Dr Jean-Claude Tardif, Director of the Research Centre, Montreal Heart Institute (MHI), announced the launch of ARTERIA, a research programme aimed at developing ground-breaking treatments for cardiovascular diseases, the number one cause of death worldwide. The research programme was launched in the presence of Quebec Premier, Pauline Marois, ministers Nicolas Marceau, Jean-Francois Lisee and Elaine Zakaib, Montreal Mayor, Denis Coderre, and the representatives of international pharmaceutical companies.
“Once again, the Montreal Heart Institute and its team of dedicated physicians, researchers and professionals have established themselves as world leaders in the fight against heart disease. This programme will have tangible positive effects on patients living with or at risk of developing cardiovascular disease,” declared Dr Tardif.
The discoveries and innovations that will stem from this unique programme will substantially benefit patients over the medium and long term by transforming medical practices in the treatment of heart disease, all while realising major savings for the health system as a whole. Among its many benefits, ARTERIA will make it possible to deliver increasingly personalised medicine and to treat and medicate patients more effectively, thus saving lives.
The project has been made possible thanks to the $49.2 million it has received in funding. Of this amount, $18.2 million has come from the Government of Quebec and $31 million has come from private investments linked to the biopharmaceutical sector. “We are proud at the Montreal Heart Institute Research Centre to have succeeded in attracting to this research programme such key stakeholders as the Quebec Government, Universite de Montreal, and the world’s most innovative pharmaceutical companies, so that our patients and all Quebecers may benefit from the fruits of this important research,” added Dr Tardif. ARTERIA will also lead to the creation of 150 new direct, high-skilled jobs.
On-hand at the announcement, the programme’s main private partners were eager to praise the MHI Research Centre’s initiative in establishing this innovative project. In doing so, they attested to the Institute’s indisputable leadership on the world stage.
“Through our collaboration, we will be able to combine the MHI’s worldwide network of scientific and medical research with our capabilities in translational medicine and clinical development. For this reason, to Hoffmann-La Roche, the Montreal Heart Institute is unequivocally a world-class Quebec institution,” noted Ronnie Miller, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hoffmann-La Roche Canada.
Frederic Fasano, Canadian Chief Executive Officer of major ARTERIA partner Servier Canada, for his part underscored the long-standing collaboration between the two organisations: “Our collaboration with the Montreal Heart Institute began over 15 years ago. It has been extremely productive in terms of research and innovation, case in point being a medication to treat patients with heart failure which was largely developed within the walls of the institute. To work with the Montreal Heart Institute is to work alongside cardiologists and researchers of one of North America’s top cardiology centres.”
“In taking part in the ARTERIA programme, AstraZeneca, like all other public and private partners and all patients, will benefit from the internationally outstanding facility that is the Montreal Heart Institute. The institute is the only one to offer an integrated model that runs the gamut from genetics, to cellular analysis, to major clinical studies. The Montreal Heart Institute is simply the only centre of its kind in the world,” added Dr Fouzia Laghrissi-Thode, Global Vice-President in charge of AstraZeneca’s Cardiovascular and Metabolic division.
Dr Guy Breton, Rector of the Universite de Montreal, to which MHI is affiliated, was thrilled about the announcement. “We are proud of the three Universite de Montreal research teams that received funding as part of this new programme. I especially congratulate Tardif and his team at the Montreal Heart Institute who are set to lead a research programme that is innovative from every standpoint.”
The product of a vast and diversified partnership, ARTERIA has also been made possible by the significant contribution and tangible support of the following partners: Valeant Canada, Pharmascience Inc., Thrasos Therapeutics, Pfizer Canada, Spartan Bioscience, and the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation.
EP News Bureau – Mumbai
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