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The Changing Face of R&D in Québec
québec
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Over the past few years, the pharmaceutical landscape has been changing. Consequently, the ways in which pharma companies conduct research are also changing, as they deal with economic and market challenges and a rising cost for drug discovery.
Québec’s life sciences industry is facing a number of challenges, including the trend of companies outsourcing more R&D, and a lack of resources for carrying out research.
To better adapt, the industry is seeking new approaches to R&D, including a focus on partnerships. There is emphasis on collaboration and building strategic relationships with government, academia and industry to better stimulate R&D and to advance drug discovery.
Biotechnology Focus takes a look at what pharma titans Pfi zer Canada and Merck Canada are doing to adapt with the times, and how they are helping Québec stay in the lead in the constantly evolving world of pharmaceuticals.
Pfi zer Canada: putting Québec in the driver’s seat
Along with tackling industry-wide challenges concerning R&D, Pfi zer is dedicated to helping Québec remain a strong leader in the pharmaceutical industry.
By far Canada’s largest pharma company in terms of employees and sales, Pfi zer has 2,700 employees at eight sites across Canada, with 1,800 alone in Québec.
While over the past 10 years the company has merged at the global level, each time Pfi zer Canada has kept its head offi ce in the Montréal area. Over this time period there have been several expansion projects, including a recent major investment to renovate and update the Pfi zer Canada head offi ce.
“We went from a traditional organization where they had a Country manager to one of business units,” says Ghislain Boudreau, vice president of Public Affairs at Pfi zer Canada. “We took this as an opportunity to really shape our business around our customers, be more entrepreneurial and collaborative..”
In addition to revamping the work premises, the renovations have facilitated collaboration and provide the fl exibility needed to react to internal changes, which will be needed as Pfi zer Canada adopts the new R&D business model.
“There is a paradigm shift happening within the industry, where more and more we are externalizing our R&D,” says Boudreau. “While we continue to do some R&D at Pfi zer global research sites around the world, more and more we are partnering with Centres of Excellence, academia and biotechs. We’re entering into risk sharing agreements to do R&D and new product development. Pfi zer is one of the pioneers in this area, and many companies are following this model.”
On June 28, 2012, Pfi zer Canada and the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) announced the creation of the Pfi zer-FRQS Innovation Fund for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, thanks to $4.5 million in funding from Pfi zer Canada.
This FRQS-managed research grant program will be available to Québec’s research community. There are two parts to the Innovation Fund: one involves the creation of a consortium of Québec researchers, the other is devoted to funding high-risk, high-spinoff-potential projects to enable researchers to explore new research avenues.
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— Boudreau.
“The purpose of creating this fund is to mobilize Québec researchers, to provide them with an infrastructure that will enable them, among other things, to set up an Alzheimer’s patient data registry. It will also make it possible to conduct innovative research for better understanding the mechanisms underlying this disease by exploring research hypotheses that have so far never been investigated. Pfizer Canada’s financial support is extremely valuable because it provides a unique opportunity to further our knowledge of this disease, which is having a considerable impact on Québec society,” says Claude Lazure, the FRQS’s acting scientific director.
The authority for this project is with the FRQS, Boudreau notes. He says Pfizer Canada will provide the funding and input on what areas to invest in, but when it comes to selecting the individual researchers, the decision lies solely with the Québec organization.
Putting Québec in the driver’s seat is important for Pfizer Canada, as the company sees itself as only one part of a larger ecosystem. As such, Pfizer Canada is involved with numerous organizations in Québec, including as a founding partner of the Québec Consortium for Drug Discovery and participating in the June 1st Québec Life Sciences Forum.
“As a corporate citizen we strongly believe that the industry plays a vital role in the ecosystem of the life science sector, as do academia, the federal and provincial governments, and organizations and agencies such as Montreal InVivo, Life Sciences Ontario, Rx&D and BIOTECanada,” says Boudreau. “And we believe that it’s through this ecosystem that we can ensure that Canada remains competitive, and let’s not kid ourselves, the emerging markets are catching up. They are not standing still while we’re trying to figure out what to do here in Canada.”
That is not to say that Québec is not putting up a fight.
