{"id":8489,"date":"2026-09-23T16:12:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T20:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/?p=8489"},"modified":"2026-09-23T17:55:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T21:55:49","slug":"quebecs-rna-ecosystem-comes-together-to-accelerate-tomorrows-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/news-and-events\/quebecs-rna-ecosystem-comes-together-to-accelerate-tomorrows-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Quebec\u2019s RNA ecosystem comes together to accelerate tomorrow\u2019s medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What if the next major breakthroughs in diagnostics and therapeutics were shaped right here in Quebec, through meaningful connections, shared ideas and ambitious collaborations? On October 22, 2026, AReNA, P\u00f4le ARN du Qu\u00e9bec, will bring together the driving forces of the RNA ecosystem at the Grande Biblioth\u00e8que de Montr\u00e9al (BAnQ) for its annual event, under the theme From Action to Collective Impact<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, industry partners, support organizations and public-sector decision-makers will come together around a shared ambition: turning scientific excellence into real-world benefits for health, innovation and society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the<\/strong> program:<\/strong> a look back at AReNA\u2019s first two years; the launch of new initiatives; a strategic panel moderated by Benoit Larose<\/a>, CEO of BioQu\u00e9bec<\/a>; a 180-second pitch competition spotlighting five emerging Quebec companies; a presentation of a ROBIC<\/a> study on oligonucleotide therapeutic delivery; and a networking cocktail to spark new connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The panel<\/strong> will bring together leaders advancing RNA, from fundamental research to the development of innovative companies: Mike Zimmer<\/a>, PhD, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at RNA4RARE Therapeutics<\/a>; Vince Forgetta<\/a>, PhD, Chief Information and Bioinformatics Officer at 5 Prime Sciences<\/a>; \u00c9ric L\u00e9cuyer<\/a>, PhD, Principal Investigator and Director of the RNA Biology Research Unit at Institut de recherches cliniques de Montr\u00e9al (IRCM)<\/a>; and In\u00e8s Holzbaur<\/a>, PhD, Founder and Managing Partner at AmorChem<\/a>. Together, they will explore the levers, strategic choices and challenges that can position Quebec among the world\u2019s RNA leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The pitch competition<\/strong> will showcase five promising companies from the RNA ecosystem. In just 180 seconds, each team will aim to capture the audience\u2019s attention and present its vision, technology and potential to key life sciences stakeholders: Espoir Biosciences represented by Gilles Tossing, PhD, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer; Eder Therapeutics represented by Jared Rhines, Founder and CEO; RNOVA Tx represented by Sima Al Atout, PhD, Researcher; Sparx Genomics represented by Eloi Gagnon, Founder and CEO and Nanofacile represented by Ruben Lopez, Founder and CEO. The winning company will gain access to BIO International 2027 in Philadelphia, a unique opportunity to bring Quebec innovation to the international stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join us to help accelerate the path from discovery to application, to support emerging companies and strengthen collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udcc5 Date:<\/strong> Thursday, October 22, 2026, at 5 p.m.
\ud83d\udccd Location:<\/strong> Grande Biblioth\u00e8que de BAnQ, Montr\u00e9al<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reserve your spot now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n


\ud83d\ude4f<\/strong> Thank you to the Government of Quebec for its financial support and to Gowling WLG for sponsoring this event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On October 22, AReNA\u2019s annual event will bring together the people driving RNA forward in Quebec \u2014 researchers, entrepreneurs, companies, investors, industry partners and decision-makers \u2014 at the Grande Biblioth\u00e8que de Montr\u00e9al. It will be a key opportunity to exchange ideas, build connections and accelerate collaboration across a fast-growing ecosystem<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":8480,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-our-news","post_format-post-format-image"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8489"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8503,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8489\/revisions\/8503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}