Professor Peter Zandstra of the University of Toronto's Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering sums up the dilemma facing medical innovators nicely. "The problem is that many new and potentially life-changing regenerative medicine-based treatments never reach patients because they are not successfully moved from the laboratory to a stage where they can be used in medicine," he says. That's why he's heading up, as chief science officer, the new
Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM), a partnership among research and private sector entities to commercialize innovations.
The project, which focuses on advancements in regenerative medicine -- which includes cutting edge techniques such as stem-cell therapy, regenerative biomolecules, tissue engineering and the use of biomaterials -- will aim to bring lab advancements to market. "Our plan is twofold -- to leverage our advances in biomedical research and engineering and create an RM commercialization pipeline to get our innovations into the marketplace and to people suffering from these difficult health conditions," says Zandstra.
The project got a shot in the arm from the federal government's
Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research competition, which awarded CCRM $15 million on Dec. 6. That money will be added to $13.7 million contributed by private sector partners to fund the project.
In addition to U of T, the project partners include the University Health Network, The Hospital for Sick Children, McMaster University, Mount Sinai Hospital, the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and 16 private sector companies.
Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Laurie Stephens, University of Toronto