The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 33

THE OTTAWA CITIZEN WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2007 D3 BUSINESS Alliance Atlantis posts Q4 loss despite revenue growth Toyota to boost lobbying as U.S. operations expand TORONTO Specialty broadcaster Alliance Atlantis Communications which is the subject of a takeover by CanWest Global Communications Corp. and Goldman Sachs reported a 12-per-cent increase in revenue in the fourth quarter due to the same period a year earlier. Results sagged due to an almost-tripled tax bill and sharp profit declines in entertainment and motion picture distribution units, the company said FINANCIAL POST growth in its broadcasting and movie distribution business. But it still posted a fourth-quarter loss for the three months ended Dec.

31 of $16.6 million, or 40 cents a share, compared with a profit of $24.8 million, or 56 cents a share, for tl I Celebrate with Ottawa's Stars in Business! Ob wm 1 I Join us for a special evening to honour the outstanding recipients of the 23rd annual Businesswoman tions. She is the past president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the industry's main trade group. She's also a former House aide to Vice-President Dick Cheney. "The key issues in Congress that affect us are the same ones affecting most automakers," Ms. Cooper said.

These include "initiatives to address CAFE standards, global warming, tax credits for hybrid vehicles and trade. As a global manufacturing and sales corporation we also have interest in human resources, health care and workplace issues." Ms. Cooper said she has been urging Toyota to create a U.S. political action committee since she joined the automaker in 2004. She said she wasn't expecting to announce one soon.

By contrast, GM and Ford have long had PACs. Without a PAC, Toyota's power in electoral politics is likely to be restrained, said John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers. Detroit's automakers and their labour groups have more clout in congressional elections, thanks to corporate PACs and unions' strength, said Mr. Engler, ex-governor of Michigan. BLOOMBERG NEWS Company will have factories -and friends -in 11 states BY ALAN OHNSMAN AND GOPAL RATNAM WASHINGTON Toyota Motor which gained new Wash-'ington allies last week by award-'ing a assembly plant to Mississippi, plans to spend a record amount this year to lobby lawmakers and bolster its image as a U.S.

company. The outlays will rise "given the focus on energy and trade issues" in Congress, Josephine Cooper, head of Toyota's government and industry affairs in Washington, said in an view this week. The company spent $4.6 million U.S. on such efforts in 2006, compared with General Motors $8.7 million and Ford Motor $9.1 million, U.S. records show.

Toyota, poised to pass GM this year as the world's biggest I automaker, also may create its first political action committee, allowing it to make contributions to candidates and parties, Ms. Cooper said. The spending boost corre-' sponds with the increasing breadth of U.S. operations for Toyota, which enhances its clout in Washington. "We are warriors on your behalf," Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican and the Senate minority leader, said at Toyota's announcement of a plant in Tupelo last week.

Toyota wants "an equal and fair opportunity," Mr. Lott said in an interview. The Mississippi factory is Toyota's 12th U.S. major facility to either make autos, engines or parts or engineer new models. It also adds an nth state to a growing coalition of Toyota supporters in government the second-largest political footprint among automakers in the U.S.

Along with Mr. Lott, Toyota can now call on 151 House members, 21 senators and 11 governors from the states where it operates. By 2010 Toyota will make cars and trucks in Mississippi, Kentucky, California, Indiana and Texas. It will make engines and parts in Alabama, West Virginia, Missouri, Tennessee and Arkansas and develop vehicles in Michigan. Only GM will count facilities in more US.

states. In Ms. Cooper, Toyota has a Washington veteran at the head of its government affairs opera 1 J. 0jy -Wednesday, April 4, 2007 Ottawa Congress Centre, 55 Colonel By Drive Reception at Dinner Post Gala Party Ticket Prices: Members $130, Non-members $150 Corporate tables of 10 $1300 A i-J CORPORATE FINALISTS I'D is i PainCeptor raises $24.4 million in new capital BY BERT HILL Kim Dixon Vice IWitfil AUrkrttfis. LiftSfttti'li Robin Mclntyre Rige.s dike W.

