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Fredericton, New Brunswick – AbbVie and the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training (NB-IRDT) announced today that they are pleased to develop a collaboration following a meeting between AbbVie’s Canadian representatives and New Brunswick’s delegation to the 2023 BIO International Convention in Boston.
This proposed new research partnership between AbbVie’s Canadian affiliate and the NB-IRDT will examine real-world use of BOTOX® (onabotulinumtoxinA) and the burden of care in the province’s long-term care facilities. The NB-IRDT’s comprehensive linked data sets provide a unique opportunity to understand whether the individual outcomes also benefit long-term care facilities and the health-care system overall.
“This project will be a perfect example of how the NB-IRDT can use real-world evidence to support informed decision-making,” said NB-IRDT director Ted McDonald, PhD. “By accessing data from all of the province’s nursing homes and linking that data to other health system records, we can provide health professionals and health system administrators with objective and fulsome information to make decisions about the use of botulinum toxin. This type of retrospective review and analysis could be replicated in other ways as well.”
New Brunswick Health Minister Bruce Fitch participated in today’s discussions.
“The provincial data held at the NB-IRDT is one of the most complete sets of linkable data in Canada and an incredible resource for researchers seeking to understand the outcomes of any medical decision, for individuals and the overall population,” said Fitch. “I am pleased that AbbVie recognizes the potential and power of working with the NB-IRDT and is exploring additional investment in research in our province.”
Today’s meeting was organized by the province’s newly merged research and innovation organization, ResearchNB.
“New Brunswick has world-class capabilities in real-world evidence and we are thrilled to be connecting members of our province’s research ecosystem to potential partners from around the world as we work to transform health care and enhance our bioeconomy,” said ResearchNB chief executive officer Damon Goodwin.
About ResearchNB
Created through a merger of the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation and BioNB, ResearchNB is the province’s research and innovation enabler. With offices in Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton, it provides New Brunswick’s research sector with critical leadership and support including advocacy, initial funding, connections to potential partners, and the translation of science into economic opportunities. Projects developed in partnership with ResearchNB’s help New Brunswickers to thrive through improvements to patient care, an even stronger bioeconomy and increased economic growth.
About NB-IRDT
Located at the University of New Brunswick, the New Brunswick Institute for Research Data and Training (NB-IRDT) is the province’s official data repository and hosts a growing collection of provincial government data sets, including social, health, justice and education data. The data is pseudonymised and linkable to meet diverse research needs.
Media Contact:
ResearchNB
506-474-3101
tburkhardt@m5.ca
AbbVie
Dominique Touchette
438-821-3971
dominique.touchette@abbvie.com
NB-IRDT
Dr. Chris Folkins
506-447-3363
