Ontario Brain Institute initiates new venture to help people with neurological disorders

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Nov 20 2010

Ontario took a major step to help the one million people in the province with neurological disorders and the 2.6 million Ontarians who will be affected by a neurological condition in their lifetime.

“We're turning our best research and ideas into new products and services that will create good jobs and improve the quality of life for Ontario families. We're supporting this work to help export our discoveries to the world”

A new brain institute is being established in Ontario. The Ontario Brain Institute will bring the province's top brain researchers together with people who know how to commercialize good ideas. Together, they will turn health care discoveries made in the lab into products and services to help people who are affected by brain diseases and disorders.

The province is providing $15 million in start-up funding over the next three years for the new institute, which will create jobs, reduce health care costs and improve the quality of life for Ontario families.

Premier Dalton McGuinty made the announcement today at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. The Ontario Brain Institute will help the province's life sciences companies win a bigger share of the global market for products that support patients with brain diseases and disorders.

One of the Ontario Brain Institute's first international partnerships will be with Israel. Premier Dalton McGuinty met with Israeli president Shimon Peres during a trade mission in May 2010, at which time Peres proposed a joint Israeli-Ontario "virtual institute" on brain research.

The Ontario Brain Institute is part of the government's Open Ontario Plan to export our expertise to the world, create jobs and provide quality care at home.

"We're turning our best research and ideas into new products and services that will create good jobs and improve the quality of life for Ontario families. We're supporting this work to help export our discoveries to the world," said Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario.

"This is an exciting venture for Ontario. Investing in health science innovation is good for our economy, good for our scientists, but most importantly, good for our loved ones suffering from brain diseases and disorders," said Glen Murray, Minister of Research and Innovation.

"Today's announcement reinforces the Government of Ontario's commitment to brain research, and to excellence in community care and support for every Ontarian living with a brain condition. We know there's work to do in all these areas, but today's commitment is an essential step if we are to uncover new treatments and ultimately a cure for brain diseases and disorders like Parkinson's, dementia, Alzheimer's, autism and schizophrenia," said Joyce Gordon, Chair of Neurological Health Charities Canada.

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Brain diseases and disorders include Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, autism and schizophrenia.
Ontario's universities and their affiliated hospital research institutes are recognized as centres of excellence in basic neuroscience research, as well as in the medical disciplines that deal with clinical neuroscience, including neurosurgery, psychiatry, and psychology.

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