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National Post
03-07-2025
- Health
- National Post
Bioscience Association Manitoba Applauds Government Action to Advance Bioscience Research and Clinical Trials in Manitoba
Article content WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Bioscience Association Manitoba (BAM) welcomes the Manitoba government's latest announcement to launch a Clinical Trials Office, and the implementation of the Research Manitoba led project, Research Improvements Through Harmonization in Manitoba (RITHIM), both designed to accelerate and improve health research in the province. Article content 'For too long, the process of moving innovative research into real-world care has taken longer in Manitoba than in other jurisdictions,' said Andrea Ladouceur, President & CEO of BAM. 'Both the new Manitoba Clinical Trials Office and RITHIM are key pieces of the puzzle that will help connect research to our ecosystem and shorten timelines and enables research to get where it's needed, into the lives of Manitobans.' Article content Manitoba has led with action on the top 2 recommendations from the Manitoba Clinical Trials Working Group. The first is to create a Clinical Trials office to champion connections between researcher and resources and the second is to create a timebound standardized processes. Article content BAM was honoured to co-chair this Working Group over the past 10 months developing recommendations to improve how research is conducted in the province. Article content The new Manitoba Clinical Trials Office, announced by Honourable Jamie Moses, Minister of Business, Mining, Trade, and Job Creation, will help champion Manitoba as a destination for world-class clinical research. RITHIM will also help shorten process timelines. Learn more at Article content 'Clinical trials are essential to getting new, innovative medicines into our healthcare system,' noted Ladouceur. 'Canada uses only about 20 per cent of the innovative medicines available in other G7 countries. Manitoba can and should lead the way in changing that.' Article content The bioscience sector contributes approximately 7 per cent of Manitoba's GDP, with medicine ranked as the province's top export. Manitoba is home to a growing hub of companies like Bausch Health, Pfizer, Cytophage Technologies, Emergent, Kane Biotech, and Dynacare, which are developing solutions that help patients return to healthier lives. Article content 'Our members are leaders in how we heal, feed, and fuel the world,' said Ladouceur. 'But innovation only matters if it reaches people. Many patients can't wait for life-saving treatments. That's why we need to continuously improve how we move research from the lab into people's lives,' noted Andrea. Article content With this announcement, BAM sees Manitoba taking a strong step forward toward a more coordinated, responsive, and globally competitive research environment. Article content 'We're proud to support this important milestone,' added Ladouceur. 'Manitoba is the right place for research to thrive with strong values around inclusivity, a commitment to quality, and a collaborative mindset. We look forward to what comes next.' Article content Bioscience Association Manitoba (BAM) is a not-for-profit industry association that enables commercial success for bioscience companies in Manitoba by acting as a catalyst for innovation, leading with one unified voice for all bioscience advancement and growth, and supporting a future-focused workforce. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
Malay Mail
27-06-2025
- Health
- Malay Mail
Tanoto Foundation Backs Landmark Research to Unlock the Code of Asian Prevalent Diseases
Understanding Asian Cancers and Diabetes Through an Asian Lens NCCS and SGH secure research funding from Tanoto Foundation for projects tackling Asian-prevalent cancers and young-onset diabetes to drive breakthroughs in regional health Breast Cancer in Asian Women, marked by earlier onset and biological differences compared to Western populations T/NK-Cell Lymphomas, an aggressive blood cancer dominant in East Asians with limited treatment options Bile Duct Cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma), increasingly linked to environmental exposures specific to Asia Rare Asian Cancers, collectively neglected but accounting for up to 25% of all cases in the region SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 27 June 2025 -Tanoto Foundation today announced the funding of two transformative, Singapore-based medical research projects focused on diseases that disproportionately affect Asian populations: prevalent and aggressive cancers, and young-onset Type 2 diabetes. The multi-year initiatives aim to generate data-driven insights that can accelerate diagnosis, improve patient outcomes, and guide public health global strides in medicine, Asia continues to face rising rates of cancer and diabetes – diseases that are biologically and clinically distinct in Asian populations but remain under-researched due to a lack of region-specific data. The two research projects, from National Cancer Centre Singapore and Singapore General Hospital, will focus on filling these gaps through deep genomic studies and innovative risk-prediction Tanoto, Member of the Board of Trustees, Tanoto Foundation said: "Singapore is