Johnson & Johnson Innovation is collaborating with two Canadian early-stage drug technology development centers to identify and advance biopharmaceutical technologies: Montreal-based NEOMED, a nonprofit, public-private pharma alliance dedicated to drug discovery and development; and Toronto-based MaRS Innovation, the commercialization agent for Ontario’s discovery pipeline from 16 academic institutions,

NEOMED is partially funded by the Ministère des Finances et de l’Économie du Québec, within the NEOMED Institute, a state-of-the-art R&D facility in the Montréal Technoparc. MaRS Innovation is supported by the government of Canada through the Networks of Centers of Excellence, by the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Centers of Excellence and by its 16 member institutions.

Technical experts from the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Center in Boston, Mass., will work with NEOMED and MaRS Innovation to identify investment opportunities emerging from well-validated scientific research discoveries within their communities of academic institutions and biotechnology companies.

“We know from our history of engagement that the Canadian biopharmaceutical environment is one of the most vibrant in the world,” said Robert Urban, head of the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Center, Boston. “These new collaborations will allow us to potentially advance important new clinical candidates against disease.”