Montreal-based Will Therapeutics announced a government-backed research collaboration with the Douglas Hospital Research Centre to develop brain-penetrant small molecules targeting the neural circuitry of compulsive behavior, with anorexia nervosa as the lead indication. The project has received CAD 3.5 million in funding from the Government of Québec, channeled through CQDM, a non-profit biopharmaceutical research consortium. The three-year program is led by Will Therapeutics co-founder and McGill University professor Dr. Salah El Mestikawy, who also serves as scientific lead for the small-molecule discovery effort.
The program targets what Will Therapeutics describes as the neurochemical and circuit-level dysfunction underlying habitual and compulsive behavior, rather than addressing downstream symptoms. The company’s candidates are early-stage, brain-penetrant small molecules intended to modulate the neural pathways that drive self-reinforcing patterns of compulsion. No specific molecular targets, compound names, or preclinical data were disclosed in the announcement. The company indicated the anorexia nervosa program is its first, with the biological framework intended to extend across a broader family of compulsive disorders. No approved targeted pharmacological treatment currently exists for anorexia nervosa, which carries one of the highest mortality rates among psychiatric illnesses.
The CAD 3.5 million represents the total research budget for the three-year collaboration and is structured as a non-dilutive government grant rather than a commercial licensing payment. CQDM administers the funding on behalf of the Government of Québec, consistent with its mandate to support multi-party R&D aimed at translating innovative technologies into clinical solutions. No milestone payments, royalties, territorial rights, or equity components were described. No commercial deal economics are part of this announcement.
CQDM has a consistent track record of co-funding early-stage biotech collaborations involving Québec-linked academic and industry partners. In April 2025, a collaboration between Toronto-based AmacaThera and a global pharmaceutical partner was facilitated through CQDM’s Connect-Pharma series, pairing AmacaThera’s hydrogel drug delivery platform with an undisclosed pharma company’s biologic. In January 2025, Ottawa-based Esphera SynBio announced a CQDM Quantum Leap-supported project to advance next-generation mRNA vaccine technology in collaboration with a global biopharmaceutical organization. The Will Therapeutics award follows the same structural template: a Québec-linked academic-biotech partnership receiving multi-year CAD funding to advance a novel therapeutic platform toward a condition with no approved pharmacological treatment. CQDM’s broader role as a connector between early-stage Canadian companies and global pharma partners — evidenced by its involvement in the Merck Digital Sciences Studio accelerator in Montreal — provides additional context for the consortium’s growing influence in the Canadian biotech ecosystem.
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