About The CCRM Foundation

The CCRM Foundation is tackling the rising burden of chronic diseases and an aging population. By collaborating with globally leading experts and ecosystem partners, The CCRM Foundation supports the advancement of cutting-edge cell and gene medicines that have the potential to be curative. Its goal is to improve the quality of life for countless patients and usher in the future of medicine.

Regenerative medicine, which aims to harness the power of stem cells, biomaterials and molecules to repair, regenerate or replace diseased cells, tissues and organs, has the promise to treat, manage and perhaps cure some of the most devastating and costly diseases in the world today.

The Unmet Need

Patients will soon be able to use a cell therapy for heart failure and type 1 diabetes, and a gene therapy to repair brain tissue. Billions of dollars of research have led to incredible breakthroughs in cell and gene therapies for both rare and chronic diseases. However, there is limited funding to get these breakthroughs to the clinic. It is often at the early translation stage that research discoveries become stuck — when more research is needed to attract investment, but research funding is scarce.

Approach

The CCRM Foundation aims to solve this issue, becoming the pivotal force that moves transformative academic discoveries out of the lab and into the clinic. By leveraging the sustainability, track records and expertise of global ecosystem partners, The CCRM Foundation can amplify the impact of philanthropy and catalyze life changing cell and gene medicines. The approach will include:

• Strategically advance academic-led innovations through critical, but underfunded stages of development.
• Support forums for patient and community engagement that address the issues of health equity and access, to ultimately impact patient’s lives.
• Bolster connections and foster talent development across a global network of experts.

Fundraising Priorities – Bringing our vision to reality

Curating high-potential projects:
The CCRM Foundation accelerates regenerative medicine discoveries into lifesaving and life-changing cell and gene medicines through Medicine by Design’s Pivotal Experiment Fund. It fills a critical gap in early-stage translation by funding focused experiments to accelerate commercialization toward new therapies and companies that will impact human health.

Strategic ideation to drive innovation:
Advancing the frontiers of regenerative medicine by aligning the ”pull” of the market with academic invention is the basis of CCRM’s Venture by Design. Research programs will be designed to focus on pivotal issues by identifying high-value opportunities and corresponding bottlenecks and commercial constraints in the field.

Preparing for a new paradigm in medicine:
As we prepare health systems to implement cell and gene therapies, forums for engaging Indigenous and other equity-deserving communities will be critical. The CCRM Foundation will support and, where appropriate, co-develop community-led stakeholder forums that focus on the inclusion of all patient perspectives in the design, development and clinical implementation of cell and gene therapies.

Training the next generation:
Bridging the gap between academic research and commercial and clinical success requires talent. Further developing and mentoring trainees will enable future executives to lead and scale new cell and gene medicine enterprises. The CCRM Foundation supports Visions of Science for its track record of excellent work in the community and alignment with its efforts to support education and training.

Outcome

The CCRM Foundation will enable the realization of revolutionary therapies that will have life-changing outcomes for patients worldwide.

Key Partners

CCRM and Medicine by Design are driving The CCRM Foundation.  

News & Updates

The CCRM Foundation becomes top event sponsor of the Medicine by Design Symposium

Medicine by Design and The CCRM Foundation announced that The CCRM Foundation will be the top event sponsor of the 9th Annual Medicine by Design Symposium, to be held on December 9, 2024. This sponsorship will support and engage Toronto’s world-leading research community. A highlight will be a reception hosted by The CCRM Foundation after the symposium, which will bring researchers, industry professionals and other stakeholders together. The sponsorship will also include a CCRM Therapeutic Translation Award for the trainee poster session.

Read the October 2024 news release to learn more.

Medicine by Design and CCRM announce strategic alliance to bolster Canada’s globally-leading position in regenerative medicine

Medicine by Design and CCRM are building on their existing partnership to launch Medicine by Design’s next phase of growth. With a new strategic alliance, the two organizations will come together to build upon their strengths: bridging high risk, high reward research combined with industry expertise, biomanufacturing infrastructure and the clinic. Key partners also include the University Health Network (UHN) and the University of Toronto (U of T).

Read the December 2023 news release for more information.

Partnership with Visions of Science to support underserved youth in STEM

CCRM and The CCRM Foundation have partnered with Visions of Science to support under-represented, racialized youth from low-income communities in the Greater Toronto Area with new and increased opportunities for access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. The commitment is for a three-year partnership that includes a CA$75,000 donation and programming support.

As the first initiative that The CCRM Foundation will support, Visions of Science was selected for its track record of excellent work in the community and for its alignment with The CCRM Foundation’s efforts to support education and training.

Learn more in the November 2023 partnership announcement news release.

You’re Full of Genes supports The CCRM Foundation

Claudia Zylberberg, CEO of Akron Biotech, and a member of CCRM’s Board of Directors, recently published an updated version of her children’s book, You’re Full of Genes. Thank you to Dr. Zylberberg for generously sharing proceeds of sales with The CCRM Foundation.