New Ottawa stem cell and gene therapy centre receives $35 million

A new Ottawa centre to conduct stem cell and gene therapy research has received commitments of more than $35 million from a variety of funding sources, helping to build critical mass in the city's burgeoning health research sector. The Centre for Stem and Gene Therapy (CSGT) received $10.8 million to build the laboratory and as much as $23.5 million for staff and equipment. Within two years, it will have a team of 10 scientists conducting research stem cell transplantation.

The Ontario R&D Challenge Fund (CF) has committed up to $7.5 million for the staffing component, contingent upon matching funds from the private sector and the The Ottawa Hospital. Dr Ron Worton, CSGT's lead researcher, says the Centre has received $2.8 million in industrial funding so far and anticipates the remainder will be raised once the facility is operational.

"The Challenge Fund has developed a lot of flexibility in the past year," he says. "Very often you can't get industrial commitments until the provincial funds are there and the facility is up and running."

The infrastructure costs are covered by a combination of federal and Ontario funding through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) (awarded last summer) and the Ontario Innovation Institute (OIT), the province's matching fund for CFI awards in its jurisdiction. Each funding body contributed $4.4 million, with $2 million coming from The Ottawa Hospital and $1 million in in-kind.

The OIT has announced an additional $11.4 million in funding for Ottawa-area research projects, including the Centre for Apoptosis Research and Clinical Evaluation ($2.2 million) and the Centre for Behavioral, Molecular and Clinical Study of Neuronal Dysfunction ($666,000). The remaining awards were made in non-medical areas. Go to www.oit.on.ca for details.

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