Drug research commercialization supported with new $2M fund

Vancouver, BC and Saskatoon, SK – A consortium of Saskatchewan’s innovation organizations have come together with the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), Canada’s national drug development and commercialization centre, to establish a new $2-million CDRD-Saskatchewan Innovation Fund. The fund will support and accelerate the commercialization of cutting-edge early-stage health technologies stemming from the province’s top research institutions.

The University of Saskatchewan’s College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, Innovation Saskatchewan, the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization – International Vaccine Centre, and Ag-West Bio Inc. have collectively committed $1 million to be further leveraged with an additional $1 million through CDRD. These resources will be dedicated to de-risking and developing innovative Saskatchewan-based research to help attract the additional investment required for commercialization. This partnership will create a clear and well-supported pathway to translate these discoveries into new therapeutic products for patients.

“Basic research is the lifeblood of Canada’s health sciences sector, but we need unique new models to advance that research to a commercial stage – models where stakeholders come together to share risk and reward,” said Karimah Es Sabar, president and CEO of CDRD. “Strong partnerships between the investigators conducting the breakthrough research, translational centres such as CDRD, industry, foundations and government will enable provinces such as Saskatchewan, as well as Canada as a whole, to be not only the generators of world-class health research that they are today, but leaders in translating that research into world-class innovation.”