Gene therapy: A Canadian premiere at Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont

17 November 2020

photo de the Höpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont

The Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont will welcome the first gene therapy production unit in Canada.

A fruitful partnership

This Canadian first is made possible thanks to a major financial assistance of $6,260,849 from the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation, complemented by a generous donation from the Sandra and Alain Bouchard Foundation ($1.3 million) and the contribution of the Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont Foundation ($200,000).

For many years now, the HMR Foundation has partnered with us in making the shift to regenerative medicine. Thanks to this support, the HMR continues to expand the boundaries of knowledge and practices in order to save more lives.Sylvain Lemieux, President and CEO, CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal

This major investment will allow for the acquisition of leading-edge, but extremely costly, equipment essential for the production of cells for therapeutic purposes valued at $7.8 million.

Gene therapy: A source of hope for patients

This new gene therapy production unit will be located at the Hematology-Oncology and Cellular Therapy University Institute of the HMR.

Gene therapy is a treatment strategy which consists in introducing genetic material into cells to treat diseases that are currently incurable, such as some cancers.

The new gene therapy unit will make it possible to produce, under conditions that meet Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), the cellular material used by the medical teams at Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont. This material will also be commercialized.

With the addition of a gene therapy production unit, it will be possible to produce here, in Montreal, the molecules required for the treatment of cancers using CAR-T1 cells, among other things, as well as a host of other therapeutic applications. Once again, this announcement demonstrates the Hematology-Oncology and Cellular Therapy University Institute’s cutting-edge expertise and leadership.Dr. Denis Claude Roy, Director of IUHOTC

Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, a pole of excellence

Over the past 30 years, the HMR has established itself as a leader in regenerative medicine in Canada and around the world.

The Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital is a centre of medical excellence in many fields, including gene therapy, thanks to this investment to which the Foundation contributed. We are proud to support the development of the medicine of the future, right here at the HMR. It is a source of hope for many patients, not only in Quebec, but around the world. Pierre Nelis, Chairman of the Board, HMR Foundation

 

1 CAR stands for Chimeric Antigen Receptor.

 

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