Organization: Canadian Institute of Health Research

International review panel critical of CIHR management and flatlined funding levels

The Canadian Institute of Health Research’s recent efforts to reform its underfunded grants competition process was a failure. That’s the sobering conclusion from an international review panel tasked with studying and addressing the issue. The International Peer Review Expert Panel Report found that chronic underfunding and CIHR’s attempt to deal with the issue, combined with other problems, created a ‘perfect storm” that led to a crisis in confidence throughout the research community.

UBC and partners sign major licensing deal with Roche

The Univ of British Columbia has completed its largest licensing agreement to date for a promising treatment for advanced prostate cancer. The agreement with Roche, a Basel, Switzerland-based multinational, was signed by UBC and the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute which co-host the Vancouver Prostate Centre where the new drug technology was developed and is…

Allostera raised $17 million in VC financing

Montreal-based Allostera Pharma Inc has raised $17 million in series ‘A’ financing to develop a new class of drugs based on the firm’s proprietary Module X platform technology. So-called allosteramers use modified peptides with highly specific targets that can be developed rapidly and can be taken orally, which may make them more widely accepted than…

CIHR improves access to clinical trials

The Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) has instituted a new policy requiring all randomized clinical trial studies that it funds to be registered to ensure full access to the studies. Applicable trials must register with the International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number, a numeric system developed by UK-based Current Controlled Trials Ltd to identify…