well-positioned to lead in medical science. It has strong research institutions and a population that reflects the diversity of Asia. By supporting researchers here who are focused on health issues that affect Asians, we hope to help drive discoveries that make a real difference to people's lives — both in Singapore and across the region."Led by Dr Jason Chan, Medical Oncologist, National Cancer Centre Singapore, the research will investigate four types of cancers with high prevalence and poor outcomes in Asia:These cancers are devastating but remain poorly understood because most research has focused on Western populations," said Dr Chan. "By decoding their molecular and genomic landscapes in Asian patients, we want to uncover new diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities to benefit patients."A key feature of the project is its open-access commitment: anonymised data will be freely available to the broader research community to accelerate further discovery and second research project, led by Dr Daphne Gardner, Endocrinologist, Singapore General Hospital, will address the rising incidence of Type 2 diabetes in young adults, particularly prevalent in Singapore, where 1 in 5 young adults have prediabetes or diabetes, despite being of normal traditional assessments that rely heavily on BMI and family history, this project will develop a next-generation risk prediction tool by incorporating non-traditional indicators such as body fat distribution, continuous glucose monitoring, and health-seeking behaviour."Many young Asians with diabetes don't fit the usual risk profile. They're lean, active, and often overlooked by current screening models," said Dr Gardner. "We want to change that by identifying new risk signals and developing tools that are tailored to Singapore's population and beyond."Findings from the study aim to inform national diabetes screening guidelines and lead to earlier interventions that can curb long-term addition to previously supported research projects, these two initiatives reflect a growing recognition of Singapore's role in advancing precision medicine for Asian populations, driven by strong clinical infrastructure, genomic capabilities, and public-private Tanoto added: "We believe precision health can change how we treat and prevent diseases. We're supporting researchers who are not only breaking new ground, but also making sure their work reaches people and communities across Asia. This is something deeply personal to us — it's about improving lives in a way that's inclusive, meaningful, and lasting."This announcement marks a key milestone in Tanoto Foundation's continuing effort to improve the quality of healthcare and health standards, leading to longer and better #TanotoFoundation The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. About Tanoto Foundation At Tanoto Foundation, we unlock human potential, help communities thrive, and create lasting impact. Founded in 1981 by Sukanto Tanoto and Tinah Bingei Tanoto, we are an independent family foundation that believes in providing every person with the opportunity to realize his or her full potential. To do so, we catalyse systems change in education and healthcare. Our approach is impact-first, collaborative, and evidence-based. We invest for the long term and strive to develop leaders who can drive sustained, positive outcomes. More information is available at
Medical News Today
04-06-2025
- Health
- Medical News Today
Colon cancer: Exercise as important as drugs in preventing recurrence
Could exercise be 'better than a drug' at preventing colon cancer recurrence? Image credit: Connect Images/. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths. Treatments include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. After initial treatment, people are advised to follow a healthy lifestyle, often in conjunction with further drug treatments to try and reduce the chance of recurrence. Now, a study has found that a structured exercise program could be more effective than drug treatments in preventing colon cancer recurrence. Patients following a supervised exercise program had a 28% lower risk of recurrence, and a 37% lower risk of death from any cause than those who were not. Now, a study led by Canadian scientists has found that a structured exercise program following surgery and chemotherapy for colon cancer reduced patients' chance of cancer recurring by 28% compared with patients given only health advice. Experts have said these results suggest exercise could be 'better than a drug' at preventing colon cancer recurrence. Speaking to the Science Media Centre, David Sebag-Montefiore, MB BS, MRCP, FRCP, the Audrey and Stanley Burton Professor of Clinical Oncology and Health Research, University of Leeds, United Kingdom, who was not involved in the trial, commented that: 'This is excellent news for future patients with bowel cancer and is likely to bring additional health benefits […[ The great appeal of a structured moderate intensity exercise is that is offers the benefits without the downside of the well-known side effects of our other treatments.' All those enrolled in the trial, between 2009 and 2024, had undergone surgery for stage 3 or high-risk stage 2 colon cancer, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy to help prevent the cancer returning. They