The Pulse: March 17, 2021

Edmonton-based oncology company Pacylex Pharmaceuticals has received Health Canada's approval to begin a Phase 1 clinical trial for its anti-cancer drug PCLX-001.

Pacylex CEO Michael Weickert told Taproot that the Phase 1 clinical trial is set to begin anytime between May and June at three Canadian sites: the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, the British Columbia Cancer Research Center in Vancouver, and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto.

"The approval (from Health Canada) starts the process of getting site approval. Now we need to get the clinical sites up and ready to enroll patients, get them proper training, supplies, and materials," said Weickert. "This is why it takes several months from the time you get Health Canada's approval until you can actually start giving the drug to patients."

PCLX-001 is a small molecule that is designed to kill cancer cells by targeting enzymes involved in myristoylation, a process key to the cell signaling system that is often defective in cancer cells. The molecule was originally developed by the University of Dundee as a treatment for African sleeping sickness.

"This would be a new kind of cancer medicine. We don't have anything like it already in the pharmacy," said Pacylex’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Mackey during a recent U of A webinar.

• City council is "calling for minimum standards for homeless shelters," an action which would aim to improve the system and ease impacts on surrounding communities.
• The City of Edmonton has broken ground on the Edmonton South Soccer Centre expansion project which will create two new indoor fields. “The new facility will house a year-round concrete field and upgraded turf field that will allow ball hockey, lacrosse and inline hockey to double their annual fall and winter programming,” said Adrian Newman, CEO of the Edmonton Soccer Association.
• Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says there is no evidence that suggests AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine has adverse effects. "The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) changed its guidelines (on March 16) on the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine and is now recommending it be given to those over the age of 65," reports CBC News.
• Walmart plans to close six locations, including one in Edmonton: the Abbottsfield location in the city’s northeast.
• "Giant inflatable humanoids have started popping up around Edmonton’s downtown at secret locations," according to CTV News. The exhibit is part of the city's Downtown Spark project.
• Edmonton will become the first Canadian city to welcome back Lime scooters in 2021, reports Global News. The company plans to relaunch 100 e-scooters on Wednesday afternoon. Edmontonians took nearly 500,000 trips with Lime last year.
• Digital hub micebook. published a case study on how Edmonton successfully hosted the Stanley Cup playoffs last summer.

The municipalities of Spruce Grove and Stony Plain are moving forward with a collaborative trail connection after beginning discussions in November.

Spruce Grove Mayor Stuart Houston told Taproot the idea came up after the 1995 Alberta Summer Games but stalled in the decades since. A renewed vision with collaborative conversations saw the councils set aside funding for engineering and construction in 2021 and a feasibility and engineering study on a second trail in 2023.

"(It's a) big advantage to promote healthy active communities with the new trail and building on a cooperative spirt between the town and the city," Houston said.

This week's word is "nimosôm" which means "my grandfather" in Cree. Here's how to pronounce it.

The Cree word of the week was featured by local strategic communications agency Naheyawin in 2018. Republished with permission!