| For immediate release |
2005-02 |
NEW DELHI, INDIA (January 20, 2005) - The Honourable Ujjal Dosanjh, Canadian Minister of Health, and Dr. Alan Bernstein, President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), today announced two major initiatives to further collaboration in health research between Canada and sub-continental South Asia.
"The Government of Canada is committed to forging new ways to develop international collaborative efforts between researchers," said Minister Dosanjh. "The two initiatives announced today will help develop research training opportunities with the potential to lead to the development of sustainable research programs that benefit both Canadians and people in developing countries."
Minister Dosanjh, Dr. Bernstein and Jérôme Silvestre, President of Aventis Pharma Inc., a member of the sanofi-aventis Group, announced the CANADA-HOPE Scholarship Program, which was made possible by CIHR and the HOPE investigators. It will enable promising researchers from Low and Middle Income countries to be mentored by prominent Canadian researchers. The pilot round will focus on sub-continental South Asia.
The CANADA-HOPE Scholarship Program is a joint program developed and supported by CIHR via its collaborative CIHR/Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D) Research Program, in partnership with Aventis Pharma Inc., a member of the sanofi-aventis Group.
"CANADA-HOPE will enable promising young health researchers to be exposed to some of the best training environments in Canada," said Dr. Bernstein.
"We, in Canada, are very pleased to be associated with this important program," said Mr. Silvestre. "Our company does business on five continents, so we can appreciate the benefits to be derived from international collaboration. As our Group's mission is to heal and improve quality of life for all people worldwide, our support of the Canada-HOPE Scholarship Program fits in very well with our global company values."
CIHR and the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on January 10, 2005, during CIHR's mission to India. The goal of the MOU is to foster bilateral cooperation in biomedical/health research and to strengthen CIHR-ICMR collaborative relations in life style diseases, public health, disease surveillance and other areas of mutual interest.
"The Indo-Canadian cooperation agreement and the new scholarship program are just two of several initiatives which exemplify CIHR's commitment to improving global health," added Dr. Bernstein.
ICMR, CIHR and other organizations in the respective countries will benefit from this agreement through the exchange of scientists, scientific information, technical data, publications and documents. Joint research proposals will also be developed in the areas of research, training and the application of knowledge.
The full request for application for the Canada-HOPE Scholarship program is available on CIHR Website.
About the CIHR
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is the Government of Canada's agency for health research. Its objective is to excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 9,000 researchers and research teams in every province of Canada. http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/
About sanofi-aventis
Sanofi-aventis is the world's third largest pharmaceutical company, ranking number one in Europe. Backed by a world-class R&D organization, sanofi-aventis is developing leading positions in seven major therapeutic areas: cardiovascular disease, thrombosis, oncology, diabetes, central nervous system, internal medicine, and vaccines.
In Canada, the pharmaceutical business of sanofi-aventis employs over 1,000 people and has its headquarters in Laval, Quebec.
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For further information, please contact:
| Janet Weichel McKenzie CIHR Tel: (613) 941-4563 Cell: (613) 447-4794 jweichel@cihr-irsc.gc.ca |
Adèle Blanchard Office of the Canadian Minister of Health Tel.: (613) 957-0200 |
| Claudette Baltayan Aventis Pharma Inc., a member of the sanofi-aventis Group Tel.: 514-956-6100 E-mail: claudette.baltayan@aventis.com |
