U of T professor shares tips to her team’s commercialization success
When it comes to bringing research from the lab to the market, the University of Toronto’s Dr. Shana Kelley knows firsthand what it takes. She’s co-founder of Xagenic, a MaRS Innovation and U of T start-up company that’s developed the first lab-free molecular diagnostic platform with a 20-minute time-to-result based on her research with fellow U of T colleague Professor Edward Sargent.
In her guest blog post for the Ministry of Research and Innovation, Kelley outlines what she’s learned through her experience in the commercialization process (emphasis ours):
1. When ready to commercialize, look in your own backyard for investment and support
Dr. Shana Kelley, co-founder of Xagenic Inc. and University of Toronto professor.
When the Xagenic technology was mature enough to consider commercialization, we started to call venture investors all over the world to see if we could get them to back the company. We always got the meetings we wanted, and lots of enthusiasm and encouragement, but it was difficult to get people engaged. We were fortunate to get seed funding from a group of local organizations including MaRS Innovation, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, the Innovation Acceleration Fund (IAF), and Ontario Centres of Excellence and then finally found the group that would eventually be our Series A lead investors, CTI Life Sciences Fund.
With CTI, we immediately got the traction we had been looking for from a venture investor that indicated genuine interest in the company. When we later made the rounds for the Series B investment outside of Canada, we repeatedly heard the comment: “we’re glad to see you could do the Series A in your own backyard.”
When I probed about why this was important, I found that the investment community thinks it is important to have your early investors as close geographically as possible. The level of interaction when a company gets off the group needs to be fairly intense — being geographically closer helps entrepreneurs and investors keep in better contact. This is definitely not a hard-and-fast rule, but I found it interesting that many investors had this perception. And it creates a particular challenge for Canadian companies given how little venture capital is available locally!
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Indiegogo campaign raised $53,390 from over 500 worldwide donors
WaveCheck co-inventor, Dr. Gregory Czarnota, appeared on CTV National News on December 15.
CTV National News featured WaveCheck’s crowdfunding campaign on December 15 in a report by Avis Favaro. The report included an interview with MaRS Innovation’s President and CEO, Dr. Raphael Hofstein (at the 1:37 mark).
William Tran, a researcher associated with the project at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, was also interviewed on Canada AM on December 16.
WaveCheck, which closed its campaign December 4, was invented by Dr. Gregory Czarnota of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Prof. Michael C. Kolios of Ryerson University. WaveCheck uses ultrasound technology to show people with breast cancer if their chemotherapy is working within weeks.
While the Indiegogo campaign has concluded, Sunnybrook Foundation is now accepting donations flagged “WaveCheck” on behalf of the researchers through its website.
At campaign close, WaveCheck ranked in the top 0.005 per cent of health-related campaigns on Indiegogo, and was covered by CBC television and Metro Morning, theToronto Star, Sing-Tao and MedCity News.
Council members include MI’s Raphael Hofstein and MI Board Chair Dr. Robert Bell
On November 20, the Government of Ontario launched the Ontario Health Innovation Council to support health innovation in Ontario. Dr. Raphael Hofstein, president and CEO of MaRS Innovation, was named to the council.
Members of the Ontario Health Innovation Council, including MaRS Innovation’s president and CEO Dr. Raphael Hofstein (third from left), pose after the initial announcement.
By becoming a member of the Council, Hofstein will assist in identifying evidence-based opportunities in Ontario’s healthcare space and advancing them into practice on a global scale.
MI Project Manger Fanny Sie discusses Toronto’s impact on 3D printing landscape
MaRS Innovation’s Fanny Sie is project manager for the Bioprinter, a 3D printer that can print on organic material.
In a December 4 article, part of a feature series on technology in Toronto, Yonge Street Media reporter Andrew Seale highlights the creative and innovative technological work surrounding the 3D printing and cyber security sectors in the city.
MaRS Innovation’s Fanny Sie is managing business development for the Bioprinter, a 3D printer using University of Toronto technology that’s capable of printing on organic material, including skin.
By printing on skin, the cost of treating burns on the body could be reduced.
Here’s an excerpt from the article (links and emphasis ours):
“Cells are very intelligent, you just have to be able to put them close enough to one another in order for them to take over,” says Sie adding that some of the research is a partnership with the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Research Institute.
Amanda Lang interviews U of T prof and co-founder Craig Boutilier in segment on innovative start-ups and Canada’s future
Following an appearance on the CBC’s “Lang and O’Leary Exchange” on November 28, MaRS Innovation UTEST company, Granata Decision Systems, appeared on CBC news “The National.” The segment included an interview with Amanda Lang.
Granata Decision Systems’ Co-Founder and University of Toronto Professor Craig Boutilier gives his pitch at a OneEleven investor session. Boutilier and Granata were featured on CBC News’ “The National.”
Founded by Craig Boutilier and Tyler Lu, Granata Decision Systems is one of the first six companies incubated through the UTEST program for early-stage technologies, jointly administered by MaRS Innovation and the University of Toronto.
Granata is one of eight companies to join OneEleven’s accelerator program for companies tackling big data problems.
Their software allows marketers to optimize the effectiveness of their campaigns.
The segment features co-founder Craig Boutilier’s pitch at an invitation-only investor gathering at OneEleven to secure funding to further the success of Granata Decision Systems.
UTEST company makes cameo through launch of OneEleven, Toronto’s new data-driven accelerator for entrepreneurs
CBC’s Lang & O’Leary Exchange featured Granata Decision Systems, one of the first UTEST companies incubated through that program for early-stage technologies by MaRS Innovation and the University of Toronto, in their program on Wednesday, November 28, 2013.
Granata founders Tyler Lu (left) and Craig Boutilier made a cameo on CBC’s Lang & O’Leary Exchange November 28, 2013.
The data-driven company is one of eight to join the inaugural cohort for OneEleven, a new accelerator funded by OMERS Ventures, the Ontario Centres of Excellence, Ryerson University and other industry partners to support mature, sophisticated entrepreneurs tackling big data problems.
Dr. Aaron Schimmer of the University Health Network discovered that Tigecycline was effective in killing leukemia cells and leukemia stem cells by shutting down their energy supply.
In a November 25 article in Biotechnology Focus magazine, author Shawn Lawrence highlights Stem Cell Therapeutics and Trillium Therapeutics Inc. coming together in a reverse merger that creates more opportunities to advance early-stage research.
The article profiles Dr. Aaron Schimmer and his discovery that Tigecycline is effective in killing leukemia cells and leukemia stem cells by shutting down their energy supply.
“Dr. Schimmer’s research is focused on drug repurposing – finding new indications for approved therapeutics. Focusing on established drugs with known safety profiles can significantly lower the risk in the drug development process, saving time and cost,” says Dr. Niclas Stiernholm, president and CEO of Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp.”
When it comes to bringing research from the lab to the market, the University of Toronto’s Dr. Shana Kelley knows firsthand what it takes. She’s co-founder of Xagenic, a MaRS Innovation and U of T start-up company that’s developed the first lab-free molecular diagnostic platform with a 20-minute time-to-result based on her research with fellow U of T colleague Professor Edward Sargent.
