has been tested on animals.

Thompson said they are now working on the optimal formulation for the vaccine, before they begin expensive and rigorous clinical trials.

At that stage, Thompson said Lilly Creek Vaccines will likely need to partner with a large pharmaceutical company to eventually bring the vaccine to market.

The ultimate goal, he said, would be for it to be part of the common group of vaccines that are given to infants to prevent once common diseases like measles and the mumps.

Around half the world's population carries the Helicobacter pylori, but more than 80 per cent of carriers are asymptomatic.

But because the population that carries the bacterium is so large, Thompson said it costs medical systems around the world billions of dollars to treat patients for various diseases attributed to the bacterium.

It is estimated to be the cause of 80 per cent of gastric cancer cases. Around one million people are diagnosed with the cancer each year, and it kills around 700,000 people per year globally.

Helicobacter pylori is more common in developing countries, and is linked to poor sanitation and a lack of access to clean water.

In Canada, the bacterium is most commonly found in remote northern communities and reserves.

Thompson said Lilly Creek Vaccines hopes to recruit more researchers in Sudbury, as it continues to develop its vaccine.

“This is really important for establishing a biomedical industry in Sudbury,” he said.

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Jonathan Migneault

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