Caroline Crowe of Iimih iisif and Sart -ape, fe JS Guuda ENTREPRENEUR FINALISTS i mmmmmmmmfmw? muni nmmimjiimi i lipn lunmu'n inillinu Li JLT. VJ Jl Suzanne Simpson Julie Tubman Marina Kun RtstwS Syacmi Gioiip Ltd- PraukiH. tubman Kumtal i Crtmion PnsMefif.Kun StWuler Rsi 1m'. PROFESSIONAL FINALISTS crease a workforce of 45 by 10 to 15 per cent annually. Headquartered in Montreal where it tests products, PainCeptor conducts organic and medical chemistry research at the NRC's Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences.

One third of its workforce, including Mr. Lamontagne, work in Ottawa. The startup also conducts some business development and intellectual property management operations here. A former president of the Ottawa Life Sciences Council, he helped build Neurochem, a Montreal public company developing treatments for Alz-heimers and other diseases. "This financing will enable us to rapidly advanced our two lead programs into the clinic." This year, PainCeptor plans to start Phase 1 human trials to determine safety of two compounds aimed at nerve growth and acid sensing.

The testing will take place in hospitals across the U.S. and Canada. Some work is likely in Ottawa. Most pain treatments work in the central nervous system, but can be addictive and have bad side effects. PainCeptor is searching for solutions on the edge.

It is targeting receptors on nerve ends that first detect injury, burns or onset of disease. The compounds are designed to stop or minimize the pain signal sent to the brain. The company raised a first round of $23 million three years ago following the merger of McGill and Queen's university spinoffs. The workforce has grown from 11 to 45. PainCeptor got the new round of funding from Desjardins Venture Capital, CDP CapitalVan-tagepoint, T2C2Bio 2000, Business Development Bank of Canada and Lothian Partners.

Dr. Gary Bennett, Canada senior research chair at McGill's department of anesthesia and faculty of dentistry and an unpaid member of PainCeptor advisory board, said in a statement: "Despite the high number of under-treated pain sufferers, there have been few new drugs in recent years with novel mechanisms of action that combine strong efficacy with reduced side effects." I nn i iiniiiu up i yy mil iiiLimi PainCeptor Pharma a pharmaceutical startup developing new pain treatments at the National Research Council, has raised $24.4 million in new capital to support the first phase of human testing. "This is a huge placement for Canada," president Louis Lam-ontagne said yesterday. "It was very hard to raise money be-; cause investors in the sector are very jittery." He is optimistic that PainCeptor will quickly attract the interest of pharmaceutical gi-" ants if it can prove it has effective new ways to treat chronic pain. "It's a $40-billion annual market, but right now there is noth-' ing to treat pain between Aspirin and morphine since Vioxx was taken off the market." The popular painkiller was drawn two years ago because 1 tests showed an increase risk of i heart attacks and strokes.

PainCeptor raised funds from Canadian, U.S. and European who have pumped in $47.4 million over three years. The company plans to in soil I is 4 -i 1 Laurel Murray Diane Phillips Deborah Bourchier Piniwr Vtytii l.tvitt. iJ.r in nt LiiiMaUijyiuidyyh I Ottawa ROGERS' ,0 E3I tsJUwa. CNoRy? AXIAL AVVyTELAV Cscotlabanlc Productions 1 4 6,865,369 SF 2,511 SUITES 17 CITIES $588 MILLION DOLLARS ANOTHER GREAT YEAR! SELECTED TRANSACTIONS 31 SUITES APARTMENT FENNELLAVE HAMILTON 33,760 SF INDUSTRIAL EVANS AVE.

ETOBICOKE 329 SUITES APARTMENT MARGARET KITCHENER 33,066 SF INDUSTRIAL GOLDTHORNE ETOBICOKE 71 SUITES APARTMENT PROSPECT BURLINGTON 58 SUITES APARTMENT SANDY ST. CHATHAM 22,826 SF INDUSTRIAL EVANS AVE. ETOBICOKE 38,807 SF INDUSTRIAL EVANS AVE. ETOBICOKE 130,248 SF INDUSTRIAL TEDLO ST. MISSISSAUGA 53,053 SF INDUSTRIAL TEDLO ST.

