CHICAGO, IL, April 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - CQDM is joining the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) in a new initiative to create an International Collaborative Industry Program (ICIP). This initiative is a concrete action to promote and facilitate the establishment of partnerships between Massachusetts and Quebec-based life sciences companies for research and development of new products and processes intended for commercialization.
Announced at the BIO International Convention 2013, with the presence of the Minister Marceau, this international collaboration will build on existing strengths in Massachusetts and in Québec to increase innovation, productivity, investment and job creation in these two jurisdictions.
This program is dedicated to late-stage R&D companies from different sectors such as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics and bioinformatics to submit project applications. For this ICIP competition, the winning Quebec companies will be eligible for funding up to $2 million. CQDM funds 50% of the Quebec portion of the project to a maximum of $ 500,000; companies will match the funding that CQDM provides. The MLSC will provide each winning Massachusetts company with up to $500,000 in matching funding. Detailed information on the CQDM / MLSC funding program is available on CQDM's website.
"No one country or region can solve the challenge of developing the next generation of drugs and medical devices on its own," said Susan Windham-Bannister , Ph.D., President & CEO of the MLSC, ICIP sponsor and the agency charged with implementing Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's 10-year, $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative. "The breakthroughs of tomorrow will only be possible through collaboration like that which we are fostering between Massachusetts and Quebec."
"Research and innovation play a central role in the growth of the life sciences sector in Quebec," said Quebec's Minister of Finance and Economy, Nicolas Marceau . "Our participation in the International Collaborative Industry Program is thus strategic for Quebec. In fact, project funding through the Quebec Consortium for Drug Discovery (CQDM) will strengthen the innovative base of our companies and consolidate the strong links we share with Massachusetts, particularly in link with the joint declaration signed in 2009 with the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment. Quebec's participation in this program is thus in line with the actions that our government is putting in place to adapt to the new business model of the world industry that suppose partnerships and collaborations in the field of research and innovation."
"This unique partnership between Quebec and Massachusetts capitalizes on the synergies between the two regions in Life Sciences and paves the way for new investment opportunities and collaborations," said Diane Gosselin , President Executive Director of CQDM. "This new funding program will enable industry research partnership in Life Sciences, in continuity with CQDM's mission which, through innovative actions, wants to accelerate the process of drug discovery."
About CQDM
CQDM is a meeting ground for all stakeholders in biopharmaceutical research. Its principal mission is to fund research projects carried out in partnership between the academic and private sectors. An innovative Canadian initiative, CQDM has two major goals: to accelerate the drug discovery process and to develop safer and more effective drugs. CQDM is funded through contributions from Pfizer Canada, AstraZeneca, Merck, Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline Inc., Eli Lilly Canada Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., the Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence (BL-NCE) and the Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche, de la Science et de la Technologie du Québec. For more information: www.cqdm.org.
About the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) is a quasi-public agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts tasked with implementing the Massachusetts Life Sciences Act, a 10-year, $1-billion initiative that was signed into law in June of 2008. The MLSC's mission is to create jobs in the life sciences and support vital scientific research that will improve the human condition. This work includes making financial investments in public and private institutions that are advancing life sciences research, development and commercialization as well as building ties among sectors of the Massachusetts life sciences community. For more information, visit www.masslifesciences.com.
About the International Collaborative Industry Program (ICIP)
The MLSC's International Collaborative Industry Program (ICIP) seeks to promote collaboration and idea exchange between life sciences companies around the world, as well as to stimulate the development of new products or processes intended for commercialization. ICIP accepts project proposals rooted in the life sciences: Biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics and bioinformatics. Projects sponsored together by a Massachusetts life sciences company and a company from one of the participating international partner regions are eligible to apply for joint funding from the MLSC and the respective international partner agency. For more information about ICIP, visit www.masslifesciences.com or email icip@masslifesciences.com
SOURCE CQDM
Source: www.prnewswire.com
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