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:
“The iDEA-iTECH Awards initiative is providing a unique opportunity to work as a team to study itch in kids with atopic dermatitis in the comfort of their homes by incorporating our Emerald AI technology. It has been exciting to work so closely with the Sanofi team around a shared commitment to breaking new grounds for this important population.”
Dina Katabi, PhD Thuan and Nicole Pham Professor, MIT President and co-Founder, Emerald Innovations, Inc.
“It’s rewarding to see how our industrial collaborators understand the scientific leverage obtained through careful use of real-world data and analytic techniques matched to the strengths and limitations of these data. I’m excited to see how our younger researchers are working with these collaborators to bring a more nuanced and personalized approach to understanding neurodegenerative and immune-driven diseases.”
Issac Kohane, Marion V. Nelson Professor and Chair, Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School
"It has been wonderful to collaborate closely with Sanofi to jointly solve the methodological issues my team and I proposed in our iDEAD award. We are focused on translating trial findings to real-world target populations. As data scientists, we typically choose sound and efficient tools to accomplish such goals. However, the practical implications that arise from application of methods - particularly when applied to real-world data sources - make this challenging. Our diverse team of academic data scientists and Sanofi scientists has enabled us to approach these problems in such a way that better position our methods to being adoptable and translatable."
Manisha Desai, Professor of Medicine and of Biomedical Data Science, Stanford University
"The iDEA-iTECH Awards initiative not only allows us to tackle complex scientific questions to support the R&D portfolio, but also strengthens Sanofi’s academic networks with top innovators in the areas of AI, data science and new technologies and facilitates important cross-training opportunities."
Eric Genevois-Marlin, Global Head of R&D Data & Data Science (DDS)
“As the iDEA-iTECH initiative progresses, it is exciting to see our partnerships mature to where we are now applying new AI models and insights to our priority projects and using these to support decision-making.”
Karen Chandross, PhD Acting Head of Scientific Relations and Initiatives, Sanofi
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