Montréal InVivo

Montréal InVivo
Name	Montréal InVivo
Formation	2006
Type	Economic development agency
Headquarters	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Region served	Greater Montreal

Montréal InVivo is an economic development cluster organization focused on the life sciences, health technologies, and digital health sectors in Greater Montreal. It acts as a strategic convenor linking academic institutions, biotechnology firms, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, research hospitals, investor networks, and public agencies to accelerate commercialization, talent attraction, and international investment. The organization operates at the nexus of research hubs, municipal agencies, provincial ministries, and multinational corporations to promote Montreal as a global health innovation ecosystem.

Overview

Montréal InVivo serves as a cluster management and promotion body connecting stakeholders such as McGill University, Université de Montréal, Concordia University, Université du Québec à Montréal, McMaster University, Université Laval, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, Karolinska Institutet, Imperial College London, Columbia University, Yale University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University, National Institutes of Health, Institut Pasteur, Salk Institute, Genentech, Roche, Pfizer, Novartis, Sanofi, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, AbbVie, Eli Lilly and Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Amgen, Biogen, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Moderna, Inc., Gilead Sciences, CRISPR Therapeutics, BlueRock Therapeutics, SNC-Lavalin, Bombardier Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck & Co., Celgene, Shire plc, Allergan, and Siemens Healthineers to support cluster growth, business development, and talent recruitment.

History and Development

Founded in 2006, the organization emerged amid regional initiatives involving Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, TVA Group, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Investissement Québec, Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie (Quebec), Ville de Montréal, Régie régionale de la santé, Health Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Québec Ministry of Economy and Innovation, Québec Ministry of Health and Social Services, Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, McGill University Health Centre, CHU Sainte-Justine, Jewish General Hospital (Montreal), Institut de cardiologie de Montréal, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal General Hospital, and Douglas Mental Health University Institute. Early strategies mirrored models from BioWin, Medicon Valley Alliance, BioRN, BioM, One Nucleus, BioIndustry Association, and Biotechgate.

Organization and Governance

The governance structure includes a board of directors and executive team drawn from academia, industry, and investment communities such as Desjardins Group, Power Corporation of Canada, National Bank of Canada, BMO Financial Group, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, CIBC, KPMG, Deloitte, McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, PwC, EY, Bain & Company, Accenture, CanSinoBIO, Medicago, Prompt Therapeutics, Felix & Paul Studios, MILA (Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute), IVADO, National Research Council (Canada), Mitacs, and Genome Canada. Advisory committees include representatives from Montreal Port Authority, Aéroports de Montréal, Tourisme Montréal, Chambre de commerce du Montréal métropolitain, and sector associations like BIOTECanada, Québec BIO (BIOQuébec), Innovabio, Canadian Life Sciences Council, Canada Innovation Corporation, and Association of Canadian Biosafety Professionals.

Programs and Initiatives

Programs span talent attraction, market intelligence, business acceleration, regulatory navigation, and international promotion working with entities such as Startupfest, Collision Conference, BIO International Convention, Medica (trade fair), Arab Health, JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, CES (consumer electronics show), VivaTech, Web Summit, SXSW, TechCrunch Disrupt, Montreal AI Symposium, and NeurIPS. Initiatives include startup incubators and accelerators aligned with District 3 Innovation Center, Notman House, Centech, CADENCE Drugs, Trois-Rivières Life Sciences Park, McGill Dobson Centre, Francosanteé, InnoCitéMtl, Mitacs Globalink, MaRS Discovery District, Innovatio, Fonds d'investissement Montréal, Anges Québec, Real Ventures, iNovia Capital, Golden Ventures, BDC Capital, Lumira Capital, Gryphon Investors, Seventure Partners, Sofinnova Partners, Versant Ventures, OrbiMed Advisors, PerkinElmer, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Agilent Technologies, Beckman Coulter, and Waters Corporation.

Partnerships and Industry Impact

Montréal InVivo forges partnerships with research hospitals, universities, multinational corporations, and investment funds to attract projects like biomanufacturing, cell therapy, gene therapy, and digital health platforms in collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur, Pfizer Biotech, SNC-Lavalin O&M, Bayer Healthcare, Biogen Idec, BlueRock Therapeutics, Alstom, CAE Inc., ABB Group, IBM, Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Apple Inc., Facebook, Tencent, Alibaba Group, Baidu, Huawei, NVIDIA, Intel Corporation, ARM Holdings, SAP SE, Oracle Corporation, Siemens, Schneider Electric, Thales Group, Dassault Systèmes, 3M Company, GE Healthcare, Hitachi Medical Systems, Fujifilm Holdings, Mylan, Mallinckrodt, Catalent, Patheon, IQVIA, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc., Parexel, ICON plc, and PAREXEL International to increase cluster employment, exports, and foreign direct investment.

Funding and Financial Structure

Funding sources include provincial and federal agencies, municipal contributions, private sector sponsorships, membership fees, and project-specific grants tied to entities such as Investissement Québec, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program, Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), Strategic Innovation Fund, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Québec Innovation Program, Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies, Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé, Mitacs, NSERC, CIHR, Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, European Investment Bank, World Bank, International Finance Corporation, Export Development Canada, Bilateral Investment Treaty (Canada–France), and private venture capital such as Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, Index Ventures, Benchmark (venture capital firm), Benchmark Capital, Founders Fund, Y Combinator, 500 Startups, Plug and Play Tech Center, and Techstars.

Recognition and Awards

The cluster has been cited in industry reports and benchmarking studies from OECD, World Economic Forum, Globalization and World Cities Research Network, KPMG Life Sciences Outlook, Deloitte Life Sciences Industry Outlook, PwC Health Research Institute, McKinsey & Company Life Sciences, BCG Henderson Institute, Ernst & Young Global Life Sciences Center, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Economist, Financial Times, Forbes, Nature Biotechnology, Science Translational Medicine, Cell (journal), The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Montreal Gazette, La Presse (Canadian newspaper), Le Devoir, CBC News, CTV News, Global News, Radio-Canada, The Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Star, Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg News, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Guardian for cluster performance, job creation, investment attraction, and innovation outputs.

Category:Organizations based in Montreal