News Breifs

Nortel R&D spending falls again

R&D spending by Nortel Networks Corp fell dramatically for the second year in a row but rose as a percentage of revenue as the beleaguered telecommunications giant moves through a difficult period of downsizing and consolidation. For the FY ending December 31/02, Brampton ON-based Nortel logged $3.3 billion in R&D expenditures, down 33.9% from FY01 when it spent $4.992 billion. The reduction in R&D activity is even more pronounced when compared to Nortel’s peak year of FY00, when $5.9 billion in R&D was spent. For that year, however, R&D represented 13.2% of revenue of $44.9 billion, while R&D outlays for FY02 represent 21.1% of revenue, which was $15.6 billion. For the fourth quarter of FY02, Nortel had R&D outlays of $727 million or 19.5% of revenue of $3.7 billion…..

Ottawa still strong magnet for venture capital

The Ottawa region continues to attract sizeable amounts of venture capital, despite the ongoing high-tech downturn. Firms in Ottawa attracted nearly $680 million in 2002 — $202 million in the fourth quarter alone — with the majority going to firms focused on telecommunications ($188 million), photonics ($172 million) and semiconductor ($130 million). The data was released by the Ottawa Research and Innovation Centre, which noted that US investors were involved the majority of deals. While the results are encouraging, they are down substantially from the $1.1 billion that poured into Ottawa in 2001. Full year-end data for all of Canada will be released February 25 by Macdonald and Associates and the Canadian Venture Capital Association.....

Zenon nabs $30-million contract in Georgia

Zenon Environmental Inc, Oakville ON, has closed a $30-million sale of its ZeeWeed membrane technology for waste water treatment to the F Wayne Hill Water Resources Center near Atlanta Georgia. The technology was developed with $9.9 million in assistance from Technology Partnerships Canada (R$, June 30/00). Zenon employs more than 800 people....

Defence pushes US R&D budget to record levels

The US Senate is set to approve a record increase to the FY03 federal R&D portfolio, pushing the total to an all-time high of US$115.4 billion. The total represents an increase of 12.2% over FY02 and includes a previously approved defence R&D budget of $62.7 billion, up 17.3% from the year before. The majority of the defence increase will go to new weapons systems being developed by the Department of Defense (DOD), although the DOD S&T activities will increase 13.5% to $11.7 billion. The National Institutes of Health is projected to receive a 10.1% increase to $24.7 billion. But an across-the-board cut of 3% to all domestic programs means the government will fall short of its pledge to double NIH funding over five years. The largest increase within the NIH goes to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the lead agency in the expanded US bioterrorism R&D initiative. Its budget is slated to rise 43% to $3.6 billion....

CNSLP signs major agreement with Elsevier

The Canadian National Site Licensing Project (CNSLP) has struck a deal with Elsevier, a major publisher of scientific and social sciences journals and a division of the Reed Elsevier plc Group. Effective January 2003, the agreement will see Elsevier publications and journals from other publishers accessible through its the firm’s ScienceDirect platform. The platform gives researchers access to more than three million articles and links to other publishers of scientific, technical, medical and social sciences content. CNSLP is a $50-million pilot project established with $20 million in support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation. (R$, September 24/01)....

ITAC wants more spending on ICT for healthcare

The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) is urging the government to boost spending on information and communications technology (ICT) as it relates to healthcare. ICT currently represents less than 2% of overall healthcare spending. FMI: www.itac.ca....

Arius to develop cancer antibody targets

Arius Research Inc has entered a collaboration with St Michael’s Hospital and its gastrointestinal research unit to develop targeted antibodies to be used for the creation of novel cancer drugs. The agreement will see patients donate tumor tissues that will be screened to isolate antibodies that can target, react with and kill cancer cells. Arius is a small, Toronto-based firm established in 1999 to commercialize its monoclonal antibody generation and screening technology. Current research is focused on breast, colorectal and lung cancer and melanoma. Arius has established several corporate alliances with firms such as Xerion Pharmaceuticals AG and Protein Design Labs Inc. It has an agreement with the University Health Network to conduct pre-clinical studies on lead antibodies....

Angiotech acquires Cohesion Technologies

Vancouver’s Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc has completed its acquisition of Cohesion Technologies Inc, Palo Alto CA, through an all-stock merger. The merger strengthens Angiotech’s ability to develop drug-loaded biomaterials and devices and the company announced that it intends to pursue other acquisitions in the future. Angiotech was established to develop medical device coatings and treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases through reformulation of the anticancer drug, paclitaxel. Last month it announced a planned two-for-one stock split following its AGM in March. It says the stock split reflects the impending European approval of the Boston Scientific paclitaxel-eluting stent, marking Angiotech's conversion from a pure R&D company to a revenue-generating one....

SCBC seeking awards nominations

The Science Council of British Columbia (SCBC) is seeking nominations for its 2003 Science Council Awards, recognizing outstanding achievement in various categories. This year’s theme is Expanding Horizons to reflect the increasing impact of S&T on the economy of British Columbia. Each year, SCBC presents awards for S&T champion of the year, business/education partnership, technology entrepreneurship, career achievement, industrial innovation, science communication, new frontiers in research, solutions through research and young innovator. The deadline for nominations is April 30/03 with the winners to be announced in September followed by an awards dinner. FMI: www.scbc.org