Oncopole

What Oncopole does

Oncopole is a non-profit cancer research funding and coordination hub that operates under the auspices of the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS), the Quebec provincial government's health research funding agency. Founded in 2017 with a $15 million anchor commitment from Merck Canada over three years (conceived at BIO 2015), Oncopole mobilizes capital from government, pharmaceutical industry, and non-profit research funders to disburse competitive grants to academic oncology investigators across Quebec. Its geographic scope is intentionally restricted to Quebec, where it coordinates activity across 12+ research institutions including CHU de Québec – Université Laval, CHU Sainte-Justine, McGill University / RI-MUHC, Université de Montréal / IRIC, and the Goodman Cancer Research Centre.

Its core offerings span three categories. Funding programs include EMC2 (~$12M federative multi-institutional teams, 2018), SynergiQc Pediatric Oncology ($8.5M, 2022), PROVEM ($2M, 2024), Innove-Onco, LeadAction, ACCES-Onco, Patient Priority, and the DOCC Cancer Omics Data competition. Research platforms include MEDOnco-VieRéelle (real-world oncology data at CHU de Québec, launched 2026) and the Montreal Cancer Consortium (inter-institutional biobank harmonization using ATiM open-source software). Capacity-building programs include the Patient Partners Committee, PAROLE-Onco+ peer companion support deployed across 9 Quebec establishments, the Bioinformatics Training doctoral scholarship program, and the CEO Fellowship in Life Sciences Entrepreneurship. Oncopole co-funds with a broad coalition: Merck Canada, Pfizer Canada, GSK, the Canadian Cancer Society, Terry Fox Research Institute, Cole Foundation, IRICoR, Génome Québec, CQDM, and the Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie (MEIE).

Oncopole's business model is a public-private partnership rather than a commercial operation. It does not sell products or services; rather, it pools capital from FRQS, pharmaceutical industry, and research non-profits, and deploys it through peer-reviewed competitions to academic research teams. Its "customers" are grant-receiving investigators, but its economic counterparties — the funders whose continued renewal sustains operations — are government agencies and pharmaceutical companies. Revenue mechanics are grant-based and recurring, with no pricing or transactional revenue. Distribution is entirely digital via oncopole.ca, with dissemination of funding opportunities, project outcomes, and events through the website, newsletter, LinkedIn, and scientific conferences including the Canadian Cancer Research Conference and the Coalition Priorité Cancer au Québec annual conference.

Name

Oncopole

Legal name

Oncopole, pôle cancer du FRQ-santé

Website

https://oncopole.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Oncopole is a Quebec-based non-profit cancer research funding and coordination hub operating under the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé, pooling government and pharmaceutical capital to disburse competitive grants to academic oncology researchers across the province.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oncology Research Funding & Coordination

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Health Research, Clinical Trials & Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) (HLAJAOAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Clinical Trial Site Operations & Study Coordination (HLAGACAE)

Keywords

• Cancer research funding
• Oncology research coordination
• Biomedical research grants
• Translational oncology programs
• Research partnership hub

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Research Funding: Oncopole receives core operational support from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQ-Santé), Quebec's government research funding agency. This provides the organizational infrastructure and administrative foundation for Oncopole's activities.
2. Pharmaceutical Industry Partnerships: Merck Canada invested $15 million over three years to launch Oncopole. Additional pharmaceutical partners including Pfizer and GSK provide funding and co-investment in specific research programs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Oncopole is Quebec's cancer research coordination and funding hub, operating as the dedicated cancer pole of the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS). It deploys capital through competitive grant programs (EMC2, SynergiQc, PROVEM, Innove-Onco, LeadAction, ACCES-Onco, Patient Priority), coordinates multi-institutional oncology research teams across 12+ Quebec institutions, and supports the full innovation pipeline from basic research through clinical integration and commercialization. It also operates research platforms such as PROVEM for innovation access and dialogue, and the MEDOnco-VieRéelle real-world oncology data platform.

