his is part of a year-long ‘Love for Local’ series called NB365: portraits of New Brunswick entrepreneurs, businesses, and organizations. Huddle is a media partner with Love for Local. Jack Stewart of Soricimed Biopharma, in Moncton.

In 2005, I was teaching at Mount Allison University in Sackville and discovered a unique protein found in the venomous saliva of the northern short-tailed shrew.

With the help of my colleagues, we were able to purify, characterize, and synthesize this paralytic toxin, which was a first of its kind. It was found to be a unique peptide that inhibits sodium channels in nerves and suggested the potential for non-opioid pain treatment. We named this protein Soricidin, and with this, Soricimed Biopharma Inc. was born in Moncton.

Since then, Soricimed has been dedicated to developing effective and novel targeted treatments for cancer with the goal of one day making an impact on those living with this disease.

Our patented Targeting Platform has resulted in a number of peptides that can deliver anti-cancer therapeutics quickly and directly into cancer cells. This method of delivery can help treatments be less harmful to healthy cells, have fewer side effects and be more effective in killing cancer cells.

Our lead oncology drug candidate, SOR-C13, is currently being evaluated through a Phase 1b human clinical trial underway at the world-renowned University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

We also recently partnered with Mount Allison University to explore the potential of BioSoricide, derived from our proprietary development assets, in immobilizing agriculture and aquaculture pests. This novel approach to pest control would provide an alternative to synthetic chemicals currently used against insects on farms and to protect salmon farms from sea lice.

Soricimed’s science is now being validated and the company is currently raising capital to fund operations and to support its efforts to complete a major raise in the near future from the Life Sciences sector institutional investment community, particularly in the United States and in other markets.

The success of the company shows that any innovations, no matter where they start in Canada, can make it on the world stage.

Soricimed would not be where it is today without extensive support from several groups including Mount Allison University, the Government of New Brunswick including NBIF and ONB, ACOA, NRC and other Government of Canada programs. As well, the vital financial investments from so many private-sector individuals and companies has made it possible to unlock the value of our original research and Soricimed is now moving into an exciting future, seeing where the science takes Soricimed’s novel technology.