Sanofi Canada Becomes Eighth Member of CQDM

Sanofi’s Canadian arm, Sanofi Canada, will become the eighth member of the Quebec Consortium for Drug Discovery (CQDM), investing up to $500,000 into the Montreal group over the next five years.

The move will support research projects aimed at improving drug discovery and development. The partnership also grants Sanofi Canada membership into the CQDM Explore program—which targets innovative breakthrough technologies in order to enable drug discovery, CQDM said.

In addition to Sanofi Canada's monetary contribution, the company will place a senior North American representative on the Explore advisory committee and make key Sanofi scientists available to CQDM’s mentorship program, the company said.

CQDM members already include AstraZeneca, Merck & Co., Pfizer Canada Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly Canada and Novartis Pharma Canada. CQDM also receives financial support from Quebec's Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Exportations and the Canadian Government.

Diane Gosselin, president and CEO of the CQDM said having eight members makes things easier.

“With eight at the table, it’ll be easier to bridge a key gap in the innovation chain by leveraging the financial investment and reducing the risks in researching and developing breakthrough technologies that would otherwise not be financed,” she said.

The funding members share the costs and benefits and can apply the knowledge gained to their own drug development pipelines, she added. — Kellen Owings

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