Product overview

Oncopole, the cancer pole of the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé, operates as a research coordination hub rather than a traditional product company. Its portfolio consists of funding programs, research platforms, and patient engagement initiatives designed to accelerate cancer research in Quebec. Key offerings include the MEDOnco-VieRéelle platform for real-world oncology data, the PROVEM platform for innovation access, the Patient Partners Program for experiential integration, the Montreal Cancer Consortium for biobank coordination, and the PAROLE-Onco+ peer companion program. Supporting programs span bioinformatics training, multi-institutional team funding (EMC2), pediatric oncology research (SynergiQc), and entrepreneurship development (CEO Fellowship). These initiatives are mobilized through funding competitions and strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, and patient organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• EMC2 Multi-institutional Cancer Teams Funding program supporting seven federative oncology projects totaling nearly $12 million, bringing together expertise and strengths in oncology across Quebec disciplines and institutions.
• SynergiQc Pediatric Oncology Collaborative translational R&D program supporting pediatric and young adult cancer research (leukemia and lymphoma) with industry partnership requirements in Quebec.
• MEDOnco-VieRéelle Platform A robust and agile platform of structured, high-quality real-world data for high-resolution studies in oncology, supporting decision-making by regulatory agencies, healthcare institutions, professionals, and patients regarding cancer therapies. Data is securely managed by the CHU's Centre de valorisation de la donnée (SCIENTA).
• PROVEM Platform A unique and innovative platform for accessing innovation, facilitating dialogue between innovation promoters and drug and medical technology evaluators to optimize the adoption of oncology innovations.
• Patient Partners Program Patient engagement strategy that integrates patient-partners into Oncopole initiatives through a dedicated committee, providing experiential knowledge to improve cancer research and care.
• PAROLE-Onco+ Program Peer companion support program for cancer patients and their loved ones, deployed in 9 Quebec establishments across various cancer types and populations to improve care experience throughout the treatment trajectory.
• Montreal Cancer Consortium (CCM) Inter-institutional coordination project integrating biospecimens and clinical data from cancer patients across multiple Montreal institutions, supporting tissue banking harmonization and biobank management using ATiM software.
• ACCES-Onco Competition Funding program to accelerate cancer care and research impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting projects addressing pandemic-related challenges or positive transformations in oncology.
• Innove-Onco Competition Competition to optimize the uptake of innovations in oncology that meet demonstrable needs, with total budget of $1.7 million supporting projects up to $850,000 each.
• LeadAction-Onco Competition Joint call for projects to accelerate transformation of oncology and immuno-oncology projects into new therapies, with total budget of $2.4 million supporting projects up to $600,000 each.
• Patient Priority Competition Research competition to fund projects improving care, service experience, and quality of life for people living with cancer and their families.
• Entrepreneurship in Oncology (CEO) Fellowship Scholarship program offering up to 10 fellowships for emerging scientists to develop entrepreneurial skills through the Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Development Program.
• Bioinformatics Training Program Doctoral scholarship program in bioinformatics and cancer in collaboration with FRQS, offering supplements of $15,000 for the first 2 years and $10,000 for the third year on top of the $21,000 FRQS base scholarship.

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQ-Santé)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOncopole operates under the auspices of FRQ-Santé, Quebec's government health research funding agency. FRQ-Santé provides organizational infrastructure and administrative support for Oncopole's operations.
• Pfizer CanadamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOncology partner contributing to Oncopole's research funding programs including support for MedOnco platform launch and pediatric oncology initiatives.
• GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram partner co-funding oncology innovation competitions including Innove-Onco program for optimizing integration of oncology innovations.
• Canadian Cancer SocietymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-funder of SynergiQc Pediatric Oncology competition contributing to the $8.5M+ research initiative for childhood cancer research in Quebec.
• CQDMmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research funder investing $760,704 in SynergiQc projects and contributing to EMC2 competition funding for multi-institutional cancer research teams.
• Génome QuébecmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGenomics research funder contributing $2M to projects with omics components and co-funding DOCC (Cancer Omics Data) competition for AI and omics research.
• IRICoRmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCancer research commercialization organization supporting drug development projects and partnering on LeadAction and CEO entrepreneurship competitions.
• CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-MontréalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare network partner collaborating on patient-centered research initiatives including oncology partnerships and patient support programs.
• Coalition Priorité Cancer au QuébecminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPatient advocacy coalition partnering on annual conferences and collaborative initiatives to advance cancer care priorities in Quebec.
• MitacsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch organization supporting oncology research training and internship programs for researchers in Quebec.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Canadian Cancer Society: Canada's largest national cancer charity funding cancer research, including the $8.5M SynergiQc co-investment with Oncopole. Comparable as a cancer research funding organization supporting academic investigators and patient-centered research programs.
• IRICoR: Université de Montréal-affiliated commercialization arm that partners with Oncopole on drug development and entrepreneurship programs (LeadAction, CEO Fellowship). Comparable as a Quebec-based oncology R&D funder with commercialization focus.
• Cancer Research Society: National Canadian cancer research funder that co-invested in Oncopole's EMC2 competition. Operates a similar model of competitive grant-making for academic oncology research and shares Oncopole's pan-Quebec/Canadian focus.
• Génome Québec: Quebec genomics research funding organization that has partnered with Oncopole on omics competitions (DOCC, $2M contributions). Comparable as a Quebec-based research funding body using competitive grant-making and multi-institutional coordination.
• BioCanRx: Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence funding translational biotherapeutics for cancer. Comparable as a federally-backed, multi-institutional cancer research funding consortium that coordinates academic-industry research projects across Canada.
• Terry Fox Research Institute: Canadian pan-cancer research funding and coordination organization that pools funds from multiple sources to support multi-institutional oncology projects (e.g., the $2M catalytic investment in Montreal Cancer Consortium). Directly comparable as a peer-to-peer cancer research funding intermediary operating across Canadian academic institutions.
• CQDM: Quebec-based biopharmaceutical research consortium that co-funds academic-industry research projects (including EMC2 and SynergiQc with Oncopole). Shares Oncopole's pharma-academic-government partnership model and Quebec operational base.

Regional players

• BC Cancer Foundation: British Columbia's provincial cancer research fundraising and grant-making entity. Comparable as a province-specific cancer research funder with multi-institutional coordination but no geographic overlap with Oncopole.
• Alberta Cancer Foundation: Provincial cancer research and care funder operating in Alberta. Comparable as a region-specific cancer research intermediary supporting academic investigators and clinical programs, but geographically distinct from Oncopole's Quebec mandate.
• Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR): Ontario's provincial cancer research funding and coordination hub analogous to Oncopole's role in Quebec. Comparable as a government-backed, multi-institutional cancer research funder but operating in a different province without geographic overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oncopole
• Xx.com/oncopole

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Oncopole