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MHI announces launch of ARTERIA program

The Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) announced last week the launch of ARTERIA, a research program aimed at developing ground-breaking treatments for cardiovascular diseases, the number one cause of death worldwide.

The discoveries and innovations that will stem from this unique program will substantially benefit patients over the medium and long term by transforming medical practices in the treatment of heart disease, all while realizing major savings for the health system as a whole. Among its many benefits, ARTERIA will make it possible to deliver increasingly personalized medicine and to treat and medicate patients more effectively, thus saving lives.

This monumental cutting-edge project has been made possible thanks to the $49.2m it has received in funding. Of this amount, $31m has come from private investments linked to the biopharmaceutical sector and $18.2m has come from the Government of Quebec.

MHI Research Centre director Dr Jean-Claude Tardif, who will be leading the project, noted once again, the MHI and its team of dedicated physicians, researchers and professionals have established themselves as world leaders in the fight against heart disease.

"This program will have tangible positive effects on patients living with or at risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

"We are very proud at the Montreal Heart Institute Research Centre to have succeeded in attracting to this research program such key stakeholders as the Quebec Government, Université de Montréal, and the world’s most innovative pharmaceutical companies, so that our patients may benefit from the fruits of this important research," added Dr Tardif.

ARTERIA will also lead to the creation of 150 new direct, high-skilled jobs.

Hoffmann-La Roche Canada president and CEO Ronnie Miller noted through the collaboration, the company will be able to combine the MHI’s worldwide network of scientific and medical research with our capabilities in translational medicine and clinical development.

"For this reason, to Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, the Montreal Heart Institute is unequivocally a world-class Quebec institution," Miller added.

Frederic Fasano, Canadian CEO of major ARTERIA partner Servier Canada noted the collaboration with the Montreal Heart Institute began over 15 years ago.

"It has been extremely productive in terms of research and innovation, case in point being a medication to treat patients with heart failure which was largely developed within the walls of the Institute. To work with the Montreal Heart Institute is to work alongside cardiologists and researchers of one of North America’s top cardiology centres," Fasano added.

ARTERIA major partner MedImmune, a subsidiary of AstraZeneca, noted in taking part in the ARTERIA program, AstraZeneca, like all other public and private partners and all patients, will benefit from the internationally outstanding facility that is the Montreal Heart Institute.

The product of a vast and diversified partnership, ARTERIA has also been made possible by the significant contribution and tangible support of the following partners: Valeant Canada, Pharmascience, Thrasos Therapeutics, Pfizer Canada, Spartan Bioscience, and the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation.