McGill to partner with CCRM in commercializing regenerative medicine
McGill University announced today it has concluded an agreement with the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) to provide McGill-based startup companies with the benefit of CCRM’s market-leading business intelligence and experience. Under the terms of the agreement, CCRM will make resources available to evaluate technologies developed at McGill to provide an understanding of their potential market value, if requested, and some will be eligible for CCRM’s incubation program that provides resources to de-risk company concepts prior to spin-out.
Regenerative medicine refers to the interdisciplinary field that seeks to treat illness through the manipulation of human tissue at the cellular level. The market for these therapies is estimated to reach $23.7 billion USD by 2027 and has been the target of intense investment in the past decade.
Within this domain, CCRM is a well-known organization and respected for accelerating the translation of promising technologies, processes, and therapies into life-changing health outcomes for patients. Their recent success with the incubation and launch of Notch Therapeutics – which raised over US$85 million in Series A financing last month – underscores the dramatic added-value they can provide to early-stage concepts that need comprehensive support in order to succeed.
“Partnering with CCRM is a perfect relationship for us,” said Martha Crago, Vice Principal, Research and Innovation, McGill University. “The expertise and insight of CCRM combined with the talent and innovation of our researchers will not only lead to groundbreaking discoveries, but life-changing treatments. I am very much looking forward to seeing the outcomes that this alliance will bring to Canada and the world.”
“McGill University is a world-class institution with strength in regenerative medicine so creating this alliance is a win-win,” said Michael May, President and CEO, CCRM. “CCRM wants to ensure Canadian RM innovations and discoveries succeed and we have the expertise and resources to provide the support that company concepts require to reach the market. We’re excited about where this partnership will lead.”
“This agreement will help researchers across a range of Departments and Faculties,” explained Mark Weber, Director of Innovation and Partnerships, McGill University. “CCRM sits in the ‘sweet spot’ at the nucleus of discovery and commercialization, and their expertise is going to be a huge benefit for our research community.”
In addition to being a recognized leader in Canada for medical research and training, McGill University is also at the forefront in the commercialization of the therapies and diagnostic tools that emerge from primary research. From 2010 to 2020, McGill University launched 42 spinoff companies, of which 30 were in the Life Science and Health Technologies sector. These companies in turn raised over $40 million in financing.