====== Protiva BioTherapeutics ======

{{ :pharmaceutical_companies:protiva_biotherapeutics_logo_.jpg?200|}}

**Protiva BioTherapeutics** was a Canadian biotechnology company based in [[:canada:british_columbia:Vancouver]], [[:canada:British Columbia]].

===== History =====

==== Founding ====

To improve prospects of successfully advancing gene therapy techniques, a team of scientists at the [[:University of British Columbia]] (UBC) led by Dr. [[:Pieter Cullis]] developed and patented a new form of lipid nanoparticle designed to deliver genetic material to host cells.((Kulkarni, J. A., Cullis, P. R., & van der Meel, R. (2018). //Lipid nanoparticles enabling gene therapies: from concepts to clinical utility.// Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, 28(3), 146–157. https://doi.org/10.1089/nat.2018.0721)) From 1994 onward, a series of patents were filed describing the technology Cullis and his colleagues created, including the addition of a chemical called [[:polyethylene glycol]] (PEG) to further increase the LNP’s ability to pass into cells.((Choi, L. S. L., Madden, T. D., & Webb, M. S. (1994, September 30). //Polyethylene glycol modified ceramide lipids and liposome uses thereof.// Canada Patent Database. https://archive.ph/wAbpA)) ((Madden, T. D., Cullis, P. R., & Holland, J. W. (1994). //Bilayer stabilizing components and their use in forming programmable fusogenic liposomes (Canadian Intellectual Property Office Patent No. 2201121).// Canadian Patent Database. https://archive.ph/CgsN8)) ((Cullis, P. R., Fenske, D. B., Hope, M. J., & Wong, K. F. (1995, February 27). Method for loading lipid vesicles (Canadian Intellectual Property Office Patent No. CA 2213861). Canadian Patent Database. https://archive.ph/DzJSe)) ((Cullis, P. R., Choi, L. S. L., Monck, M., & Bailey, A. (1996, April 11). //Fusogenic liposomes (Canadian Intellectual Property Office Patent No. CA 2252055).// Canadian Patent Database. https://archive.ph/MsXai))

This included a variation on the LNP design that Cullis developed in 2000 with several colleagues including Dr. [[:Ian MacLachlan]], which became the basis for a spinoff company the team named Protiva Biotherapeutics, focused entirely on gene therapy.((Cullis, P. R., Fenske, D. B., & MacLachlan, I. (2000, October 25). //Lipid formulations for target delivery (Canadian Intellectual Property Office Patent No. CA 2426244).// Canadian Patent Database. https://archive.ph/ZGmF9)) ((Vardi, N. (2021, August 17). //COVID’s forgotten hero: the untold story of the scientist whose breakthrough made the vaccines possible.// Forbes. https://archive.ph/oNBZi))

==== Partnerships ====

In 2001, Protiva received a $14.5 million investment from [[:Lumira Ventures]].((//FOI Request - HTH-2015-51828.// (2016, February 12). Government of British Columbia. https://web.archive.org/web/20220428045844/http://docs.openinfo.gov.bc.ca/Response_Package_HTH-2015-51828.pdf))

Protiva partnered with [[Roche]] subsidiary [[Alnylam Pharmaceuticals]] in [[united_states_of_america:massachussetts:Cambridge]], [[united_states_of_america:Massachusetts]] to collaboratively develop products using RNAi to inhibit, or “turn off”, target genes (compared to [[:mRNA]], which turns on production of [[:proteins]]), which bore fruit in a 2006 study demonstrating success silencing genes in monkeys.((Zimmermann, T. S., Lee, A. C. H., Akinc, A., Bramlage, B., Bumcrot, D., Fedoruk, M. N., Harborth, J., Heyes, J. A., Jeffs, L. B., John, M., Judge, A. D., Lam, K., McClintock, K., Nechev, L. V., Palmer, L. R., Racie, T., Röhl, I., Seiffert, S., Shanmugam, S., & Sood, V. (2006). //RNAi-mediated gene silencing in non-human primates.// Nature, 441(7089), 111–114. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04688))

The [[:Business Development Bank of Canada]] (BDC) participated in multiple rounds of investing into Protiva, including $4,950,000 in 2006 and $3,300,000 in 2007.((laura998. (2018). //Protiva Biotherapeutics.// RaisedToday. https://archive.ph/AlJnY)) The BDC is wholly owned by the [[:Government of Canada]], meaning the federal government has a potential financial conflict of interest in the [[:COVID-19 vaccines|COVID-19 vaccines]] that later used lipid nanoparticle licenses associated with Protiva.

==== Merger with Tekmira ====

On March 30, 2008, Protiva announced it was combining its business with [[Tekmira Pharmaceuticals]], reuniting the intellectual property that had become scattered across several startups out of the [[:University of British Columbia]] (UBC). The new joint company signed a new deal with [[Alnylam Pharmaceuticals]] to allow access to their lipid nanoparticle patents - a key component of achieving their self-described “Alnylam 2020” strategy.((//Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Protiva Biotherapeutics announce business combination to create new company focused on RNAi delivery and therapeutics.// (2008, March 31). Fierce Biotech. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/tekmira-pharmaceuticals-corporation-and-protiva-biotherapeutics-announce-business)) ((Lindenboom, C. R., & Brodsky, J. (2021, January 10). //Alnylam launches “Alnylam P5x25” strategy for planned transition to a top five biotech in market capitalization over next five years.// Business Wire; Berkshire Hathaway. https://archive.ph/0wJ2n))