{"id":28715,"date":"2024-03-15T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/?p=28715"},"modified":"2024-05-02T16:52:13","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T20:52:13","slug":"funding-innovative-projects-to-counter-hereditary-ataxias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/news-and-publications\/funding-innovative-projects-to-counter-hereditary-ataxias\/","title":{"rendered":"Funding innovative projects to counter hereditary ataxias"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Montr\u00e9al, March 15, 2024 <\/strong>\u2013 It is with great enthusiasm that G\u00e9nome Qu\u00e9bec, Ataxia Canada, and Muscular Dystrophy Canada announced today, during a webinar, the winners of the Innovative Therapies for Hereditary Ataxias <\/em>competition. This initiative was created to encourage the discovery and development of new therapies and mobilize the research ecosystem. The total investment, including that of Ataxia Canada, represents over $850,000 for these rare neurological diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The winning projects will contribute to the acceleration of therapeutic innovation in hereditary ataxias.  Beyond this competition, the multidisciplinary collaborations formed around these projects, in addition to benefiting individuals affected, also serve to stimulate the rare disease research ecosystem. In this way, the competition serves, in part, axis three of the plan d\u2019action qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois sur les maladies rares, i.e. “Promoting research, innovation and data collection”, by promoting fundamental and translational research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cGiven the urgent need for therapies for people with ataxia, and the enormous potential of genomics in the development of innovative therapies, it was pertinent to join forces to address this critical need. Omics technologies and bioinformatics have the potential not only to find targets for new drugs more efficiently, but also to lay the foundations for enabling the development of therapies for people suffering from these rare neurological diseases. The announcement of these winning projects represents a step forward in the fight against these diseases.\u201d<\/p>\nSt\u00e9phanie Lord-Fontaine, Vice-President, Scientific Affairs at G\u00e9nome Qu\u00e9bec<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAtaxia Canada is 50 years of steady scientific progress towards a cure. We believe that genomic technologies are the key to a cure for ataxia, and that their future holds great promise. Because science advances, technologies progress, and life is stronger than anything else, we do everything we can to make our mission a reality. One of the benefits of this program is to create a large pool of researchers. It was an opportunity to expand our network and raise the profile of our programs.”<\/p>\nFran\u00e7ois-Olivier Th\u00e9berge, Chief Executive Officer of Ataxia Canada<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMuscular Dystrophy Canada is proud to have contributed to the design and thinking behind this program, which harnesses the power of collaboration and innovation. This call for proposals was designed to encourage innovation in order to accelerate understanding of rare diseases such as Friedreich’s ataxia, acquire transferable knowledge between ataxias, and identify possible avenues for future therapies. Although there has not been a winning project involving Friedreich’s ataxia, we firmly believe that innovation surrounding therapies for this disease requires such initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\nHomira Osman, Vice President, Research and Public Policy, Muscular Dystrophy Canada<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations to the recipients<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n