$1.5-million donation from Johnson & Johnson to fund research chairs and knowledge transfer at Toronto Centre for Real-World Evidence

As one of the fastest-growing areas in the pharmaceutical sector, real-world evidence (RWE) has the capacity to accelerate the assessment of drug effectiveness and safety, ensuring that effective treatments reach patients sooner.

In support of this burgeoning field, Johnson & Johnson is donating $1.5 million to the Toronto Centre for Real-World Evidence (T-RWE) – a new University of Toronto research centre focused on the development and application of RWE for drugs and health technologies.

This foundational donation from Johnson & Johnson dedicates $1 million to the creation of multiple research chairs focused on data analytics and advanced methods, as well as $500,000 to support knowledge transfer initiatives, including an annual real-world evidence town hall and a speaker series of global and national leading experts.

Based at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, the T-RWE brings together academics, industry experts, policymakers and trainees to build capacity in the field and advance the use of RWE to inform policy and practice.

The new research chairs will support emerging leaders with exceptional potential as they contribute to the centre’s mission to advance real-world evidence methodology, foster open, transparent and responsible data use, and train the next generation of researchers and policy partners to provide robust evidence for decision-making.

“Establishing these chairs will help attract emerging leaders in real-world evidence from across the globe, retaining their talents and providing them with the support to grow,” says Mina Tadrous, associate professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, Canada Research Chair in Real-World Evidence and Pharmaceutical Policy, and director of the T-RWE. “These experts will also dedicate time to build skills and capacity of T-RWE members and shape the future of our centre and knowledge transfer efforts.”

“Establishing these chairs will help attract emerging leaders in real-world evidence from across the globe, retaining their talents and providing them with the support to grow.”

While large-scale clinical trials remain the gold standard for evaluating drug safety and effectiveness, they are limited in the range of patient populations and real-world factors they can capture. Real-world evidence, drawn from sources such as electronic health records and health care databases, helps bridge the gap between controlled research settings and real-world settings.

This donation from Johnson & Johnson will support the growth of the T-RWE as a hub for knowledge exchange, capacity building and research that improves access to innovative therapies across a range of diseases and health conditions.

“This partnership is deeply personal, as I’ve seen firsthand how real-world evidence can transform the way we understand health and make impactful decisions,” says Laetitia Decroix Guilloux, president, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine Canada. “By investing in the Centre, we’re empowering researchers, clinicians and policymakers to collaborate and innovate so that together we can shape a future where every patient’s experience informs better care. It’s about turning data into action, and action into meaningful change.”

“The support from Johnson & Johnson to establish these chairs and initiatives is vital to accelerating the impact of real-world evidence,” says Lisa Dolovich, professor and dean, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. “Coupled with our faculty’s community of experts, partnerships and infrastructure, we look forward to cementing the Toronto Centre for Real-World Evidence as a global leader in this field.”

The Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy will begin recruitment for the chairs through an open call for applications in the coming months, inviting proposals that will advance the centre’s vision and impact.
 

About Johnson & Johnson

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in health care innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of health care solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity.

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