Canadian SMEs Should Shift Perspectives on Patents to Enable Growth
In a recent op-ed published by Canadian SME Magazine, Conscience’s Chief Policy and Partnerships Officer Richard Gold makes the case for why Canadian science-based SMEs should consider open science not just as a philosophy—but as a practical strategy for growth. In an era where funding is uncertain and the costs of pursuing patents are often […]
Conscience sparks dialogue on open science at the Fonds de solidarité FTQ Life Sciences Symposium
A few weeks ago, Conscience’s Chief Science Officer Aled Edwards and board member Florence Rozen—who also serves as Scientific Director of Investments at the Fonds de solidarité FTQ—participated in a standout panel on open science at the Fonds’ invitation-only Life Sciences Symposium in Montréal. The event marked the Fonds’ 35-year commitment to innovation in Québec’s […]
Reflecting on the Conscience Symposium on Open Drug Discovery
The 2025 Conscience Symposium on Open Drug Discovery took place in Montreal on April 7 and 8, 2025, at the Society for Arts and Technology—and we’re proud to share that it was a great success! 126 valued members of our community from across academia, industry, and non-profit sectors, gathered for two dynamic days of panels, […]
AI drug development’s data problem
Richard Gold, Conscience’s Chief Policy and Partnerships Officer, has co-authored an editorial in Science with Robert Cook-Deegan calling for global coordination and public investment in high-quality, open datasets to enable AI-driven drug discovery. Drawing lessons from past successes like the Protein Data Bank and the Human Genome Project, the authors argue that the future of […]
Expansion of the CACHE Governing Board
We are proud to announce the expansion of the CACHE Governing Board, which now includes representatives from four pharmaceutical companies; UCB, AstraZeneca, Bayer, and Boehringer Ingelheim. The Governing Board’s role is to actively lead and provide direction for the CACHE challenges, as well as nominate members for its independent expert panels for target selection, application […]
As U.S. tariffs loom, Canada should use AI to fight back
Our Chief Policy and Partnerships Officer, Richard Gold, argues that Canada has a unique opportunity to become a global leader in AI-assisted drug discovery by leveraging its strong scientific expertise and biomedical data infrastructure. To reduce reliance on the U.S., Canada must invest in large, open datasets, streamline regulations, and foster collaboration between government, academia, and […]
DMOS program funds three projects working towards treatments for rare diseases
We are proud to announce the first three recipients of funding via our Developing Medicines through Open Science program. These grantees are working towards treatments and cures for three rare diseases: a genetic neuromuscular disorder, a pediatric brain cancer, and a liver disease. Access this press release on Business Wire For more information, contact:Estrid Jakobsen […]
In Vivo features Conscience among leading nonprofits addressing biopharma market failures
In Search Of Rare Disease Treatments, Nonprofits Can Lead the Charge Read the full article in In Vivo »
Canada Can Confront US Tariffs by Liberating Innovators
Our Chief Policy and Partnerships Officer, Richard Gold, argues that if Trump goes ahead with his tariffs, Canada should use intellectual property as a weapon against the threat to national economic security – a bold step that would allow Canada to exploit its wealth of academic knowledge to produce lower-cost medicines and ramp up AI-assisted […]
Announcing a Leadership Transition at Conscience
As we approach the start of a new year, we’re announcing an important transition for Conscience – we are seeking a new CEO and a Director of Program Operations to join our leadership team, and take the organization into the future. Our inaugural CEO, Ryan Merkley, has resigned to pursue a new opportunity, and we […]
Drug development for all: How we believe Open Science can help develop treatments for those left behind
Health is core to our quality of life, yet millions worldwide lack treatments to diseases that threaten their lives or quality of life. For example, an estimated 400 million people worldwide live with a rare disease, 95% of which do not have a single treatment. Half of those individuals are children. Alzheimer’s disease and other […]
CACHE Challenge #3 identifies four ‘hits’ for potential coronavirus treatment
In our third CACHE Challenge, researchers from across the globe used computational methods to predict molecules to bind on a potential target to develop medicines against SARS-CoV-2. The four top-performing teams identified four molecules that were chemically novel and showed promise as starting points for drug development. For more information, contact:Estrid Jakobsen at [email protected] Preeti Singh […]
