Montreal and Quebec City, QC, May 14, 2025 – 9Bio Therapeutics, a biotech company pioneering next-generation oncology therapeutics, and Vega BioImaging, a startup developing innovative companion diagnostics for cancer treatments, are pleased to announce a collaborative $1.8 million initiative in targeted oncology therapies. The project has received significant support from the Government of Quebec, in the form of a $0.9 million grant through CQDM’s Partenar-IA program, in partnership with IVADO.
This initiative combines the complementary strengths of both companies to accelerate the development of a companion diagnostic and a corresponding oncology therapeutic candidate, with an initial focus on treating head, neck, and metastatic breast cancers – where many patients still lack access to effective treatment options.
9Bio Therapeutics is expanding its pipeline with a second program that leverages its engineering platform to design a conditionally active antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). This novel ADC capitalizes on a clinically validated oncology therapy that was abandoned due to on-target, off-tumor toxicity. Designed to eliminate chemotherapy-resistant tumor cells, it aims to overcome previous safety limitations while preserving promising efficacy observed in three Phase 1 human trials.
Vega BioImaging complements this approach with an advanced diagnostic platform that combines nanotechnology, high-resolution optics, and AI analytics to enable precise biomarker detection. Vega’s technology is designed to address the high rate of companion diagnostic errors – ranging from 7% to 30% depending on the pathology – caused by a lack of quantitativity. These errors often lead to sub-optimal treatment prescriptions, which the platform seeks to prevent by improving patient selection for clinical trials and treatment decisions. Vega will support 9Bio by developing a personalized companion diagnostic kit tailored to assess patient inclusion criteria and predict treatment response accurately. This will enhance patient stratification and significantly increase the likelihood of clinical trial success.
« Our goal at 9Bio has always been to develop safe and efficacious treatments that address the real needs of cancer patients »
– said Philipe Gobeil, co-founder of 9Bio Therapeutics.
« This partnership allows us to build on that mission with an incredible and complimentary collaborator like Vega, supported by organizations that recognize the urgency of innovation in oncology. »
« Our collaboration with 9Bio allows us to validate our companion diagnostic tools in a real-world therapeutic development scenario, further demonstrating the clinical value and impact of our platform »
– said Cécile Darviot, CEO of Vega BioImaging.
While this collaboration brings together synergistic expertise, each company will fully retain its own intellectual property, balancing collaborative development and independent value creation while advancing novel oncology solutions.
The project is set to make significant strides toward more effective cancer innovation with the potential to improve the chances of survival and quality of life of cancer patients suffering from aggressive and hard-to-treat cancer types. By bringing together companies from different regions of the province and uniting the best of their technologies, this initiative showcases the strength of collaborations within Quebec and positions the province at the forefront of global life science advancement.
« Quebec continues to stand out as a fertile ground for research and innovation, supported by a robust ecosystem that guides companies through every stage of their growth. We are proud to support this project, which harnesses the power of AI to redefine cancer treatment and diagnostics – offering real impacts on patient quality of life and local economic development »
– said Véronique Dugas, President and CEO of CQDM.
« IVADO is proud to support this initiative that puts artificial intelligence at the service of tomorrow’s healthcare. By combining advanced protein modeling and precision medicine, this project paves the way for more targeted and better-tolerated treatments, with a meaningful impact on patients facing complex cancers »
– added Nancy Laramée, Director of Partnerships at IVADO.
About 9Bio Therapeutics
9Bio Therapeutics is a biotech company committed to developing innovative oncology therapeutics. Our AI-guided structural biology platform integrates anatomical and biochemical contexts to design drugs that selectively target tumors. Using this approach, we generate medicines with specificity for tumors that spare healthy tissues, improving safety, efficacy, and opening the door to previously underexploited therapeutic modalities. Our pipeline includes two discovery-stage therapies: an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting chemoresistant tumor cells and an ADC targeting tumor-subverted immune cells. More details at https://9bio.ca.
About Vega BioImaging
Vega BioImaging is transforming cancer diagnostics with the first quantitative multi-protein imaging platform, combining nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. Our patented technology detects multiple biomarkers with unmatched sensitivity in both tissue and cytological samples, while seamlessly integrating into existing pathology workflows. The result: more reliable diagnostics, better patient stratification, and fewer clinical trial failures. Learn more at https://vegabioimaging.com.
About CQDM
Biopharma Innovation Facilitator
CQDM is a not-for-profit biopharmaceutical research consortium whose mission is to support and facilitate collaborative multi-stakeholder research and development aimed at accelerating the translation or transformation of innovative technologies into solutions to unmet medical needs, while generating significant benefits for the Quebec and Canadian economy. For more information, consult our website https://cqdm.org/en/ and join us on Twitter/X @CQDM_Canada and LinkedIn.
Partenar-IA is a program providing direct support to Quebec companies for collaborative biopharmaceutical R&D projects based on artificial intelligence and applicable to the biopharmaceutical sector.
About IVADO
IVADO is an interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral research and knowledge mobilization consortium whose mission is to develop and promote a robust, reasoning and responsible AI. Led by Université de Montréal with four university partners (Polytechnique Montréal, HEC Montréal, Université Laval and McGill University), IVADO brings together research centers, government bodies and industry members to co-build ambitious cross-sectoral initiatives with the goal of fostering a paradigm shift for AI and its adoption. For more information, please visit our website at https://ivado.ca/en/.
