Research Highlights

Since its inception, the Vancouver Prostate Centre’s research activities have led to valuable new insights, treatments, and intellectual property:

  • We were instrumental in establishing the use of Intermittent Androgen Ablation Therapy as a standard treatment modality for prostate cancer
  • In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Cherkasov's team utilized their novel AI-based platform, Deep Docking, to work on finding the top candidate compounds for effective antiviral therapeutics; their work towards a cure is ongoing
  • My Precision Oncology Program (MyPOP), made possible by infrastructural investment from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and a generous donation by a private donor, allows for the routine linking of genomic sequencing data with real-time clinical decision making
  • Our annual knowledge output averages 150 peer-reviewed publications 
  • Since 2008, our Centre has been awarded over $140 million in peer-reviewed research grants from regional, national and international agencies
  • Since 2008 we have initiated 167 new Clinical Trials enrolling 3,883 patients
  • We have a strong record of recruitment of senior staff and faculty promotions
  • The Centre has 30 post-doctoral fellows, 28 Ph.D. students and 19 Masters students (January 2022)
  • Since 2008 we have negotiated 56 new contract research agreements with pharmaceutical and biotech companies including Pfizer, Takeda, AstraZeneca, Bayer and Janssen
  • Intellectual Property Activities since 2008 include
    •  324 patent filed/issued
    •  9 Licensing Agreements of IP with Industry (8 drug, 1 biomarker)
  • Discoveries at our Centre have led to the creation of several biotech companies, including OncoGeneX (now Achieve Life Sciences), Aquinox, Sitka, LAST Therapeutics and Sustained Therapeutics

 

Page updated March 8, 2022