-- Project funded through CQDM Quantum Leap program --

Montréal, QUÉBEC, November 11th, 2025 – CQDM and Saguaro Biosciences are proud to announce that the company has received more than $780,000 to further enhance ChromaLIVE^TM, the leading image-based profiling technology for AI-enabled drug discovery. ChromaLIVE^TM is a non-toxic and multichromatic dye that allows the generation of data-rich images of live cells at large scale and capture time-sensitive biological insights for an improved assessment of drug efficacy and safety. The two-year project is funded through the CQDM Quantum Leap program, which supports exploration of innovative technologies, tools, and platforms that accelerate or facilitate drug discovery and development. A leading global pharmaceutical company is supporting the project as a member of CQDM.

“We are proud to have the strategic support of a global leader for this CQDM Quantum Leap project” said Louis Turcotte, CEO and Co-founder of Saguaro. “It allows us to significantly enhance ChromaLIVE™ and create unparalleled datasets, pushing the boundaries of live-cell screening for AI-enabled drug discovery.”

As part of this CQDM project, researchers at Saguaro will push the boundaries of its proprietary dye technology in order to further enhance phenotypic resolution, while keeping its non-perturbing properties it is already recognized for. The project will also serve to create the world’s largest live cell image-based based profiling database, which will incorporate the most high-quality biological data through the probing of cells in their native, and unperturbed live state. This dataset will also incorporate the temporal dimension to shine new light on drug’s time-sensitive mechanisms of action that cannot be investigated with end-point assays.

“By further enhancing ChromaLIVE™ and enabling the capture of critical, time-sensitive biological insights, we are fostering the generation of new high-quality datasets the industry needs to significantly improve drug assessment”, said Félix Lavoie-Pérusse, CCO and Co-Founder of Saguaro.

Jesse Paterson, CQDM Senior Director of Business Development, added: “CQDM is proud to support the development of a cutting-edge research tool with the potential to significantly accelerate drug discovery. This project reflects the power of connecting Canadian expertise with leading global pharmaceutical partners, and we are pleased to play a role in fostering this collaboration through our Quantum Leap program.”

About CQDM

Biopharma Innovation Facilitator         
CQDM is a not-for-profit biopharmaceutical research consortium whose mission is to support and facilitate collaborative multi-stakeholder research and development aimed at accelerating the translation or transformation of innovative technologies into solutions to unmet medical needs, while generating significant benefits for the Quebec and Canadian economy. For more information, consult our website  cqdm.org/ and join us on LinkedIn.

Contacts:

Jesse Paterson
CQDM Senior Director, Business Development
+1 (514) 850-7088
jpaterson@cqdm.org

About Saguaro Bio

Saguaro Biosciences is dedicated to advancing life sciences with innovative reagents for AI-enabled cell analysis. With its flagship product, ChromaLive^TM, the company provides researchers around the world with powerful tools to demystify cell biology, thereby accelerating the path to new discoveries and therapies. For more information, visit www.saguarobio.com and connect with us on Linkedin.

Contacts:

Louis Turcotte
Chief Executive Officer
lturcotte@saguarobio.com