CQDM (Quebec Consortium for Drug Discovery)

CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2008-2009 
PRELIMINARY APPLICATIONS (LETTERS OF INTENT) 
DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 27, 2008

The main goal of the CQDM's (Quebec Consortium for Drug Discovery) funding program is to promote the development of innovative technologies that will facilitate the drug discovery process. 
This program does not intend to fund research on new drugs for specific therapeutic segments. Instead, it is meant to finance the development of new technologies and processes that will have the power to enable the discovery process across several therapeutic fields.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Research must be performed in the province of Quebec. Although not mandatory, involvement of multiple teams including academic and private (biotech/CRO) sector groups will be seen as a strength. Pre-existing intellectual property necessary for carrying out the proposed project must be free of all encumbrances. 
Intellectual property generated under this funding program will belong to the inventors and their affiliated entities. A first right of refusal for a non-exclusive end user license will be granted to the CQDM's industrial sponsors for internal purposes only.

DURATION AND AMOUNT OF THE GRANT

Duration: maximum 3 years. Amount: $500,000 - $1,000,000/year.

Eligible expenses: 
salary of research personnel necessary for the project (students, postdoctoral fellows, technical/professional assistants),  material and laboratory supplies necessary for the realization of the project, travelling expenses (field work, collaborations, conferences), intellectual property costs (patent application, maintenance fees). 

Non eligible expenses: 
Equipment or facilities (purchase or rental, operation and maintenance costs), salary of principal investigator and co-investigators. 

Annual disbursements: subject to milestone 
achievement and satisfactory follow-ups.

TIMETABLE

Call for proposals - launching 
October 1st, 2008 
Deadline for letters of intent submission 
November 27th, 2008 
Announcement of the selected letters of intent 
December 23rd, 2008 
Deadline to submit full proposals 
February 27th, 2009 
Review 
March 2009 
Final selection announcement 
April 2009 
Funding release & beginning of the projects 
June 2009

SUBMISSION PROCEDURES

THE LETTERS OF INTENT MUST BE RECEIVED BY NOVEMBER 27TH, 2008 AT 5:00 PM. 
A total of 15 printed copies of the application form must be sent by mail or courier to the address indicated below:

CQDM 
2, Place du Commerce 
Nun's Island (Quebec) 
H3E 1A1

The application form (available on internet - www.cqdm.org) required for the letter of intent must include the following sections: 
candidate identification, title and summary of the project (maximum 1 page), hypotheses and rationale of the project (maximum 1 page), 
description of the project (maximum 2 pages), expected results, deliverables, milestones and schedule (maximum 1 page), 
applications and impact on the drug discovery process (maximum 1 page), background intellectual property and commercial links with the project (maximum ½ page), preliminary budget (maximum ½ page), 
track records of the candidates (maximum 1 page), 
signature of the principal investigator.

REVIEW AND DECISION PROCESS

CQDM's funding will be awarded following a competitive process in two stages.

1) Preliminary application (Letter of intent): 
Applicants must submit a letter of intent describing the project before November 27th, 2008. The selection of the letters of intent will be overseen by the CQDM's Strategic Orientation Committee. Only applicants whose letter of intent will be selected will be invited to submit a full project proposal.

2) Full proposal: 
Whenever possible, a support from a member of the pharma sponsors of the CDQM will be provided to the applicants for the preparation of the full project proposal. Evaluation of the proposals will involve an international peer review led by "the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec" (FRSQ). The committee will make recommendations to the CQDM's board of directors which will make the final selection of the research project to be funded.

SELECTION CRITERIA

• Scientific excellence.
• Creativity and innovation.
• Clear deliverables, milestones and schedule.
• Feasibility of the project (deliverables, timetable, human and financial resources).
• Capacity to generate applicable deliverables after a maximum of 3 years.
• Potential of applications in the drug discovery process: 
  direct impact on drug discovery and the capacity to address important unmet needs.
• Track record of the participants.
• Multidisciplinary and multi-organizational   aspects of the propositions. 
  

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Diane Gosselin Vice president, Research and Business Development CQDM 
(514) 766-6661, ext. 2191 
dgosselin [at] cqdm.org www.cqdm.org