Dear members of the BioCanRx network community,
You have no doubt heard the news from the federal government that the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program will be phased out by 2023. The a-base program funding of the NCE will be transferred to the new Tri-Agency fund as of April 2023. This new fund will provide direct project funding to academic researchers and will not fund network activities. Entities like BioCanRx will not be eligible to apply. The new fund will be administered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Additional information can be found here: https://bit.ly/2L3vNxm
Since the start of the NCE program 30 years ago, its networks have had an extremely successful track record of overcoming innovation gaps and fast-tracking the mobilization of research into tangible impacts that benefit Canadian society and its economic development. The NCE has invested about $2 billion in research, commercialization and knowledge translation and have helped train more than 48,000 highly qualified personnel, created 147 spin-off companies and 1,332 start-up companies.
Though the NCE program will be ending, BioCanRx, Canada’s Immunotherapy Network, is dedicated to continuing to accelerate to the clinic Canada’s most promising and innovative cancer biotherapeutics designed to save lives and enable a better quality of life of those living with cancer.
BioCanRx has been invited to apply for a three-year renewal term which would begin when our current funding cycle ends in March 2020. We will submit our Notice of Intent in March 2019 and our full application in July 2019.
We are proud to confirm that our current funded research projects are continuing as planned. The call for LOIs to BioCanRx will be announced in Winter 2019. Stay tuned!
BioCanRx is dedicated to working with our partners in academia, industry, charities, provinces and other agencies across the country to translate immune-based technologies from the lab into early phase clinical trials, while addressing the socio-economic considerations necessary for their adoption by the Canadian health-care system. The network remains committed to training the talent needed for a thriving health biotechnology sector in Canada. We look forward to continuing to work with all of you and to investing in innovations with a clear path to the clinic for the benefit of patients.
Your sincerely,
Dr. John Bell
Scientific Director
BioCanRx
Dr. Stéphanie Michaud
President & CEO
BioCanRx
