MONTREAL, Feb. 14, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - The Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal Research Centre (CRCHUM) has received $18.4 million in public- and private-sector funding to carry out the Opti-Thera program.
This research program, established by CRCHUM researchers in collaboration with colleagues from the Université de Montréal Faculty of Pharmacy, Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine and McGill University Health Centre Research Ethics Board, is aimed at promoting the development of personalized medicine in Quebec. The project will also bring in researchers from Université de Montréal's Centre de médecine génique communautaire at Chicoutimi hospital in order to ensure the development of knowledge and quick application of the project's findings in the regions.
"I am very pleased to be co-lead on this Opti-Thera project," said Dr. Jacques Turgeon, Director of the CRCHUM. "This research will not only help better prevent certain diseases like type-2 diabetes, it will also make it possible to more effectively treat illnesses in general by determining drug therapy on the basis of a patient's genetic information."
The Opti-Thera program—for Optimization of Therapeutic Approaches in Personalized Primary Care—is the fruit of solid collaboration between the university and private sectors. The research conducted will serve to establish news strategies for optimizing frontline drug therapies among patients suffering from cardiometabolic diseases. Over the longer range, these advances will benefit all medical specializations.
"Opti-Thera is a unique opportunity for us to incorporate the advances in applied genomics into health and the environment and thereby ensure health professionals have better tools at their disposal to maintain and improve the health of their patients. This new trend toward personalized healthcare is aimed at preventing disease and significantly relieving the burden on public healthcare spending," added Dr. Pavel Hamet, CRCHUM researcher and Opti-Thera program lead.
The Fonds de partenariat pour un Québec innovant et en santé, a government-funded initiative that supports cost-sharing projects between biopharmaceutical companies and public research bodies, is investing $9.2 million in the project. This amount is matched by a group of private partners consisting of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, software development firms and other enterprises (Servier France and Canada, Pfizer Canada, Valeant Canada, Affymetrix, Ariana Pharma, Novartis, Familiprix, Écogène 21, Medpharmgene and InterMED-Rx).
This wide-scale research program brings together a group of research specialists whose complementary expertise promises to help revolutionize the medical world of tomorrow. For a full list of the Opti-Thera research team and collaborators, visit: http://depotcrchum.mtl.rtss.qc.ca/Public/OPTI-THERA.Equipe_eng.pdf.
About CRCHUM
The Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal Research Centre (CRCHUM) is dedicated to improving adult health through a continuum of high-level research activities that lead to a better understanding of etiological and pathogenic mechanisms and promote the development, implementation and assessment of new preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The Centre offers a stimulating training environment that paves the way for continuity in the search for excellence. www.crchum.qc.ca
SOURCE: Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal
Sylvie Robitaille
Communications Advisor - Media Relations
Communications Department
CHUM
514 890-8000, ext. 15262
514 860-7110 (pager)
[email protected]
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Diane Colucci
Assistant Director, Information and Development
CHUM Research Centre
514 890-8000 ext. 14090
[email protected]
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