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Award-winning Quebec collaboration to add value to marine by-products and stimulate innovation in biotechnology
As part of ADRIQ's Gala 2025, the Regroupements sectoriels de recherche ndustrielle (RSRI) award highlights the power of collaborations between research institutions and companies. This award recognizes innovative projects carried out in partnership, which have given rise to new products, processes or technologies, while generating concrete spin-offs for participating companies. It also highlights the development of skills and the training of highly qualified personnel.
This year, CRIBIQ chose to reward the project "Development and commercialization of a new functional immune molecule - CH" in the RSRI category.
This project stands out for its collaborative research, innovation and significant spin-offs for industry and society.
Innovation from the sea
This unique project is the result of collaboration between thecrab processing plant E. Gagnon et Fils crab processing plant in Gaspésie, the biotechnology firm Immune Biosolutions based in Sherbrooke, and Merinov and TransBIOTech. Together, they have developed a high-potential marine co-product: CH, a native biomolecule derived from snow crab(Chionoecetes opilio) residues.
Extensive research has shown that CH has remarkable immunomodulating properties, equivalent or even superior to those of a biomolecule already used as an adjuvant, but which is very expensive and difficult to obtain sustainably. Unlike the latter, CH is abundant and easy to extract, offering an effective, sustainable and economical alternative.
A circular and sustainable approach
The project is part of a circular economy approach, valorizing residual materials from fisheries and marine processing. By exploiting these co-products as raw materials, the partners reduce the waste of marine resources while maximizing their value. The introduction of optimized physico-chemical processes enables more efficient extraction of bioactive compounds, while reducing the consumption of water, energy and solvents on an industrial scale.
Concrete and promising spin-offs
In addition to technological innovation, this project has led to the development of a natural ingredient with an immunofunctional effect, capable of replacing certain chemical or pharmaceutical additives in various products. The concrete spin-offs are numerous:
- Creation of a new company;
- Two patents filed;
- Marketing a promising solution.
An integrated, Quebec-based industry
This unprecedented collaboration has given rise to the first fully-integrated Quebec-based value chain for marine by-products, combining food processing and biotechnologies. It targets high value-added markets, benefiting both the local economy and the environment.
Yvan Boutin, a teacher at Cégep de Lévis and cell biology researcher at TransBIOTech, was present at the gala to receive an honorary plaque on behalf of his team. The RSRI award is a tribute to collaborative innovation, applied research and the ability of Quebec players to transform a forgotten co-product into a technological solution of the future.