MISSISSAUGA 76,847 SF INDUSTRIAL ORWELL ST. MISSISSAUGA 34,609 SF INDUSTRIAL TEDLO ST. MISSISSAUGA 35,200 SF INDUSTRIAL TEDLO ST. MISSISSAUGA 19,200 SF INDUSTRIAL TEDLO ST. MISSISSAUGA 19,050 SF INDUSTRIAL ORWELL ST.

MISSISSAUGA 24,000 SF INDUSTRIAL ORWELL ST. MISSISSAUGA 43 SUITES 180 SUITES 121 SUITES APARTMENT APARTMENT APARTMENT JUNE ST SYMPATICA IAKESHORE BRAMPTON BRANTFORO BURLINGTON 58 SUITES 40,543 SF 9.800 SF APARTMENT INDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIAL CONNAUGHT CAWTHRARD. MAINGATE DR. LONDON MISSISSAUGA MISSISSAUGA 42,382 SF 148,325 SF 109,421 SF INDUSTRIAL OFFICE INDUSTRIAL TEDLO ST. TfEOJEENSVW TltQUEENSWAY MISSISSAUGA MISSISSAUGA MISSISSAUGA 91 SUITES APARTMENT STEWART ST.

OAKVILLE 40 SUITES APARTMENT KERR ST. OAKVILLE 91,669 SF 22,677 SF 45,177 SF 17,287 SF MDUSTRIAL OFFICE OFFICE OFFICE ALGOMARD. BANK ST, BREWER HUNT BREWER HUNT OTTAWA OTTAWA OTTAWA OTTAWA 39.426 SF 84 SUITES INDUSTRIAL APARTMENT THEQUEENSvW PORTAGE RD MISSISSAUGA NIAGARA FALLS pany that owns the former Magma Communications of Ottawa, said sales fell 14 per cent to $242 million U.S. and losses fell 90 per cent to $2.4 million in the fourth quarter ending in December compared to a year earlier. Primus cut low-margin phone services and sold an India operation to concentrate on profitable broadband access, voice-over-Internet and other services.

Hollywood sets record Hollywood studios took in a record $25.8 billion U.S. in worldwide ticket sales in 2006 as moviegoers turned out for international hits including The Da Vinci Code and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Global sales rose per cent from $23.3 billion on a U.S. rebound from a decline in 2005 and because of gains in Russia, Germany, France and Brazil, the Motion Picture Association of America said. Embraer jets grounded JetBlue Airways the first airline to fly 100-seat Embraer jets, will start grounding the planes tomorrow to fix persistent software problems.

JetBlue will contract with regional carrier Expressjet Holdings Inc. for four50-seat aircraft to replace the 25 Embraer E190S as they're sidelined two at a time. JetBlue is contacting passengers on affected flights about the plane change and giving them $25 travel vouchers. The grounding is the latest setback for JetBlue, which last month widened its forecast for a quarterly loss after winter storms led to cancellation of 1,102 flights. OTTAWA DIPIX to check tortillas Technologies of Ot- tawa has won a $600,000 U.S.-plus contract for an automated tortilla inspection system from an undisclosed major food production company.

It said that more than 200 companies, including McDonald's, Sara Lee and Weston's, have bought DIPIX machine-vision gear that inspects, rejects, sorts and aligns food products on assembly lines. Building permits jump The value of commercial and residential building permits more than doubled in January, reaching $185.7 million in Ottawa compared to $91.2 million in December. Building permits rose 25 per cent in Gatineau to $43 million. Nationally, building permits, which signal future activity, hit a record $6.3 billion in January, up 11.3 per cent. CANADA Rogers debt upgraded Rogers Communications Inc.

has won upgrades on the debt ratings of its cable and wireless units, fulfilling a pledge to return the company to investment grade. The new ratings climbed one level to Baa3 from Bui, moving them out of junk status, Moody's said yester-; day. They apply to about $6.3 billion of Toronto-' based Rogers's debt. WORLD Primus sales down I'rimusTclecommunica- tions, a struggling US. com 40,190 SF MOUS TRIAL CANOTEK RD OTTAWA 27,932 SF INDUSTRIAL CANOTEK RD OTTAWA 46,420 SF INDUSTRIAL CANOTEK RD.

