The provincial government and the Terry Fox Research Institute have announced $750,000 in new funding for cancer research equipment in New Brunswick.
The government said it is contributing $400,000, while the Terry Fox Research Institute is providing $350,000.
The money will allow the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute in Moncton to purchase two new genomics machines, the Illumina NovaSeq X Plus and the Illumina NextSeq 2000.
“This state‑of‑the‑art equipment is a game changer for the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute and for New Brunswickers seeking medical treatment,” said Post‑Secondary Education and Training Minister Jean‑Claude D’Amours.
Stephen Lewis, the institute’s scientific director, said the new equipment will give researchers faster, more accurate results and help improve care for patients and families.
He said the new machines will also strengthen the institute’s ability to help patients with inherited health conditions through rapid and accurate sequencing of their genetic information.
The new funding builds on a $1 million anonymous donation made earlier through the CHU Dumont Foundation.
Michael Cantwell, vice‑president of philanthropy at the CHU Dumont Foundation, said the new equipment is being purchased with support from an earlier one‑million‑dollar anonymous donation.
Dr. Rodney Ouellette, lead investigator with the Terry Fox Research Institute and founder of the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute, said the new technology will help advance precision medicine.
“With the exceptional talent we have here in New Brunswick, we play a vital role in advancing precision medicine, discovering unique biomarkers and developing more targeted therapies that bring real hope for improved patient outcomes,” Ouellette said.
Candice Pollack, CEO of Research NB, said the funding will strengthen the province’s research system and support innovation in health care and other sectors.
The government said the equipment will also support clinical trials in the province and provide genomics capabilities sought by pharmaceutical companies.
