IRIC - Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer

Published on March 15, 2010

IRIC is pleased to be featured in the new campaign launched this week by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal highlighting Montreal’s innovative and creative talent. Under the theme MONTRÉAL F1RST, the campaign recognizes innovations born out of Montreal including the expansion of stem cells in vivo, a world premiere by researchers from IRIC.
“The MONTRÉAL F1RST campaign pays tribute to the innovation and creativity of our businesses and institutions. IRIC is a concrete example of success, which contributes to the reputation and success of our metropolis through the genius and talent of its team of researchers,” stated the President and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, Michel Leblanc.

In April 2009, the team of Dr. Guy Sauvageau, IRIC Chief Executive Officer and Scientific Director, succeeded in producing a large quantity of laboratory stem cells from a small number of blood stem cells obtained from bone marrow. The world first could have major implications in several fields for which no treatment currently exists, including in the development of novel treatments for patients waiting for a bone marrow transplant.
Every year thousands of people wait in vain for a bone marrow transplant due to the lack of compatible donors. It is known that a bone marrow stem cell transplant can reconstitute the recipient’s bone marrow. The main difficulty is to obtain a sufficient number of compatible stem cells. Thanks to Dr. Sauvageau and his team, these patients will be able to obtain new bone marrow within the next few years. “It could be possible to envision transplants for all adults from existing umbilical cord blood banks. The stem cell content of these blood banks is currently too limited for large-scale use in adults,” Dr. Sauvageau affirmed.