Sanofi And CQDM Enter Into Drug Discovery Agreement
Sanofi Canada has announced that it is entering into a drug discovery agreement with the Quebec Consortium for Drug Discovery, or CQDM. The partnership will help to support drug discovery and development efforts in Quebec and other provinces in Canada. Sanofi has already stated that it will be contributing as much as half a million dollars to the agreement, which is set to last for as many as five years. There may also be other financial contributors to the partnership in the future.
In the past, CQDM has invested in projects that further the development of drug discovery technologies. In particular, the consortium has shown interest in technologies that quicken the pace of drug development. Under the terms of the deal, Sanofi Canada will be granted entrance into the CQDM Explore program, which according to CQDM, “targets innovative breakthrough technologies in order to enable drug discovery.”
Marc Bonnefoi, the North American head of research and development at Sanofi, released a statement about the organizations’ new agreement, stating that their research will fit soundly into the company’s strategy of open development. Franca Mancino, the vice president of Sanofi Canada’s medical and regulatory affairs division, also commented on the collaboration. “Sanofi Canada is committed to investing in R&D, which contributes to establishing Quebec and Canada on the global R&D map and creating an environment for future collaboration and innovation for the benefit of our society and, ultimately, patients,” he said.
Other pharmaceutical companies in the CQDM precompetitive research biopharmaceutical consortium include Merck, AstraZeneca, Pfizer Canada, Boehringer Ingelheim, GSK, Eli Lilly Canada, and Novartis Pharma Canada. The Canadian government also has made it a priority to support CQDM, and it provides funding through Quebec’s Ministry of Economy, Innovations and Exportations and through the Government of Canada under the Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence program.