Corealis Pharma, one of the leaders of contract research organizations (CROs) in Quebec, has experienced strong growth in recent years. The private company, which was financially independent, then attracted the attention of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, with whom it finally concluded, in 2022, a partnership agreement. Overview.
ArchiMed, a global investment firm based in Lyon and focused exclusively on the healthcare sector, also joined this partnership at the same time. Its combination of operational, medical, scientific and financial expertise allows ArchiMed to act as a strategic and financial partner with North American and European companies in the field of health care.
“To support, if not accelerate, our growth, we needed to break with our tradition as a private and independent company and link up with partners who could provide us with the capital necessary for our development,” explains Yves Roy, president of Corealis Pharma. The two other founding colleagues, Patrick Gosselin and Yves Mouget, also remain partners at Corealis.
Founded in 2005 by these three scientists with no experience in administration, and without any external financing other than loans, Corealis quickly distinguished itself among the entire biotech sector, so much so that today, its main customers have locations in Boston and California, as well as of course in several locations in Canada.
The Laval firm quickly established itself among small and medium-sized biotechs whose operation often consists of outsourcing almost everything from the moment they discover a promising molecule, explains Yves Roy.
The goal is to force the active ingredient to do what we want on humans, explains Yves Roy. By analogy, the active principle is like the engine which, left to itself, is ineffective. The role of the ORC is then to develop everything else in three phases. First, she administers it to humans to determine the side effects. Then to small groups of patients in order to measure the success of its interventions and, finally, to larger cohorts whose results will lead to the approval of the drug by the relevant authorities.
To invest in sectors such as biotech, the nest egg of Quebecers will generally use investment funds. “But in our case, the Caisse was interested in us directly and came to the decision to take a minority stake in the company,” says Yves Roy.
With this support and that of ArchiMed, the Laval ORC could double, if not triple, its turnover every two or three years, estimates its president.
The firm recently invested $6 million to expand its laboratories. It also purchased other land in the Cité de la Biotech in Laval in order to give itself space to increase its production capacity, as well as to accommodate possible acquisitions, because this is also part of the development plan. . “In four years, it will be really impressive,” says Yves Roy. And the presence of the Caisse as a shareholder of Corealis Pharma will make it possible to maintain control of the company in Quebec, he rejoices.