OTTAWA 36 SUITES APARTMENT HOLLAND AVE OTTAWA 138 SUITES APARTMENT HOLLINGTON OTTAWA 51,370 SF 10,760 SF 41,099 SF 42,000 SF OFFICE MDUSTRIAL MDUSTRIAL MDUSTRIAL HUNT CLUB INDUSTRIAL RD WDUSTRIALRD. INDUSTRIAL RD. OTTAWA OTTAWA OTTAWA OTTAWA 21,737 SF INDUSTRIAL CANOTEK RD OTTAWA 243,936 SF LAND DEV. GOULBOUPN OTTAWA 51,100 SF MDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIAL RD. OTTAWA 27,729 SF MDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIAL RD.

OTTAWA 5,280 SF MDUSTRIAL WOUSTRW.RO OTTAWA 22,463 SF RETAIL MERWALE RD. OTTAWA 40,437 SF RETAIL Mc ARTHUR RD OTTAWA 27,750 SF RETAIL MERIVALE RD. OTTAWA 50,686 SF RETAIL MONTREAL RD OTTAWA 33,229 SF OFFICE LANCASTER OTTAWA 42,415 SF RETAl IRIS ST OTTAWA 82,355 SF OFFICE IRIS ST. OTTAWA 92 SUITES HEALTHCARE McGIBBONDR OTTAWA 94 SUITES APARTMENT DEVINE ST SARNIA 86 SUITES APARTMENT QUEfNaiAFJfTH OTTAWA 46,299 SF OFFKf QUEFNSVIEW OTTAWA 65,982 SF Cfncf RICHARDSON OTTAWA 23,882 8F RETAIL ROBERTSON OTTAWA 26,298 SF RETAl ST LAURENT OTTAWA 41,316 SF INDUSTRIAL STEVENAGE OTTAWA 120 SUITES APARTMENT YORK ST. OTTAWA 59 SUITES APARTMENT DEVINE ST.

SARNIA 18.200 SF OFFICB ST LAURENT OTTAWA 26,500 SF OFFICE THURSTON OTTAWA 118 SUITES APARTMENT 38,355 SF MDUSTRIAL MIDLAND AVE 44 SUITES APARTMENT FOXDEN RD, TORONTO 26 SUITES APARTMENT RANNOCK TORONTO 61 SUITES HEALTHCARE VAN HORNE SMITH FALLS 24 SUITES APARTMENT LONDON RD. SARNIA 109 SUITES APARTMENT AVENUE RD, TORONTO 47 SUITES APARTMENT AVENUE RD. TORONTO 115 SUITES APARTMENT BATHURST TORONTO 165 SUITES APARTMENT BIGGIN COURT TORONTO 71 SUITES APARTMENT ST CLAIR AVE TORONTO iCONfFITRAnrw ST, THOMAS SCARBOROUGH AAIDA OAKI.EV K.UT'AEI.ECA (a.HT.MIT.U (OMMI Hi IAI Rl IAII III Al ITK AKI. AwvmIc Hiiikor AsMHiialc Uroktrr uiiulan.ikli'yipiima'oipcii nilTgiiipriincctiip.M MCK I'AVII! HAS tOMMIKt lAI INVIMMIMS I'niuipill lltokcr np.iniH'Uvi! prin icciirpv'u SAM I IKKVI ONK.ii AIK Al.lll KIS iim AI'ARIMI'MS AI'ARIMIMS 1 1 IMMI K( I ISMS I Ml I OMMI K( ISVI SI Ml Ms Princip.il HmkiT I'mu ipul Utukcr iiiimiiii tu iuilil'm'iiiiiiia'iifpcii STEVE l.f.RNKH kl I Alt SAI IS I I'AMNIi LAND 1)1 VIMH'MIM Principal Hmkot itlcrncru primcitiip cu For in quisition and disposition opportunities please aniloct: PKIMECORP COMMERCIAL REALTY BROKER 613.722.2020 www.prlmccorp.ca.