“Québec policy makers, stakeholders and the life science community are engaged and understand that if you’re bringing your economic development minister and your health minister to the same table to discuss and develop a sectoral strategy, it sends a very strong signal to the industry that the province understands that the life science sector is a solution for healthcare stability and not just a cost driver,” says Boudreau. “It also sends a very strong message to the rest of the world. This is why I believe that Québec will continue to be able to attract R&D investments, which fuel what exists already.”
Merck: committing to innovation in Québec
Pharma giant Merck is revisiting the way it conducts its R&D activiGhislain Boudreau, Vice President Public Affairs at Pfizer Canada
ties, by focusing on creating partnerships and collaborative research opportunities.
“As part of revisiting the way we do research, and moving from a stronger internal focus where companies like Merck used to do most of its research activity on its own, we moved into a new paradigm, where we look at more collaborative ways of doing research with partnerships, in particular in the earlier phases of research,” says Cyril Schiever, president and general manager for Merck Canada.
By focusing more on partnerships, Merck aims to provide more flexibility for scientists, and to create an ideal environment for innovation to grow. Pioneering this new research model in Québec, Merck has made numerous investments to promote R&D, namely through funds.
In 2010, the company committed to investing $100 million in research and innovation in Québec over a five‐year period. While 2010 also saw the closing of the Merck Frosst Centre for Therapeutic Research, Merck Canada continues to have a large presence in Québec, which remains the company’s headquarters for its commercial operations for human health, animal health and consumer care, as well as for its manufacturing facility. The company’s Québec presence is in part felt through strategic partnerships.
Cyril Schiever VP & Managing Director at Merck Canada
“When it comes to Québec, the province has a very strong research foundation and network, and we found that it’s the right place also to continue investing,” says Schiever. “It’s not by coincidence or the fact we closed our research centre here, it’s really because there’s good science in Québec and good investments follow good science. Therefore, we decided to go into a number of initiatives and partnerships in Québec ranging from investments that we’ve done with AmorChem, and more broadly the CQDM.”
To date, the company has mainly focused on supporting early stage biopharma research, through venture funds and a consortium mechanism. Merck’s next phase of investment will target medically relevant academic research across the province. Its recent initiatives include:
• Merck Lumira Biosciences Fund:
Launched in 2012, Merck has invested $35 million in the Merck
Lumira Biosciences Fund, as its primary investor and only pharmaceutical industry partner. Currently at $43 million, this fund is expected to reach $50 million and will invest exclusively in early stage biotech companies with operations in Québec. The fund will be managed by Lumira Capital. Other limited partners include, among others, Teralys Capital. “It’s really about driving innovation, contributing to strengthening the life science cluster in Québec and working closely within that cluster through different mechanisms, whether its venture funds, investments in consortiums, or partnerships with hospitals and universities,”
— Schiever.
• AmorChem Venture Fund
Merck invested $6.8 million in AmorChem, a fund launched in 2011 to increase the commercial potential of quality academic research carried out in Québec. With committed capital of $41.25 million,
AmorChem focuses on investing in promising life science projects from Québec based universities and research centres. The fund finances research‐stage projects, enabling them to reach pre clinical proof of concept in a semi virtual mode. It sells projects that have reached early proof of concept to large biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, or bundles similar projects into new spin out companies.
• Consortium québécois sur la découverte du medicament
In the Consortium québécois sur la découverte du medicament (CQDM). As a founding member, Merck had also granted $1 million to the first year of operations of the consortium in 2009. Projects funded by CQDM target the development of innovative tools and technologies that accelerate the drug discovery process.
“It’s really about driving innovation, contributing to strengthening the life science cluster in Québec and working closely within that cluster through different mechanisms, whether its venture funds, investments in consortiums, or partnerships with hospitals and universities.”
Along with being a founding member of the CQDM, and participating in the recent Québec Life Sciences Forum, Merck Canada is continuing to invest in the life sciences. Its investments are focused on driving innovation, strengthening the life sciences industry and keeping skilled scientists in Québec. After less than two years, Merck’s fulfillment of its investment promise stands at over $47 million.
“I believe that there is a strong future for life science in Québec because there is a strong and diverse life science cluster already in place with a large number of very active players and very good science,” says Schiever. “As a result, Merck will continue investing in Québec, because Merck will invest where there’s good science. We’ve committed to invest $100 million over a number of years, and of that approximately $50 million still needs to be invested. Merck is committed to innovation and investing in research.”
