What is it?
Sanofi is committed to collaborating with partners to advance cutting-edge discoveries. The Sanofi Innovations in Data Exploration and Analytics (iDEA) Awards program, launched in 2018, provides seed funding to innovators at research centers and early start-ups across North America to transform breakthrough digital, data science tools and new technologies into solutions that accelerate the R&D pipeline and improve people’s lives. In 2022, the iDEA awards and iTECH awards (Europe) merged into the Sanofi iDEA-iTECH awards.
Sanofi iDEA-iTECH Awards is a one-year program consisting of:
- Seed funding of $125.000 USD
- Dedicated Sanofi Project Champion and resources (subject matter experts)
- A steppingstone to further collaboration
Examples of Partnering Opportunities

Design & rank FIC/BIC drug candidates & combinations for efficacy and safety
Predict & track disease progression & drug effects
Optimize clinical trial design
Predict patient outcomes
Maximize drug value in the real world

A fast process to select and start projects in less than 8 months:

iDEA-iTECH recipients for the 2021-2022 cycle
- Doug Arnold & Tal Arbel, McGill University in partnership with the International Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Alliance
- Manisha Desai, Stanford Medicine
- Christopher Forrest, PEDSnet
- Dina Katabi, Emerald Innovations
- Fei Wang, Weill Cornell Medicine
- Jennifer Wilson, Stanford Medicine (now at UCLA)
For a complete list of past and current recipients, click here.
For more information about iDEA-iTECH Awards, contact SRI-NA@sanofi.com