Big Pharma backs clinical trials industry in Quebec

06-Jun-2019 - Last updated on 06-Jun-2019 at 13:26 GMT

(Image: Getty/dk_photos)

Pharma giants including Pfizer, GSK, and Abbvie, renew their financial commitment to the early-stage clinical research in Quebec, Canada.

Catalis Québec is a is a public-private partnership developing tools to support early-stage clinical research. The organization “has the mandate of promoting Quebec's expertise in conducting early-stage clinical trials,” said Danika Laberge, general director of Catalis Quebec.

Catalis has partnerships with five Quebec-based health and social service organizations and eight pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, AbbVie, Takeda, Novartis, Merck, Servier, and Roche, which have invested nearly CAD 1.6m ($1.19m) in the Catalis initiative since 2017.

The pharma companies this week announced renewed financial commitments to Catalis during the 2019 BIO International Convention.

“Catalis Quebec acts as a coordination office by rallying behind the efforts of its partners in order to stimulate private investment and promote excellence in the conduct of phase I, II and II-III clinical trials,” explained Laberge.

“Our projects benefit all life science research stakeholders and have positive economic and social impacts for Quebec and Canada,” she told us.

Projects announced so far this year include the development of standard operating procedures for ethical reviews of clinical research, an automated performance reporting tool, and a new system to manage and approve multicenter research projects.

Per ClinicalTrials.gov there are more than 1,400 studies currently underway in Canada. Laberge described Quebec as a preferred location “for its medical and scientific expertise, state-of-the-art infrastructure and research-friendly economic and regulatory environment,” said Laberge.

“Quebec has everything it needs to meet the growing demand,” she added, citing a $10bn investment from the Government of Quebec to modernize its health care facilities.

Said Laberge, “Several institutions have established Phase I clinical research units, which provides an environment conducive to early clinical trials.”