AReNA – From Action to Collective Impact

LocalConferenceNetworking

Montreal, QuebecOctober 22, 2026

Thursday October 22, 2026, 5 p.m.

Location:
Grande Bibliothèque de BAnQ
475 Boulevard de Maisonneuve Est
Montréal, QC
H2L 4E3

Organizer: AReNA, Québec‘s RNA Hub

AReNA’s team invites you to the annual gathering!

Every year, over 150 actors from the life sciences ecosystem: researchers, entrepreneurs, industrials, investors and institutional partners gather to exchange on recent advances, challenges and perspectives that shape the future of RNA in Québec and Canada.

Program

AReNA Updates and News
AReNA Pitch Contest : Presentation from the five finalists
RNA in Quebec : Uniting our Forces and Amplifying our Impact
Presentation by ROBIC : Study on the delivery of oligonucleotide therapeutics
Networking cocktail

AReNA Pitch Contest: RNA Startups Take Action

The RNA therapy sector in Quebec is booming, driven by a new generation of entrepreneurs and startups that are developing technologies and solutions capable of transforming the future of medicine. The grand prize winner will be announced during the cocktail reception, which will conclude the evening of AReNA’s annual event.

Five companies, five approaches to advancing RNA, one winning company

For a few minutes, five companies will take the stage one after another to present their vision, innovations, and potential to an audience of stakeholders from the life sciences ecosystem, entrepreneurs, investors, industry partners, and decision-makers.

Springboard to international opportunities

For the company that wins the competition, the adventure won’t end in Montreal.

The grand prize will provide access to the BIO International 2027 conference in Philadelphia—one of the biopharmaceutical industry’s major international events—as well as to the BIO Partnering™ platform.

A unique opportunity for the winning company to showcase its Quebec-based innovation on the international stage, engage in numerous strategic meetings, and develop new business opportunities and partnerships.

Espoir Biosciences: represented by Gilles Tossing, PhD, Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, develops antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, with an initial focus on ALS and an approach aimed at restoring neural connections.
Eder Therapeutics: represented by Jared Rhines, Founder & CEO, develops RNA therapies targeting new cardiometabolic targets, with programs based on siRNAs and antisense oligonucleotides to pharmacologically replicate protective mechanisms identified in the Quebec population.
RNOVA Tx: represented by Sima Al Atout, PhD researcher, who is developing an innovative therapeutic approach for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Sparx Genomics: represented by Eloi Gagnon, CEO and Founder, who develops computational models to improve the identification and validation of therapeutic targets.
Nanofacile: represented by Ruben Lopez, CEO and Co-Founder, who develops high-throughput formulation and screening technologies to accelerate the development of targeted RNA/LNP therapies.

Panel

RNA in Quebec: Uniting our Forces and Amplifying our Impact

RNA stands at a pivotal point between scientific excellence, industrial development, and medical transformation. The ecosystem that has developed around this technology—bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs, companies, investors, clinicians, and funding organizations—serves as a true laboratory for innovation.

This panel will bring together stakeholders who have gone through different stages of this journey to share their experiences, the factors that accelerated the development of their projects, and the lessons they have learned along the way. Through their testimonials, the discussion will highlight the role of an innovation ecosystem, the strategic choices that have paid off, and the challenges that remain to be addressed in order for Quebec to establish itself among the world leaders in RNA.

Moderator

Benoit Larose, President and CEO, BioQuébec

Mr. Benoit Larose is President and Chief Executive Officer of BIOQuébec. He has more than 35 years of experience in the life sciences and health technologies industry. He brings strong expertise in commercialization, business development, and investment. Mr. Larose has extensive experience and a broad network within the Canadian ecosystem, having worked with organizations of various sizes and business models. He holds an MBA from HEC Montréal.

Panelists

Mike Zimmer, Co-founder and CSO, RNA4RARE

Mike Zimmer is a scientist and biotechnology executive with extensive experience in preclinical drug development, rare diseases, and mRNA therapeutics. He previously served as Director of Rare Diseases at Moderna, where he helped advance mRNA-based therapeutics for rare genetic diseases from early discovery through IND-enabling development. His work has spanned mRNA design and delivery, pharmacology, translational research, and development strategy. Mike is currently a co-founder of RNA4RARE Therapeutics, where he is leading the development of mRNA-based therapies for neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and NF2-related schwannomatosis (NF2-SWN).

Vince Forgetta, PhD., Chief Information and Bioinformatics Officer, 5PrimeSciences

Vince has more than 20 years of experience in genomics research and in managing the security aspects of high-performance computing solutions. He developed polygenic prediction for osteoporosis and fractures in humans and predicted drug targets using human genomics. He has led large-scale international collaborations that resulted in publications in journals such as Nature and Nature Genetics. At 5 Prime Sciences, Vince is responsible for all bioinformatics pipelines, data, and information security.

Éric Lécuyer, PhD., Principal Investigator, Director, RNA Biology Research Unit, IRCM

Dr. Eric Lécuyer is a Principal Investigator at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM) and holds appointments as a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the Université de Montréal (UdeM) and as an Adjunct Professor in the Division of Clinical and Translational Research at McGill University.

His laboratory focuses on understanding i) the biological impact and regulatory mechanisms of intracellular RNA transport, ii) how those processes go awry in disease settings, particularly in the context of neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and cerebellar ataxias, and iii) how this information can be harnessed for the improvement of RNA therapeutics approaches. To address these questions, his team employs diverse approaches, spanning cell and molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics and machine learning. Dr. Lécuyer was a member of the international ENCODE consortium and served on the founding committees of RNA Canada ARN and ARN Québec. He is an FRQS Research Scholar of Merit and holds the IRCM Bell-Bombardier Research Chair, as well as a joint FRQS Research Chair in AI and Health. Finally, he recently co-founded RNA Logic, a Montreal-based start-up company that develops AI-guided RNA systems biology strategies to design improved RNA therapeutic modalities with industry and academic partners.

Ines Holzbaur, PhD., Founder, Associate Director, Amorchem

Inès Holzbaur is the Founder and Managing Partner of AmorChem, a venture capital fund specializing in early-stage investments in the life sciences. She has made significant contributions to the creation of the fund’s innovative investment model, as well as to the development of its operations. In addition to these roles, she is Chair of the Board of Directors of Génome Québec and serves on the boards of the Quebec Biotechnology Innovation Center and DIEX Recherche, as well as on the investment committees of D2R and Cycle Momentum.