Alberta Transplant Institute welcomes new partnership with Paladin Labs Inc.

The Alberta Transplant Institute (ATI) has secured a sponsorship deal with Paladin Labs Inc., the first of its kind for the pharmaceutical company outside its home province of Quebec. The deal, valued at approximately $200,000 and renewable over the next three years, will support the revitalization of educational programs such as the ATI Seminar Series and annual ATI Research Day, and will provide research-funding opportunities for Alberta-based researchers.

“We are delighted to establish this new partnership with Paladin, which will help support the Alberta Transplant Institute’s mission of excellence in donation and transplantation education, research and advocacy,” said Lori West, director of the ATI. “It has always been through collaboration across disciplines and sectors that we have seen the greatest advances.”

Paladin Labs Inc.—an operating company of Endo International plc—is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring or licensing innovative pharmaceutical products for the Canadian market.

The company has a long history of corporate sponsorship and community outreach, most recently as the sponsor of the 2020 Kidney Foundation Seminar Series, the 2021 Canadian Society of Transplantation meeting, and local initiatives such as Green Shirt Day, where Paladin team members demonstrated their commitment to promoting organ donation from coast to coast to coast. Paladin is also a member of the Canadian Society of Transplantation’s Living Donor Circle of Excellence, an innovative program in which employees who wish to become living donors are supported through human resource policies.

“We understand that transplant candidates face a complex continuum of care, from evaluations to procedures and medication,” said Brigitte Léonard, Paladin Labs’ senior director of commercial operations. “We are dedicated to elevating quality of life and bringing the best treatments forward. With a growing focus on transplant immunology, Paladin Labs is committed to supporting innovation in  transplantation now more than ever. We look forward to our continued collaboration and ongoing support for one another as we foster long-term partnerships amongst the transplantation community.”

The partnership will support three grants for pilot projects led by Alberta-based researchers, administered through the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program’s annual Research Innovation Grant competition. Each grant will provide $30,000 to research projects that address barriers within the fields of donation and transplantation, with the ultimate goal of advancing long-term health outcomes and quality of life for Canadian transplant patients. Paladin’s sponsorship will also be used to expand the ATI Undergraduate Summer Research Awards, where for the next three years, two awards of up to $6,000 will be given out.

The new partnership with Paladin Labs is a milestone in the ATI’s work to connect the many different donation and transplantation communities in Alberta, West said.

“We are very excited about the work we’re doing to re-energize and expand the Alberta Transplant Institute’s engagement with our partners, and capitalize on the many synergies and common goals we  have,” she said. “Paladin’s support for the donation and transplantation community is an important milestone for our growing community.”