ranged in age from 19 to 84 years, with a median age of 61. Most participants had a body mass index (BMI) indicating overweight or obesity, and none exercised for more than 150 minutes per week before the trial. Researchers randomly assigned all participants to one of two groups. The exercise group — made up of 445 patients — worked with a certified physical activity consultant for 3 years. For the first 6 months the consultants saw them every week, then fortnightly for the second 6 months, and monthly for next 2 years. These participants could choose the type, frequency and intensity of aerobic exercise, but the aim was to achieve the equivalent of 3-4 brisk 45-60 minute walks a week. The health-education group (444 patients) received general health-education materials promoting physical activity and healthy nutrition in addition to standard surveillance. At a median follow-up of 7.9 years, 93 people in the exercise group and 131 in the health-education group had experienced a recurrence of their cancer, a new primary cancer, or had died. In total, 107 died from any cause — 41 in the exercise group, 66 in the health-education group. People in the exercise group did not lose weight, but saw a general improvement in physical functioning and significantly longer disease-free survival, with an annual incidence of recurrence, new primary cancer, or death of 3.7%, compared with 5.4% in the health-education group. In the exercise group, 80.3% of patients were disease-free after 5 years, compared with 73.9% of the health-education group. Lead author on the study, Kerry S. Courneya, PhD, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Physical Activity and Cancer at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, told Medical News Today that the most important finding of their study was the overall improvement in survival. Julie Gralow, MD, Chief Medical Officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), who was not involved in the trial, said the findings suggest that exercise could be 'better than a drug' for cancer patient outcomes, because it does not have the related side effects. However, she cautioned: 'I did not mean to suggest that we omit drugs in favor of exercise, my intention was to compare the magnitude of benefit we get from standard therapies to what exercise achieved in terms of reduction of recurrences and deaths, also taking toxicity into account.' She added that while there were effective drugs that help prevent recurrence in patients with particular mutations for colon cancer, 'exercise's benefit in colon cancer patients is not restricted to these specific mutations.' Courneya emphasized the benefits of their program: 'The 'side effects' of exercise are almost all good (fitter, stronger, less fatigue, less depression, lower [cardiovascular disease] risk, etc.). I think exercise keeps having an effect on new primary cancers and possibly other causes of death. Intervention participants were still doing more exercise than health education at years 4 and 5.' A supervised exercise program can also be much cheaper than medication. 'The [physical activity] intervention was maybe 3,000 to 5,000 [Canadian dollars] whereas it is not uncommon for some cancer drugs to be 10s of thousands and even reach 100,000,' Courneya added. Vicky Coyle, U.K. lead researcher for the trial and Clinical Professor at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, told MNT that: 'Our study gives clear, encouraging evidence that physical activity can reduce the risk of cancer returning for some people with colon cancer. We now need to work with policymakers and healthcare providers to embed exercise into treatment plans where appropriate.' Joe Henson, PhD, Associate Professor in Lifestyle Medicine at the University of Leicester, who led exercise sessions in Leicester, U.K. for the trial, highlighted the need for support. 'Despite its proven benefits, many people still face barriers to engaging in regular exercise. This study shows how important it is to make exercise advice a routine part of cancer care and to offer people tailored support,' Henson told us. Although she emphasizes the importance of exercise to her own patients, Gralow noted that implementing exercise programs like those in this study could be difficult: 'I question whether most clinics have enough personnel to accommodate this number of visits (especially since prior observational data suggests many other cancer types — including common ones like breast and prostate cancer — benefit from exercise). I also question whether all or even most patients are willing to come in this often.' 'So,' she said, 'we need to find alternative ways to support our patients in incorporating exercise into their lives that do not require clinic visits but do provide regular support and encouragement. And we need to make sure we, the clinicians, are recommending this (a prescription for exercise!).' Colorectal Cancer Cancer / Oncology Sports Medicine / Fitness
CTV News
13-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Some of Western's brightest minds showcase their research projects
Jack Webb, LHRD student organizer and PhD Candidate at Schulich Medicine and Dentistry, alongside Nishfa Rizwan, Master of Public Health candidate at London Health Research Day. May 13, 2025. (Reta Ismail/CTV London)
