Servier Canada establishes a new partnership with CQDM to fund a diabetes research project

LAVAL, QC, Nov. 23, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Servier Canada is pleased to announce a new partnership with CQDM to fund a research project aiming at preventing the onset of diabetes-related kidney disease. With this new collaboration, Servier becomes the tenth pharmaceutical partner to join CQDM.

"CQDM is proud to welcome Servier, a world leader in the pharmaceutical industry, as a new member of its research consortium. Through its commitment to this project, Servier will have a major impact on the health status of patients suffering from diabetes, by delaying the onset of chronic kidney disease, one of the most devastating vascular complication of diabetes", said Ms. Diane Gosselin, President and CEO of CQDM.

This public-private partnership globally valued at $1.5 million will allow the team of Dr. Pavel Hamet at the CHUM (CRCHUM) Research Centre to identify biomarkers and genetic profiles associated with chronic kidney disease caused by diabetes. This programme will support the development of several preventive tests. The first one will be marketed within two years by OPTI-THERA, a Quebec biotech company that specializes in diabetes.

"The chronic kidney disease is affecting one in two diabetic patients, and its end stage requires heavy and costly interventions, like dialysis or renal transplant. The purpose of this project is to develop new predictive tools, able to identify diabetic patients most susceptible to develop renal insufficiency in order to treat them earlier, in primary prevention " , said Dr. Pavel Hamet, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Predictive Genomics at CRCHUM. In the context of a chronic polygenic disease such as diabetes, the development of tools which combines biomarkers and genetic testing is necessary to reach a significant and reliable predictive value for vascular complications. These tools are part of a precision medicine approach which aims at treating earlier the most vulnerable patients, since the current available treatment options to prevent renal complications are more efficient in primary prevention, i.e. before symptoms appear.

This project is funded through CQDM's SynergiQc program thanks to a contribution of 333 475$ from the Ministry of Economy, Science and Innovation. The purpose of this program is to fund research programs from Industry which is implemented in the academic settings and thereby allow Quebec companies to break new ground while benefiting from the expertise found in Quebec universities.

"Partner of CQDM since its beginnings, MESI is proud to invest in partnerships and major initiatives that foster collaboration between the research community and the pharmaceutical sector. Innovation is synonymous with performance and competitiveness, and this is why our government continues to make substantial efforts, notably under the Quebec Life Sciences Strategy, to position Quebec among the top five hubs in North America", said Dominique Anglade, Deputy Premier, Minister of Economy, Science and Innovation and Minister responsible for the Digital Strategy.

"Quebec is world-renowned for its expertise in the life sciences sector, particularly in precision medicine, an area recognized as a priority in the Quebec Life Sciences Strategy. Quebec's dynamism in research and innovation accelerates the process of discovering and developing safer and more effective drugs to treat patients. Innovating is optimizing Quebec's health and social services system in order to improve the quality of life of the entire population", added Gaétan Barrette, Minister of Health and Social Services.

"The collaboration opportunities offered by the life sciences ecosystem associated with a clear and ambitious provincial strategy for this sector are key competitive advantages for Quebec and for an innovative industry like Servier. The partnerships we are implementing here, are key to accelerate and complement our international research programs. We are proud to partner with CQDM and OPTI-THERA to actively contribute to improving the health status of diabetic patients", said Servier Canada Chief Executive Officer Frédéric Fasano.

About Servier (www.servier.com) 
Servier is an international pharmaceutical company governed by a non-profit foundation with its headquarters in France (Suresnes). With a strong international presence in 148 countries and a turnover of 4 billion euros in 2016, Servier employs 21 000 people worldwide. Entirely independent, the Group reinvests 25% of its turnover (excluding generic drugs) in research and development and uses all its profits for development. Corporate growth is driven by Servier's constant search for innovation in five areas of excellence: cardiovascular, immune-inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and diabetes, as well as by its activities in high-quality generic drugs. Servier Canada was established in 1978 in Laval, Quebec and employs over 320 people across Canada. Servier Canada is currently marketing medicines in Cardiology, Hematology and Diabetes, and will soon market oncology products indicated as treatment options in hematological malignancies. For additional information please visit our website at www.servier.ca.

About CQDM (www.cqdm.org)
CQDM is an industrial research cluster whose purpose is to allow Quebec companies to access the innovation research network in the biopharmaceutical sector. CQDM's business model is based on a collaborative approach where all partners share the costs of biopharmaceutical research. CQDM is also the catalyst where academia, governments, the pharmaceutical industry, and the biotechnology industry converge to create practical solutions to complex medical challenges. CQDM receives financial support from Merck, Pfizer Inc., AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly Canada, Janssen, Novartis Pharma Canada, Sanofi Canada, the Quebec Ministère de l'Économie, de la Science et de l'Innovation (MESI), and the Government of Canada (Business-led Networks of Centres of Excellence Program, or BL-NCE). Information: www.cqdm.org.

About OPTI-THERA Inc.
OPTI-THERA Inc. is a personalized medicine company that is a spin-off of CRCHUM and the Université de Montréal. Its mission is to develop and implement predictive genomic testing of susceptibility to illnesses, their complications, and individual response to treatment. In this project, the company develops polygenic risk scores to predict the deterioration of renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes in order to prevent progression to renal failure.           

SOURCE Servier Canada Inc.