> New facility to fuel research in medicinal chemistry
New facility to fuel research in medicinal chemistry
Contact:
Dr. Mario Pinto, VP Research, 778.782.5822; bpinto@sfu.ca
Marianne Meadahl, PAMR, 778.782.4323
Dr. Mario Pinto, VP Research, 778.782.5822; bpinto@sfu.ca
Marianne Meadahl, PAMR, 778.782.4323
May 7, 2008
A new research facility promises to significantly expand Simon Fraser University's medicinal chemistry capacity - and its role in health and life sciences.
The facility, to be called MedChem, will receive more than $1.9 million in funds from Western Economic Diversification Canada. It will provide a vital new environment for academic researchers who are working to develop promising new therapeutic drug compounds for further testing and potential commercialization.
The facility will include an incubator for early stage biotechnology companies and house the SFU node of the Centre for Drug Research and Development. It will build on SFU's own investment in medicinal chemistry, says Mario Pinto, Vice-President, Research, and a professor of chemistry.
The facility will provide state-of-the-art physical infrastructure and equipment for SFU spin-out companies to launch their operations with minimal investment. Pinto says it will add value and critically evaluate new biotechnologies.
"It will provide the missing link in the chain from ideas to innovation to commercialization," he says.
The facility builds on SFU's past investment of physical infrastructure and research talent in medicinal chemistry, including such recent high-profile chair appointments as Robert Young, the Merck Frosst B.C. Leadership Chair in Pharmaceutical Genomics, Bioinformatics and Drug Discovery at SFU, and valuable synergies with such organizations as Genome BC, Life Sciences BC, the Centre for Drug Research and Development as well as B.C.'s biotechnology community.
Says Young: "The new facility, together with the existing analytical, synthetic and compound evaluation capabilities already in place at SFU, will make the integrated medicinal chemistry facility a driver for expansion of the biotechnology industry in B.C. and within Canada.
"There are many exciting projects going on within SFU and other B.C. institutions at this moment and many have or will produce lead compounds and potential drug candidates that will benefit from the optimization and more complete data packages that this facility will allow."
Such results, Pinto suggests, will enable entrepreneurs to gain financing for new start-up companies or to earn maximum value for B.C. and Canada through out-licensing to large pharma or other biotech enterprises.
Funding for MedChem was announced May 2 by MP Rona Ambrose, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and of Western Economic Diversification Canada. The announcement included representatives from government as well as the Centre for Drug Research Development, Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. the Leading Edge Endowment Fund (LEEF), Genome BC and Life Sciences BC.
The facility, to be called MedChem, will receive more than $1.9 million in funds from Western Economic Diversification Canada. It will provide a vital new environment for academic researchers who are working to develop promising new therapeutic drug compounds for further testing and potential commercialization.
The facility will include an incubator for early stage biotechnology companies and house the SFU node of the Centre for Drug Research and Development. It will build on SFU's own investment in medicinal chemistry, says Mario Pinto, Vice-President, Research, and a professor of chemistry.
The facility will provide state-of-the-art physical infrastructure and equipment for SFU spin-out companies to launch their operations with minimal investment. Pinto says it will add value and critically evaluate new biotechnologies.
"It will provide the missing link in the chain from ideas to innovation to commercialization," he says.
The facility builds on SFU's past investment of physical infrastructure and research talent in medicinal chemistry, including such recent high-profile chair appointments as Robert Young, the Merck Frosst B.C. Leadership Chair in Pharmaceutical Genomics, Bioinformatics and Drug Discovery at SFU, and valuable synergies with such organizations as Genome BC, Life Sciences BC, the Centre for Drug Research and Development as well as B.C.'s biotechnology community.
Says Young: "The new facility, together with the existing analytical, synthetic and compound evaluation capabilities already in place at SFU, will make the integrated medicinal chemistry facility a driver for expansion of the biotechnology industry in B.C. and within Canada.
"There are many exciting projects going on within SFU and other B.C. institutions at this moment and many have or will produce lead compounds and potential drug candidates that will benefit from the optimization and more complete data packages that this facility will allow."
Such results, Pinto suggests, will enable entrepreneurs to gain financing for new start-up companies or to earn maximum value for B.C. and Canada through out-licensing to large pharma or other biotech enterprises.
Funding for MedChem was announced May 2 by MP Rona Ambrose, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and of Western Economic Diversification Canada. The announcement included representatives from government as well as the Centre for Drug Research Development, Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. the Leading Edge Endowment Fund (LEEF), Genome BC and Life Sciences BC.