LAVAL, QC, Feb. 5, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - NEOMED announced today the launch of the Biologics and Vaccine Centre of Excellence in Laval under a proposed partnership with GSK. This Centre will be unique in Canada and GSK has committed $47 million towards its establishment.
"We are extremely happy to announce the creation of NEOMED's biologics and vaccines division, a Centre of Excellence that will build on the scientific heritage of GSK and the successful business model of the NEOMED Institute research hub in Technoparc Montréal's Saint-Laurent Campus. This Centre will allow Quebec to generate significant economic benefits and offer many companies in Quebec, Canada, and abroad access to state-of-the-art facilities and to an expertise of exceptional quality," said NEOMED President and CEO Max Fehlmann.
Founded in 2012, NEOMED has greatly contributed to the sustainability of the biopharmaceutical industry in Montreal by creating an innovative, flexible, and adapted business model for research and development. Since its inception, the NEOMED Institute has been able to attract 175 people working in 23 independent small and medium-sized companies focusing primarily on the development of small molecules. These companies have transformed the way R&D is conducted through collaborative partnerships.
The GSK proposed partnership will ensure that the expertise remains in Montreal. It will allow both the preservation of 50 jobs and the eventual creation of new positions. It will also increase opportunities for new discoveries to make the necessary step toward commercialization.
The new NEOMED biologics and vaccines division is structured around three distinct and fully integrated pillars:
- The transformation of the GSK research facility, and its high-tech laboratories and equipment, into a multi-tenant hub of small and medium-sized enterprises specialized in this important area of expertise
- The creation of a specialized contract research organization (CRO) that will market its biology and clinical immunology services to the business community and to GSK for at least three years
- The creation of an exclusive partnership between GSK and NEOMED in order to share risks and benefits on existing biologic and vaccine projects
"This partnership demonstrates the value of the NEOMED Institute and the open, collaborative environment that has been created in Montreal," Max Fehlmann said. "It also illustrates GSK's commitment to supporting science in Canada, building on many existing collaborations with organizations across academia and industry. We are also pleased to see the Quebec government supporting this important initiative which fosters innovation and keeps the R&D expertise in
the province."
"We are very pleased to partner with NEOMED to create a unique Biologics and Vaccine Centre of Excellence," said Paul Lirette, President, GSK Canada Pharmaceuticals. "It enables GSK to look externally and develop collaborative partnerships to optimize R&D, and represents the dawn of a new and promising era for pharmaceutical research in the Montreal region."
ABOUT NEOMED and the NEOMED Institute
NEOMED is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to foster the development of promising therapeutic approaches emerging from academia and biotechnology companies. Created in 2012, NEOMED supports the development of projects up to the stage of human proof of concept. NEOMED operates within the NEOMED Institute, a high-tech research and development facility located in Technoparc Montréal's Saint-Laurent Campus. NEOMED Institute acts as an open-access drug discovery hub, housing commercial companies and offering a unique environment to nurture collaboration, innovation, and creativity. For more information, please visit our website: www.neomed.ca.
NEOMED is jointly funded by the pharmaceutical industry, the Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et des Exportations du Québec, and the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) of Canada.
ABOUT GSK
GSK is one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies and is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For more information, please visit our website www.gsk.ca.
To access the fact sheet, please click here.
SOURCE NEOMED
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