HOW PARTNERSHIPS HELP Genetic disease research is complicated and the pathway from discovery to therapies is long. Partnerships with academia, the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, the non-profit sector, and governments provide CGDN with financial, technological, and infrastructure resources to help us achieve our goals. Here are some of our current partnerships. Click here to view the CGDN 2000 Annual Report (see page 16) CGDN MEMBER INSTITUTIONS New partnerships with member institutions include an accreditation program with UBC, University of Toronto, University of New Brunswick and Biotechnology Human Resource Council for the bioinformatics training program; new post doctorate training positions with Arthritis Society, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Children and Women’s Research Institute of BC, Hospital for Sick Children, Huntington Disease Society, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute and Montreal General Hospital Research Institute; commercialization agreements with the University of Victoria and the Hospital for Sick Children to assess non-CGDN funded discoveries. NON-CGDN MEMBER INSTITUTIONS CGDN partnered with the University of Saskatchewan to commercialize novel DNA technology. This partnership serves as a model for how NCE’s can expand commercialization mandates by providing services to institutions who do not have the expertise to evaluate the commercial potential of discoveries in genomics and other disciplines. In 2000, CGDN signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Institute of Health Research, University of Alberta, to collaborate on policy research on gene based medicine. An initial study indicates that the benefits and costs of genetic diagnostic tests in health care delivery are poorly understood. This gap in understanding is limiting the use of diagnostics in health care delivery. PHARMACEUTICAL & BIOTECH COMPANIES CGDN and Xenon Genetics Inc. have an agreement to fund an expansion of CGDN’s Montreal genotyping facility. The University of Alberta , CGDN and Ciba Vision have partnered to fund international patents to protect the discovery of glaucoma associated genes. It is anticipated that this agreement will lead to a research and development collaboration. SignalGene Inc. and CGDN have partnered to support research on genes involved in drug metabolism. INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS In 2000, CGDN signed a Memorandum of Understanding for research collaboration with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan. ITRI which led the development of the chip industry in Taiwan, formed a biomedical department in 1999. The initial areas selected for research collaboration are bioinformatics and gene chips. This partnership will give CGDN scientists early access to new genomic technologies. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY – HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT CANADA In 1999, CGDN developed a partnership with the Biotechnology Human Resource Council with funding from Human Resources Development Canada and other industry partners to develop and deliver the Canadian Bioinformatics Workshops as part of a joint strategy to enable Canadian Bioinformatics capabilities. Following the successful development and delivery of the first series of workshops, CGDN was funded to develop an advanced workshop to train bioinformatics workshop instructors. In total, government and industrial partners have provided over $1 million to CGDN for the bioinformatics initiative. PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY CGDN received $330,000 to assist the BC Ministry of Industry’s commercialization program and to develop infrastructure. In 2000, CGDN and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) initiated a collaboration to build bioinformatics training capability in Alberta. AHFMR contributed $15,000 to CGDN’s pilot Bioinformatics course in Calgary. VENTURE CAPITAL COMPANIES CGDN has developed a new partnership with T2C2 to exploit technology in which CGDN holds an interest. In 1999, this partnership facilitated the reorganization of Algene into SignalGene Inc. In 2000, T2C2, SignalGene and CGDN collaborated to provide strategic funding to Dr. Sinnett, a Network Scholar. This collaboration resulted in the formation of Ecogenix, a new CGDN start-up company. The T2C2 partnership provides CGDN with a new source of investment for its start-up companies and resources to assist it in evaluating the commercial significance of its PI’s discoveries. OTHER NCE NETWORKS In 2000, CGDN, PENCE and CBDN formed Exella Ventures Inc., a venture capital management company. In addition to the partnerships that have been described above, CGDN is actively working with Genome Canada, regional Genome Centers, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canadian Institute of Genetics Research (CIGR) and Health Canada to deliver an integrated outreach program on human genetics.

New ventures and business concepts have emerged as a major force in the Network, stimulating research and providing new receptors and partners for commercialization of Network research. The Network stimulates the formation of new ventures at an early stage through seed funding, intellectual property management and corporate leadership.