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Sherbrooke: A Dynamic City Cradled in Nature
Sherbrooke:
A Dynamic City Cradled in Nature
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Located in the South-East of the Province of Québec, Sherbrooke is Québec’s sixth largest city and the regional capital of the Eastern Townships. The city is blessed by its proximity to Montréal, Québec City, Boston and New York, and its unique atmosphere is enriched by the presence of people from many cultural heritages.
It is also a city where nature abounds and spectacular scenery accents its natural beauty. Nestled in the heart of the Appalachian Mountain chain, the region’s irregular landscape consists of beautiful hills and valleys with two major rivers converging in the downtown area, bestowing unique charm and character to the city known as the Cité des rivières (City of Rivers). Sherbrooke also has two lakes; one of which, the lac des Nations, is nestled in the very center of the city and is surrounded by a promenade and paths used by hundreds of citizens throughout the year who enjoy walking, cycling or skating in the city’s beautiful surroundings.
At the heart of the Life Sciences regional cluster, Sherbrooke is ideally located for research and business because of the critical mass of its research centres, technology platforms and complementary businesses. The concentration of key players enables the realization of a complete research project, from fundamental or applied research, to product marketing, including pre-clinical and clinical research: a unique characteristic and advantage not to be dismissed! The proximity to the U.S. border (30 minutes from Vermont) makes it an ideal gateway to the American market.
The Estrie region was recognized in July 2010 for their SAGEInnovation cluster (Health/Life Sciences/Autonomy and gerontotechnologies) within the ACCORD (regional development) program.
Sherbrooke Science Park sets a good example by bringing together a large number of research, education and industry leaders. Found within the park are the Health Campus of Université de Sherbrooke and its Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS – The Sherbrooke University Hospital Centre), the Centre de recherche du CHUS (CHUS Research Centre), the Centre d’imagerie moléculaire de Sherbrooke (CIMS – Molecular Imaging Centre), the multinational company Charles River and the Pavillon de recherche appliquée sur le cancer (PRAC – Applied Cancer Research Building). The research expertise present in the Science Park is diverse and covers areas like cancer, diabetes, imaging and research on aging.
Research on aging is a particular strength of Sherbrooke. The high level of development of this specialty in Sherbrooke stems from two factors: the existing close collaboration between industry and the University Pole, as well as the expertise of organizations whose purpose is to market the results of research work. Among the major strengths that Sherbrooke can rely on in this area, there are: the University Institute of Geriatrics of Sherbrooke (CSSS-IUGS), the Research Centre on Aging (CDRV) and the Interdisciplinary Institute for Technological Innovation (3IT).
The Cyclotron TR24 at the Sherbrooke Molecular Imaging Center of the CHUS. The first in the world, ready to produce medical radioactive isotopes for research and diagnostic.
Moreover, Sherbrooke’s Research Centre on Aging (CDRV) is one of the largest expertise centres of its kind. Hosted by the University Institute of Geriatrics of Sherbrooke (CSSS-IUGS), CDRV relies on interdisciplinarity, bringing together researchers from five faculties and more than 15 Université de Sherbrooke departments. In addition, several research chairs are devoted to this specialty in order to prevent delay or palliate the loss of autonomy of aging persons.
Some promising start-ups
Sherbrooke also has a lively development climate in many Life Sciences sub-sectors. The presence of the Accélérateur de création d’entreprises technologiques (ACET – Accelerator for the creation of technological businesses) at the Université de Sherbrooke fosters the emergence of a growing number of new businesses offering a variety of products and services. The city also has a brand new incubator downtown. This facility offers space and services to companies in different fields, setting the table for a very lively entrepreneurial community. Here are a few of these businesses at the leading edge of their respective sectors.
Imeka (www.imeka.ca)
Founded in 2011, IMEKA specializes in software development for visualisation and analysis of medical images. These solutions are aiming at accelerating market access to pharmaceutical compounds by quantifying data in medical images in the clinical trials process. IMEKA develops revolutionary software that changes the industry of
clinical research and offers turnkey services based on them. They offer medical imaging analysis and visualisation service and software development including: Diffusion MRI, Preclinical PET imaging and CT imaging, tissue analysis. Applications are numerous : Neurology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopaedic, and much more!
Physipro (www.physipro.com)
Physipro is a Canadian manufacturer specialized in design, manufacture and marketing of special equipment for people with reduced mobility. It aims at efficiently solving problems of reduced mobility clients by offering wellness and freedom through comfort and mobility. A few examples of what Physipro can do for you are: Clinical evaluation, Posture aids, Seat/backseat cushions (gel, air, dispersion foam), Wheelchairs, Daily living aids, etc.
Ibiom (www.ibiom.com)
Founded in 1978, IBIOM is specialized in the manufacturing of ergonomic equipment intended for healthcare industry professionals. All products have been developed in order to improve the quality of life of healthcare workers. By improving their working position, IBIOM contributes to the enhancement of performance and the prevention of work related injuries. IBIOM develops Ergonomic electric ultrasound stretchers, Ergonomic electric endoscopy stretchers, Office and specialty seating, Dialysis treatment chair, Phlebotomy chair, Ergonomic phlebotomist work stations and Evacuation stretchers.
Lumed (www.lumed.ca)
LUMED provides cutting edge software solutions to optimize clinical practice and improve the quality of patient care. APSS is the first Canadian automated antimicrobial prescription surveillance system. It uses state of the art evaluation algorithms to monitor the clinical status of patients over time. Every prescription dose is reviewed to account for newly available information. APSS helps ensure that patients are receiving appropriate treatment at all times. The benefits are numerous, they include: Reduction of antimicrobial use, Reduction of antimicrobial spending, Reduction of length of stay, Reduction of adverse events, antimicrobial resistance and hospital-acquired infections
IMEKA develops revolutionary software that changes the industry of clinical research and offers turnkey services based on them.
Immune Biosolutions (www.ibiosolutions.com)
Immune Biosolutions is an antibody producer for the biomedical, biotech and pharmaceutical industries along with academic research labs. Immune Biosolutions has a dedicated team of antibody experts who focus on creating high-quality antibodies for molecular tools used in detection, quantification and vizualization. Instead of killing or exsanguinating animals, the highly-specific antibodies are extracted from chicken and ostrich eggs. This allows them to generate huge quantities of high-quality antibodies faster, more effectively, and using a more humane approach.
BioIntelligence Technologies creates and commercializes intelligent sensors and instruments to increase in real time profitability of biological processes. Their products perform real time scientific analysis as well as financial analysis of biological cultures, whether being bacteria, cells, algae or yeast. These products are employed by R&D and Scale-up teams to develop new bioprocesses as well as by production and bio-treatment teams at industrial scale. The Bio-Analyst allows: Automated capture of culture related information (probes, data files, samples analysis), Real time high-level scientific analysis (ex.: yields, rates), Real time financial analysis (ex.: production costs, profitability), Customized Reports and Dashboards. The Optical probes developed by BioIntelligence permit automated identification of significant signals and real time monitoring of cell metabolites and products.
SILS
While you are reading this article, the Sherbrooke’s Life Sciences community is participating in the Sherbrooke International Life Sciences Summit. This marks the second edition of this conference and it will attract more than 300 people to discuss topics around this year’s theme: Autonomy and aging. Big players from the pharma and med tech industry, SMEs, academic institutions from Canada and abroad are expected to gather in Sherbrooke to develop and harness innovative initiatives and find solutions to the challenges we are facing with the aging of the population.
To see this story online visit http://biotechnologyfocus.ca/shebrooke-a-dynamiccity-cradled-in-nature/
