Business Development

The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) is working closely with industry stakeholders to make Ontario the global location of choice for early stage cancer research investment.

OICR is accelerating the development of innovative cancer therapies in Ontario by building partnerships with the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries. OICR can offer its partners access to:

• Outstanding science and early development opportunities in areas ranging from imaging to therapeutics, medical devices and diagnostics;
• Unique early stage business models that share risk and outcomes in a variable cost way for partners;
• Clinical trials expertise and resources.

In collaboration with Ontario’s cancer centres, research institutes, academic institutions and community hospitals, OICR is helping to build a stronger, more efficient cancer research system capable of streamlining the translation of high-quality research from lab to bedside.

Preclinical Activities

Preclinical activities and resources include:

• Research in imaging, genomics and high-throughput screening, cancer stem cells, novel target identification, therapeutics, transformative pathology, informatics, and medicinal chemistry;
• Funding through the Intellectual Property Development and Commercialization Intellectual Property Development and Commercialization program to support early-stage cancer-related commercialization activities (e.g., pre proof-of-concept studies, validation experiments, development of standard operating procedures, market analyses, IP protection and acquisition, and expert guidance and management of the commercialization activities);
• The Ontario Tumour Bank, which distributes high-quality tissues and accompanying clinical data to cancer researchers.

Clinical Trials

OICR’s High Impact Clinical Trial Program will support hypothesis-driven translational research in clinical trials that facilitate the evaluation of personalized medicine strategies. The vision of the program is to enhance Ontario’s capacity to conduct clinical trials that will change how cancer patients are diagnosed, monitored and treated. The ultimate goal is to support high priority hypothesis-testing biomarker and imaging evaluations through well-designed and conducted clinical trials.

To support the operational aspect of this program, specific initiatives include:

• Providing infrastructure support to Ontario’s cancer centres and community hospitals to expand their clinical trial capacity;
• Streamlining multi-centre clinical trials’ reviews and approvals through a central research ethics board, Ontario Cancer Research Ethics Board;
• Improving the efficiency of clinical trial processes through standardized operating procedures, guidelines and training programs for Ontario’s clinical trial personnel;
• Increasing recruitment into clinical trials through OntarioCancerTrials.ca, a website database listing all ongoing cancer trials in the province.

Contacts