A Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration to Drive Innovation in Oncology
Lévis, Quebec, October 20, 2026 – TransBIOTech is proud to announce its participation in a new collaborative research initiative aimed at accelerating the development of innovative therapies for metastatic cancers. Conducted in collaboration with 9Bio Therapeutics, Professor Peter M. Siegel of the Goodman Cancer Institute at McGill University, and Professor Pierre Thibault ofthe University of Montreal, this project receives financial support from the Government of Quebec through Médicament Québec.
This collaboration aims to develop an integrated platform for the design and development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), a promising class of anticancer therapies that combines the ability of antibodies to target cancer cells with the action of potent therapeutic agents.
TransBIOTech’s preclinical expertise at the heart of the project
Under the leadership of Dr. Frédéric Couture, a researcher and head of the Preclinical Pharmacology division at TransBIOTech, the Center’s team will draw on its expertise in oncology and preclinical research, notably through the conduct of in vivo studies, the use of preclinical oncology models, the evaluation of antitumor efficacy, and work in pharmacology, toxicology, and biological characterization.
This research will generate data essential for the evaluation and optimization of new therapeutic candidates, complementing the expertise of other partners in antibody engineering, computational modeling, and analytical characterization.
In particular, the project will contribute to the development of 9Bio Therapeutics’ 9B05 program, a new bispecific antibody-drug conjugate designed to target certain advanced metastatic cancers.
“This collaboration perfectly illustrates TransBIOTech’s role in the development of new therapies. By making our expertise and preclinical research infrastructure available to innovative companies, we help accelerate the development of promising treatments. We appreciate the support of Médicament Québec, which makes these transformative collaborations possible and helps strengthen the research and innovation capabilities of our life sciences ecosystem. ” — Delphine Davan, MSc, MBA, Executive Director of TransBIOTech
Accelerating the development of promising cancer treatments
Despite their significant therapeutic potential, the development of ADCs remains complex, time-consuming, and costly. Selecting the most promising candidates requires numerous characterization and validation steps to better understand the properties that influence their efficacy, safety, and potential for clinical development.
By integrating the various stages of design, characterization, and preclinical evaluation into a coordinated platform, the partners aim to identify promising candidates more quickly, reduce trial-and-error approaches, and accelerate their progression to clinical development.
“Preclinical evaluation plays a crucial role in the development of new cancer therapies. Thanks to our experimental models in oncology and our expertise in pharmacology, we will be able to help better characterize the efficacy and biological properties of these new therapeutic candidates. This collaboration will allow us to combine our strengths with those of our partners to advance innovative therapeutic approaches. ” — Frédéric Couture, PhD, researcher and head of the preclinical pharmacology division at TransBIOTech
A collaboration made possible thanks to the support of Médicament Québec
This initiative has received a total investment of $550,000, including $300,000 from the Government of Quebec through Médicament Québec, plus $250,000 in contributions from industry partners.
The project is part of Médicament Québec’s “Industrial Access to Academic Platforms” program, which promotes companies’ access to expertise, equipment, and research infrastructure in order to accelerate drug development and strengthen Québec’s innovation capabilities.
Beyond the development of specific therapeutic candidates, this collaboration aims to establish a shared research platform whose resources and expertise will benefit other researchers and biotechnology companies in Quebec.
