IRIC - Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer

Published on June 17, 2021

IRIC is delighted by the creation of “Médicament Québec”, a major strategic hub whose mission is to promote greater autonomy and increase Quebec’s drive with respect to drug discovery, development and production.

With this, the ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation recognizes the unifying leadership of the Université de Montréal and the key expertise of IRIC’s scientific community, which plays a vital role in the sphere of innovation and drug discovery. Its close ties with the Department of Chemistry of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Pharmacy of the UdeM, on top of its unique knowhow in drug discovery, provide IRIC with a stellar position in the field. Within the framework of Médicament Québec, the Institute will also collaborate with investigators from McGill University, Université Laval and the Université de Sherbrooke, collegiate technology transfer centres, as well as with many industrial partners around a structuring project for Quebec.

The Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Université de Montréal, which houses the country’s largest drug discovery unit in a university setting, will be at the heart of this initiative, and is very excited about the commitment made by the government, not only because it equates to the recognition of its business model, but also because it will contribute to its evolution.

IRIC and its visionary model

A cancer research hub, the Institute possesses all of the ingredients needed to accelerate the advancement of knowledge, drug discovery and new cancer treatments. Its unique model based on collaboration, multidisciplinarity and innovation has been a foundation for success for almost 20 years and has resulted in several major discoveries that now benefit cancer patients.

IRIC’s assets revolve around its community of seasoned scientists, its next generation of investigators, its core facilities serving multiple research projects, its medicinal chemistry team that includes more than 60 chemists and biologists with solid expertise in drug discovery, and finally, its proximity to a research valorization hub, IRICoR, housed within its walls. IRICoR accelerates the translation of research into discovery by channeling the scientific advances made in the lab towards the patients.

IRICoR, driving discoveries

Thanks to its dual scientific and business expertise, IRICoR’s team targets the best research projects from academia in order to facilitate their transformation into new therapies, through the development of strategic partnerships with the private sector and the creation of new companies. For over 10 years, IRICoR has demonstrated the success of its model applied throughout Quebec and the rest of Canada. The knowhow shown by the members of the team in the strategic support at all stages of guiding drug discovery towards the commercialization of innovative therapeutic solutions will greatly contribute to the success of this large-scale project.

On the strength of its innovative model, of its scientific achievements, of its assets embodied within the UdeM and of its proximity to IRICoR, IRIC has what it takes to be at the heart of this new initiative that will increase Quebec’s autonomy in drug discovery and production.