News
The Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (ACRI) is fortunate to be guided by the firm leadership of our Board of Directors. The members of our Board are volunteers from the community with a wide range of experience in academia, law, finance, business and government. Our cancer research mission and achievements would not be possible without them at the helm.
We are very excited to announce that Ms. Nicole Gionet has been elected as ACRI’s new Board Chair!
Ms. Gionet has been part of the ACRI Board since 2017 and has been an invaluable asset in ACRI’s recent achievements, and brings with her a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the leadership team.
To Mr. Gilles LeBlanc, our outgoing Board Chair, we want to say thank you for the immeasurable time and resources that you have dedicated to the Institute’s growth and successes, past and present. We are fortunate that Mr. LeBlanc will remain a Board member and act as Secretary/Treasurer for the upcoming year.
We also want to take this opportunity to announce our newly elected Board members, Dr Denis Prud’homme, President and Vice-chancellor of Université de Moncton and Mr. David Savoie, President of Acadian Construction.
Finally, we extend our warmest gratitude for the contributions, advice and support of outgoing Board members and give a big thank you to Mr. Joey Caissie, past Secretary/Treasurer, Dr Jacques Paul Couturier, administrator and Mr. Martin LeBlanc, previous Board Chair and administrator.
Moncton, New Brunswick -- (May 29, 2020) – The Atlantic Cancer Research Institute is pleased to announce that the Canadian Patent Office has granted as of April 28, 2020 Patent Application No. 2830772 entitled: POLYPEPTIDES WITH AFFINITY FOR HEAT SHOCK PROTEINS (HSPS) AND HSP ASSOCIATED COMPLEXES (HACS) AND THEIR USE IN DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY.
ACRI also holds a granted patent for this technology in the United States (US Patent # 8956878) and Europe (EPO Patent # 2688904). ACRI's technology described in the patent includes the Vn96 peptide used for liquid biopsy applications. The peptide has a high affinity for heat shock proteins (HSPs) lining the surface extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs contain a sample of the DNA, RNA, protein and metabolites found within the cells from which they are derived. Since EVs appear in blood, urine and other body fluids, they are a rich biomarker source that can be obtained by minimally-invasive methods to screen for diseases and follow treatment.
The ACRI team is working to identify the specific proteins and nucleic acids that are released from cancer cells in these small biomarker packets. These cancer-specific proteins and nucleic acids hold the potential to be used as new biomarkers for disease detection using a liquid biopsy. They could also be used to indicate if a patient’s treatment is working earlier than current standard of care methods. ACRI is focused on advancing its extracellular vesicle capture technologies to enable new disease diagnostic, prognostic, and treatment-response tests.
For technology information, collaborations or partnerships, please contact:
Remi Richard
Business Development Officer
Phone : +1 506 869 2048
Fax : +1 506 862 7571
Moncton, NB – The Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (ACRI) is mobilizing its team to help in the global fight against COVID-19. ACRI hopes to contribute in the efforts by applying its technologies to develop a simpler diagnostic test and to use liquid biopsy as a means to predict host response to the virus.
Current testing for COVID-19 is completed using a nasopharyngeal (nasal) swab administered by a health professional, which can create an unnecessary risk for healthy people.
“We have research scientists from around the world that work here in New Brunswick,” said Dr. Rodney Ouellette, President and Scientific Director at ACRI. “We are using our expertise developed for cancer to contribute to the fight against the global pandemic and evaluating the feasibility of a self-sampling method that relies on saliva collection for a COVID-19 assay while also examining COVID-19 detection in plasma.”
A saliva-based assay was recently approved by the FDA for COVID-19 testing and ACRI will investigate the potential benefits of enriching viral material from saliva samples using their liquid biopsy assays.
Dr. Ouellette added, “A second stream of our research is trying to determine which patients will develop worse symptoms with COVID-19 and which will have a more favorable course. This approach may also provide a means to evaluate how patients may respond to experimental therapies.”
Early identification of high-risk patients would allow better allocation of limited resources and care for patients. Research being conducted at the ACRI will evaluate the feasibility of using a liquid biopsy approach to identify plasma biomarkers that are predictive of outcome and therapeutic response.
The Atlantic Cancer Research Institute is working to secure research funding made available by provincial and federal agencies to combat the pandemic.
The Atlantic Cancer Research Institute is a private, not-for-profit research organisation created in 1998 and located at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton, NB, Canada. Unique to the region and operating a modern biomedical research laboratory, this team of scientific experts is striving to innovate by accelerating its understanding of cancer, thus paving the way to better diagnosis, more accurate patient stratification and drug discovery.
For over 20 years the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (ACRI) has been a leader in innovative research working to find cures for cancer.
The Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (ACRI) is announcing the immediate closure of its Conceptia Fertility Clinic due to directives from the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society in response to the COVID-19 threat.
Effective immediately Conceptia will suspend all new consultations and procedures for patients. The clinic will maintain a minimum staff to ensure follow-up consultations and phone calls from existing patients who are in treatment. Embryologist’s expertise will be maintained to protect gametes and embryos in storage.
ACRI is in communication with the Regional Health Authorities about temporary transfer of nurses and staff to assist them during this crisis. ACRI has also communicated with authorities about offering its expertise and infrastructure in molecular testing if required.
"The safety of our staff and patients is our top priority. We want to reassure staff and clients that this measure is temporary and that we hope that activities can resume as soon as possible". Craig Ferguson, Clinical Director of Conceptia.
About Conceptia
Conceptia was founded in 2000 and is the only “full-service” fertility treatment center in New Brunswick and is the only private non for profit fertility Clinic in Canada. This organization is a leading fertility clinic in the country with many years of success above national average, focused entirely on patient-specific treatment strategies and welfare. Conceptia employs innovative and advanced techniques in conjunction with a professional and courteous staff in order to help reach goal of pregnancy in a compassionate, discreet, secure and comfortable setting.
About the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (ACRI)
The Atlantic Cancer Research Institute is a private, not-for-profit research organisation created in 1998 and located at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton, NB, Canada. Unique to the region and operating a modern biomedical research laboratory, this entrepreneurial team is striving to innovate by accelerating its understanding of cancer, thus paving the way to better diagnosis, more accurate patient stratification and drug discovery.
"This is a very difficult period and we are disappointed that we have to suspend this very important service to families. We also regret the hardship this will cause our staff and their families and hope that we will return to normal activities soon. In the meantime, our talented staff of nurses and receptionists may be able to help our health system deal with this pandemic. " Dr. Rodney Ouellette, President and Scientific Director at ACRI.
On December 13 the Université de Moncton, the Vitalité Health Network and the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (ACRI) signed a ten-year agreement establishing the governance model for the New Brunswick Centre for Precision Medicine (NBCPM).
On October 22nd, during a “Prostate Cancer Wakeup Call Breakfast”, the Prostate Cancer Foundation has raised a total of $73,990. A portion of this amount will benefit the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute. We would like to thank all the people involved with this event and also all the people that were present during this fundraiser for prostate cancer research.
Moncton, NB - Friday, August 9, 2019 - Assumption Life has donated $ 60 000 to the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (ACRI) as part of its annual Greater Forth for Research Golf Tournament !
The federal Minister of Health, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, announced today an investment of $150 million over five years by the Government of Canada to the Terry Fox Research Institute. This funding will create the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres network to help accelerate precision medicine for cancer patients across the country.
