PERSPECTIVE
By Krista Lamb
ONTARIO
Harnessing the economic potential of stem cells Ontario institute fosters the province’s regenerative medicine sector As the regenerative medicine sector in Ontario continues to flourish, there is increased interest from investors and industry in the work being done by Ontario’s robust research community.
T
he Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine (OIRM) has been a key driver in catalyzing and strengthening these relationships to accelerate the translational pathway for advancing cell therapies into the clinic, and making technologies more attractive to investors. “This field promises to provide novel and innovative treatments
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Biotechnology Focus / June/July 2019
for patients living with many devastating diseases by not just treating the symptoms, but the disease itself,” explains OIRM’s Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Sandra Donaldson. “In addition, regenerative therapies present a tremendous opportunity for economic growth through company creation and manufacturing facilities
to support scale-up and scale-out of these therapies into the local and global marketplace.” Founded in 2014 with support from the Government of Ontario, OIRM has developed a successful partnering model in which the Institute plays a pivotal role in bringing the right partners together to support and advance promising technologies. This includes identifying other funding opportunities and collaborating with industry and academic institutions, both locally and internationally, to ensure long-term sustainability of projects and reduce the investment risk for each partner. These activities ensure investigators can access the knowledge and resources required to advance their technology but also prepare potential therapies for global adoption and increased visibility for commercial investment. These partnerships have allowed
