Developing new therapeutic drugs will be easier for McMaster researchers thanks to a new partnership between McMaster University and the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD).

While researchers regularly discover potential drugs, turning a drug candidate into a product that doctors can prescribe to patients is a difficult task. One of the biggest challenges for researchers is attracting commercial partners. The affiliation agreement between the CDRD and McMaster will facilitate seamless collaboration by and between McMaster's academic investigators and the industry-experienced drug development professionals at CDRD.

The high risk and costs associated with developing new therapeutic drugs, combined with the limited scope of the data uncovered during academic research, discourages pharmaceutical companies from investing the hundreds of millions of dollars required to take a drug from discovery to market. CDRD addresses this gap by providing facilities and expertise to develop drug discoveries to a more advanced stage that readies them for commercialization.

“As an affiliated institution of the Centre for Drug Research and Development, McMaster University can augment the strengths of our renowned research community by accessing the full drug-development expertise and infrastructure at CDRD,” said Elsie Quaite-Randall, executive director, McMaster Industry Liaison Office (MILO).

Through CDRD, McMaster researchers will have access to services ranging from target validation and medicinal chemistry through to formulation chemistry and preclinical animal models.

“The Centre for Drug Research and Development continues to expand its project development pipeline and support the commercialization of health research projects on a national and global level,” said Karimah Es Sabar, senior vice-president, Business and Strategic Affairs for CDRD. “We are excited to begin working with the outstanding, innovative researchers at McMaster University, and believe that both organizations share a goal to translate academic research into new medical therapeutics.”