Bedside Clinical Systems featured on Research Innovation and Commercialization Centre (RICC) panel discussion In an article for YourMississaugaBiz.com, Jon Cook writes, " 'The health-care industry is relying more on the…
Every six weeks, MaRS Innovation’s marketing and communications manager writes a guest post for the MaRS Discovery District blog profiling MI’s activities or one of our start-up companies. You can read the original post on the MaRS blog.
Created in 2008, MaRS Innovation (MI) bridges the chasm between the early-stage technologies emerging from its 16 member institutions and successful startup companies and licensable technologies.
By offering early-stage funding in tandem with hands-on management, business development, mentorship and intellectual property protection strategy, MI acts as a commercialization agent for its members and researchers.
Earlier this year, the Networks of Centres of Excellence of Canada awarded MI $14.95 million to continue its mandate as a Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR), matched by $25 million from membership fees and private sector investments.
So what does that success mean for MI’s ability to serve the needs of academic entrepreneurs based in Toronto?
“More than 240 million surgeries are performed worldwide each year, yet there is no approved product on the market to prevent the dermal scarring that can frequently occur,” writes Jennifer Boggs, managing editor of BioWorld Today in her cover story on ScarX Therapeutics.
The article, “ScarX Finds New Uses for Old Drug in Dermal Scarring,” appeared in the New Co section and focuses on the MaRS Innovation-Hospital for Sick Children start-up company.
Here’s an excerpt:
“ScarX Therapeutics, a 2012 Toronto-based start-up, is looking to introduce a topical anti-scarring product onto the market — a product that can be administered by the patient — to prevent scarring following surgical procedures.
On Feb. 13, 2013, almost 100 second-year University of Toronto (U of T) medical students participated in an optional, intensive, one-hour otoscopy workshop using the OtoSim™ — a training and simulation system that is radically changing the way students in Canada and around the world learn this poorly-acquired medical skill.
And, if you want to use simulation technology to change the way medical professionals are taught, ear disease is a good place to start.
Additional photos from this event are posted on OtoSim Inc.’s Flickr account. A longer version of the OtoSim Night at U of T video is also available on the company’s YouTube channel.
“Historically, otoscopy simulation involved looking at an image of an eardrum on a piece of film at the end of a rubber ear,” said Dr. Andrew Sinclair, CEO of OtoSim Inc. “OtoSim™ has a digital image bank that is orders of magnitude more extensive. The instructor can electronically point to areas within the image and confirm that the student sees the pathology of interest. Diagnostic accuracy goes up enormously.”
TORONTO, February 5, 2013 — How do you make sure the brilliant ideas emerging from Toronto’s academic research community get the best possible chance to succeed?
MaRS Innovation (MI), created in 2008, bridges the chasm between these early-stage technologies and successful start-up companies and licensable technologies. By offering early-stage funding in tandem with hands-on management, mentorship and IP strategy protection, MI acts as a commercialization agent for its 16 member institutions.
This announcement was covered by TechVibes, Yonge Street Media and CanTech Letter.
The Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) has recognized the increasing strength of this novel partnership by awarding MI $14.95 million in funding through the Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) program.
TORONTO, ON (Jan. 24, 2013) – ScarX Therapeutics, a start-up company commercializing a groundbreaking treatment to dramatically reduce post-operation scarring, is receiving a $250,000 investment from Ontario Centres of Excellence.
This story was covered in Yonge Street Media on January 30, 2013.
ScarX, a topical medication, emerged from Dr. Benjamin Alman‘s research. Alman, head of orthopedic surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children, is developing his invention in conjunction with MaRS Innovation.
Each year, doctors worldwide perform 240 million surgeries. Currently, no clinically-proven prescription therapeutic exists to reduce post-surgical scarring. Given this critical need for its technology, ScarX Therapeutics believes sales of the ScarX product could potentially reach into the billions of dollars.
“ScarX is a true game-changer when it comes to reducing the scarring associated with many surgeries,” said Dr. Tom Corr, president and CEO of Ontario Centres of Excellence. “Through our Market Readiness program, OCE is pleased to be supporting both the commercialization of this revolutionary research-based product and Ontario’s economy.”
Bedside Clinical Systems (BCS) participated in Philadelphia’s 2012 Canada-U.S. eHealth Summit on November 28.
Twelve of the 65 participating companies were selected to pitch a group of over 100 chief medical information officers, chief information officers and chief medical officers from U.S. hospitals, along with venture capitalists and industry representatives.
BCS’s CEO Rajesh Sharma delivered a strong pitch and was interviewed for a story in MedCity News.
OtoSim Inc., a MaRS Innovation spin-of company, was featured along with MaRS Innovation in the Autumn 2012 edition of Health Research & Innovation magazine. The article by Tim Wilson is…
Yonge Street Media, a weekly online magazine that covers talent, innovation, diversity and quality of life stories in the Toronto region, covered Bedside Clinical Systems’ (BCS) launch in their Innovation section on Wednesday, November 7, 2012.
BCS is a MaRS Innovation spin-off company created to commercialize decision-support research emerging from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).
Each year, 5,000 children in North American hospitals experience code-blue incidents; a code blue is an event where patients require immediate resuscitation. One quarter of these incidents result in death,…
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