Montreal, November 20th, 2014 – CQDM, Alsace BioValley and Lyonbiopôle launch the 5th competition of the Quebec/France Program to accelerate the discovery and development of new drugs. Once again this year, the goal of the joint program is to strengthen biomedical research in Quebec, Alsace and Rhône-Alpes by aligning scientific resources and expertise. More specifically, it is meant to co-finance the development of novel and potentially transformative next-generation technologies with an immediate and strong impact on biopharmaceutical R& D.
Researchers, from the academic and private sectors, interested in this program are invited to submit their research project applications before April 7th, 2015. Program details are available on CQDM’s website at: https://cqdm.orgen/programs-and-competitions/quebec-france-joint-program.php
Networking event
To create relationships between researchers of Alsace, the Rhône-Alpes region and Quebec and to facilitate the preparation of joint projects, CQDM, Alsace BioValley and Lyonbiopôle will organize an information and networking session January 29th and 30th, 2015 in Strasbourg, France. Quebec researchers are invited to meet members of the French delegation composed of several researchers indifferent spheres of activity. In order to optimize interactions during the event, researchers interested in participating in the session must contact CQDM before January 16th, 2015, to express their interest and specify the expertise sought in future collaborations. For further information, please contact Marc Thibault, CQDM’s Director of programs, at mthibault@cqdm.org
5 years of collaboration already
The Quebec/France Program began back in November 2010 when CQDM and AlsaceBioValley signed their first agreement. Their initial achievements led to Lyonbiopôle joining in 2012. This strategic partnership continues to increase the competitiveness of biopharmaceutical research in Quebec, Alsace and the Rhône-Alpes region.
Since 2010, the Quebec/France tripartite program has funded four outstanding research projects:
- Patrick Vermette (Université de Sherbrooke) / Séverine Sigrist (CeeD) – Development of a new matrix for pancreatic islets culture and its validation in a bioartificial pancreas (BioArtMatrix);
- Sébastien Blais-Ouellette (Photon etc.) / Serge Bischoff (Rhenovia Pharma) – Optical imaging and biosimulation platforms to accelerate CNS drug discovery;
- Daniel Chelsky (Caprion Proteomics Inc.) / Stéphane Gasman (CNRS) – Identification of new biomarkers for neuroendocrine cancers;
- Michel Bouvier (Université de Montréal) / Brigitte Kieffer (CERBM) – Monitoring the signaling pathways of GPCRs in living animals.
About CQDM
CQDM is a pharma-based consortium active in pre-competitive research whose mission is to fund the development of innovative tools and technologies to accelerate drug discovery. Unique in the world, CQDM’s business model is based on a collaborative approach where all stakeholders share the costs of biopharmaceutical research and benefit from its results. CQDM also provides a common meeting ground where academia, governments, and the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries converge to address numerous complex medical challenges. CQDM receives financial support from AstraZeneca, Merck, Pfizer Canada, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly Canada, Novartis Pharma Canada, Sanofi Canada, as well as from Quebec’s Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Exports (MEIE) and under the Federal government’s Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence Program (BL-NCE).For more information, visit us at www.cqdm.org.
About Alsace BioValley
As a French world-class cluster dedicated to therapeutic innovations, Alsace BioValley is the one-stop contact to optimize any R&D development or business project in Europe, both in drug development and medical technologies. Located in Alsace region, part of the famous French-German-Swiss BioValley and with a unique concentration of international life sciences & healthcare players, Alsace BioValley helps any Life Sciences & Healthcare companies interested in new projects and partnerships in Europe: to search outstanding scientific or industrial partners to develop very innovative R&D projects, to find the best innovative technology, patent or scientific expertise, or to set up and locate in Alsace region.
www.alsace-biovalley.com
www.biovalley.com
About Lyonbiopôle
As a biocluster, Lyonbiopole is the one-stop shop for healthcare innovation in Rhône-Alpes, France. It aims to support the emergence and development of innovative technologies, products and services in 4 main strategic areas: human medicine, veterinary medicine, in vitro diagnostics, medical devices and medical technologies. Focused on infectious diseases since its creation in 2005, Lyonbiopole is now supporting ambitious projects and companies in other fields like cancer, nutrition, metabolic diseases and neurosciences. More information: www.lyonbiopole.com
Source:
Eugénie Bergeron-Côté
Project Coordinator, CQDM
Tel.: (514) 766-6661, ext. 2196
ebergeron@cqdm.org
