Advancing Technology Innovation Through Discovery: A New Partnership Between the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Genome Canada

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 23, 2010) - Genome Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) are pleased to announce a partnered program called “Advancing Technology Innovation through Discovery”.

This program will link next generation sequencing technologies within Genome Canada-funded Science & Technology (S&T) Innovation Centres with gene discovery projects to help speed the translation to clinical medicine and to advance the adoption of new technologies. The focus of the program is on childhood diseases for which genes can be identified in a short time frame and with a small number of subjects to ensure the greatest impact.

“We are excited by this new collaboration with CIHR”, said Dr. Thomas Caskey, Chair of Genome Canada’s Board of Directors, “It’s a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the positive impact that genomics technology can have on our individual health and the role Canada can play in this area.”

CIHR and Genome Canada will each contribute up to $2 million. Additional funders will be sought to help augment the scale of the program and speed development of results.

“Genomics technologies have quickly become the tools of choice in our search for the genetic causes of disease. This collaboration will accelerate gene discovery and can lead to new therapies for debilitating childhood disorders,” said Dr. Alain Beaudet, President of CIHR.

The first stage of the program will establish national disease consortia to bring together clinicians, geneticists and the S&T Innovation Centres to allow the rapid assembly of patient resources across Canada and the development of an application for the funding.

More details will be available in the formal Request for Applications scheduled to be released the week of July 26, 2010 on the Genome Canada and CIHR websites.

About Genome Canada

Genome Canada is a not-for-profit corporation that acts as the primary funding and information resource relating to genomics in Canada. Its main objective is to position Canada as a world leader in genomics research. Dedicated to developing and implementing a national strategy in genomics research for the benefit of all Canadians, it has received $915 million in funding from the Government of Canada since 2000 to which has been added close to $1.0 billion in partnered co-funding and interest earnings.

About CIHR

For the past 10 years, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has supported better health and healthcare for Canadians. As the Government of Canada’s health research investment agency, CIHR enables the creation of evidence-based knowledge and its transformation into improved treatments, prevention and diagnoses, new products and services, and a stronger, patient-oriented healthcare system. Composed of 13 internationally-recognized institutes, CIHR supports more than 13,000 health researchers and trainees across Canada.