The Leadership Challenge – Julie Quenneville
By Julie Quenneville
The journey from a ground-breaking medical discovery to a treatment or therapy that can improve or save lives is long and fraught with challenges. It involves years of development, refinement, validation and testing. We know that donors play a key role in getting research off the ground, and now, a new initiative at UHN is calling on them to take it to the next level. At University Health Network (UHN), our researchers and clinical investigators have long been at the forefront of global discoveries. However, securing funding for early, pre-clinical research often presents significant challenges due to the high risks and costs involved. This creates a funding gap that can delay the scaling of promising technologies through commercialization, and philanthropy is an excellent vehicle to address this gap.
To address this critical gap, UHN Foundation (UHNF) and The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation (PMCF) have launched the Accelerator Fund, a philanthropic initiative dedicated exclusively to support commercialization efforts at UHN. This fund is designed to help the most promising innovations within UHN and our broader ecosystem reach patients faster, maximizing their commercial potential and, ultimately, their impact on patient care.
The Accelerator Fund is not venture capital fund. While venture capital pools money from investors to finance various companies and projects, the Accelerator Fund pools donor dollars to support commercially promising opportunities at their earlier, riskier stages. This essential funding helps de-risk and mature these high-potential projects, making them more attractive to traditional investors down the line. In essence, we are funding the critical step of de-risking our discoveries enough for investors to confidently join us in bringing these innovations to market.
Importantly, support for the Accelerator Fund is not an investment in the conventional sense—there are no financial returns. Instead, it is a donation, making it eligible for a tax receipt. Donors contribute a minimum of $100,000 to support the Accelerator Fund, and these contributions are strategically disbursed to the most innovative, cutting-edge and promising projects.
The Accelerator Fund is a $6-million annual initiative that we hope to grow with contributions from individuals and corporations. By pooling these donations, we can support multiple highly vetted research projects simultaneously, amplifying the impact of each dollar and driving these innovations closer to patient application. This approach not only accelerates the commercialization process but also ensures that the most promising innovations have the resources they need to succeed.
UHN’s Commercialization arm has already demonstrated its ability to change the trajectory of patient care. By providing support to companies like BlueRock Therapeutics, a pioneer in innovative stem cell therapies, UHN has shown the transformative power of strategic funding. Since 2018, commercialization at UHN has generated nearly $111 million in licensing revenue, with a significant portion reinvested into further research and development at UHN.
The Accelerator Fund aims to drive even more important innovations to market. By bridging the critical funding gap, we are ensuring that more life-saving treatments reach patients faster and that the commercial potential of these innovations is fully realized.
Commercializing our discoveries has a profound impact beyond patient care. It creates local jobs, keeps projects in Canada for further research and development, and stimulates our economy. This ensures a return on investment not only for UHN, but also for all of Canada – something only Canada’s #1 hospital can do.
As we move forward, the Accelerator Fund will continue to be a beacon of hope for researchers, innovators, Canadians and patients alike. Together, with the support of our generous donors, we are transforming the landscape of health care innovation and bringing the future of medicine to life today.
Julie Quenneville is the CEO of UHN Foundation. Quenneville’s acknowledged dedication to health care has earned her numerous accolades, including being named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women; one of Concordia University’s Top 50 under 50; and receiving the Medal of the Quebec National Assembly. She serves as Chair of the Banff Forum and is a member of the Executive Committee of the 2024 President’s Cup, a global team golf competition which will be played in Montreal. Her vast knowledge of philanthropy, modern business strategy, and government relations has made her a sought-after speaker on multiple platforms. Quenneville is a change agent, a passionate advocate for innovative research, and a firm believer that advancing medicine is a global responsibility. She writes this column exclusively for each issue of Foundation Magazine.
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