CDRD, MNI and Merck join forces to develop new therapeutics

Two research institutes and a multinational pharmaceutical firm are partnering to launch NeuroCDRD, a novel drug development platform that aims to accelerate the development of therapeutics for debilitating neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) will contribute its translational expertise while the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (MNI) at McGill Univ is providing cutting-edge research. The initial focus will be to develop a screening platform for MNI’s high-content hiPSC (human-induced pluripotent stem cell) model while Merck will participate with its commercial resources. The multi-million dollar partnership aims to reduce research timelines and costs by developing future hiPSC models with smaller patient populations.