Medicine by Design began as a strategic hub where scientists, engineers and clinicians came together to conceive and translate regenerative medicine approaches to transforming human health. It was established in 2015 through an unprecedented $114 million investment in the University of Toronto from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF).

By fostering convergence across leading centres in Toronto and supporting high-risk, high-reward research, while recruiting world-class faculty and providing training to thousands of graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and other highly qualified personnel, Medicine by Design has built on the city’s legacy in regenerative medicine to solidify the field as one of the most prolific areas of research across the Toronto Academic Health Sciences Network (TAHSN), which includes the University of Toronto and its affiliated hospitals.

Today, Medicine by Design is the academic engagement division of CCRM, a leader in developing and commercializing regenerative medicine-based technologies and cell and gene therapies. The two organizations have joined to build upon their strengths: bridging high-risk, high-reward research combined with industry expertise, biomanufacturing infrastructure and the clinic. Medicine by Design’s reach now extends beyond Toronto to the rest of Canada.

Read about Medicine by Design and CCRM’s strategic alliance on the CCRM website.

Since its launch, Medicine by Design has achieved the following:
• Invested over $77 million in 180 regenerative medicine research projects
• Helped its investigators secure over $975 million in additional research funds
• Catalyzed more than $41 million in industry-partner support
• Supported the launch of 55 regenerative medicine startups that have attracted $2.4 billion in investment.

Learn more about the transformative research projects Medicine by Design has funded. 

Since its inception, Medicine by Design has sharpened the peaks of excellence and pushed the frontiers of regenerative medicine through large-scale investments in transformative, interdisciplinary research and translation projects and through the recruitment of world-class faculty and trainees.

Bringing Medicine by Design into CCRM strengthens the connection between discovery research, translation and commercialization across the regenerative medicine ecosystem.

What is regenerative medicine?

Regenerative medicine uses stem cells to replace diseased tissues and organs, creating therapies in which cells are the biological product. Regenerative medicine can also mean triggering stem cells that are already present in the human body to repair damaged tissues or to modulate immune responses. Increasingly, regenerative medicine researchers are using a stem cell lens to identify critical interactions or defects that can lead to disease, paving the way for new approaches to preventing disease before it starts.