$15M funding supports cancer immunotherapy research centre

Montréal, QC – The Centre for Commercialization of Cancer Immunotherapy (C3i) has received $15 million funding over five years from the federal government. Immunotherapy is an emerging area of medicine that uses the power of the immune system to combat cancer. When brought to market, C3i’s form of cancer treatment stands to revolutionize cancer care by providing access to non-toxic, highly efficient cures that do not rely on chemotherapy.

The funding is being provided through the most recent Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) program competition.

Operating out of Montréal’s Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre, C3i will combine clinical diagnostics, access to clinical trials and regulatory support to bring effective and affordable cancer remedies to Canadians and the world.

“Our research ecosystem needs to be balanced in a way that supports the constant interchange between discovery and innovation,” said B. Mario Pinto, president, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and chair, Networks of Centres of Excellence Steering Committee. “Commercialization centres satisfy a very specific need by providing a solid connection between the ideas generated by foundational research and the expertise that can take the most promising ideas toward commercialization.”