Partnerships

UTEST graduate CoursePeer announces partnership with the Western GTA Summit

August 13, 2014
Susanne Staer
CoursePeer

CoursePeer’s social collaboration intranet solution successful in amplifying members’ and citizens’ collaboration and engagement

TORONTO, Aug. 13, 2014 — If you run a community-led group to discuss key issues facing over 1.4 million people, how do you help them to do the best collaboration possible? What’s the best way to capture and retain their feedback?

After seven years of successfully holding the Western Greater Toronto Area (GTA) Summit—an annual meeting co-chaired by the mayors and business leaders of Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon and Oakville to discuss issues of significant importance to the Western GTA—the Summit’s task forces decided to further enhance their members’ means of collaboration and knowledge retention by adopting an innovative technology platform.

This announcement was covered in Mississauga News, InsideHalton.com and the Brampton Guardian.

CoursePeer, a University of Toronto and MaRS Innovation start-up providing learning and collaboration solutions for enterprise and government, began a successful implementation at the Summit in January 2014.

“I find the program very intuitive, accommodating and simple to use. There is a bit of a fraternity building among the regular users,” said Peter VanSickle, co-chair of Brampton and president of the Brampton Downtown Development Corporation.

MaRS Innovation and St. Michael’s Hospital revitalizing commercialization process

For principal investigators, a key component in taking their research ideas from the bench to the market is knowing what commercialization resources exist and when to use them.

Through the MaRS Innovation’s Technology Transfer & Scouting division (MITTS), manager Sahail Shariff is connecting with principal investigators (PIs) at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto on the front-line to better understand and advance their research.

Of the 180 PIs at the hospital, the majority are clinician scientists who spend a portion of their time caring for patients.

In collaboration with Samar Saneinejad, project director in the Office of the Vice-President, Research at St. Michael’s, Shariff established a research commercialization committee with regular monthly meetings to stay connected to PIs and their research status. He’s also taken note of the time constraints facing clinician scientists, making a point to provide them with more one-on-one time.

MaRS Innovation’s **Sahail Shariff** walks the halls at St. Michael’s Hospital to provide better commercialization resources to its researchers.

Invention disclosures from researchers at St. Michael’s have increased by almost 50 percent since October 2013, when Shariff joined MaRS Innovation. He has played a key role in this success and has also helped the hospital to acquire five commercialization-related funding applications and assisted in 12 interactions between PIs and industry members.

“Walking the halls has been really valuable for investigators who have great ideas and have spent a lot of time on their research and inventions, but don’t have excess time to devote to finding the right way to develop it further,” says Shariff.

Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator to Partner with BDC Venture Capital

MaRS Innovation co-partner in pan-Canadian effort to help create up to 20 leading start-up companies

CEBIO International Conference, San Diego – June 25, 2014: BDC Venture Capital and the Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator (Accel-Rx) announced today a collaboration to provide critical seed funding to new and emerging Canadian health sciences companies.

This announcement was covered in TechVibes, PE HUB and BetaKit.

Together, Accel-Rx, BDC Venture Capital, and CDRD Ventures Inc. (CVI) which will provide the initial management to launch Accel-Rx operations, would focus on maximizing new health sciences company creation, and ensuring start-ups have the resources they need to grow and become a new generation of strong health sciences companies.

Accel-Rx brings together five of Canada’s leading health sciences Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) to foster cross-Canadian cooperation and directly addressing the health science company creation challenge in Canada. They include:

The accelerator will help make a connection between: promising technologies; experts in drug development, clinical/regulatory affairs, deal-making and finance; entrepreneurs and mentors; and R&D infrastructure and resources.

XLV Diagnostics Inc. secures $3 million Series A from Boston-based investor

THUNDER BAY, ON (May 28,2014) – XLV Diagnostics Inc., a MaRS Innovation (MI) start-up company based in Thunder Bay and specializing in low-cost, next-generation digital mammography machines, has closed a…

Portfolio Snapshot: Minuum debuts on Google Glass, Crowdmark named most innovative at SIIA

May 14, 2014
Susanne Staer
Awards

There’s been lots of activity in MI’s portfolio this week (and it’s only Wednesday). Read down for what you need to know about Whirlscape, Crowdmark, OtoSim, and ApneaDx.

Whirlscape launches Google Glass demo video

Whirlscape’s Minuum keyboard nabbed a four-star review from CNET’s editors only days before announcing their technology is now available for Google Glass. Watch the UTEST graduate‘s newest demo video.

Reaction coverage: BNN, the Telegraph (U.K.), WPRO (radio), CNET, Mashable, TechCrunch, Mobile Syrup and Android Central, among various other tech blogs.

Crowdmark named “Most Innovative” at SIIA conference

The Education Division of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) showcased some of the newest and most innovative products in the education technology market, and recognized the best among them as part of the Innovation Incubator program at the 13th annual Education Industry Summit, the leading conference for the K-12 and postsecondary education technology market, held May 12-14 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

From their blog:

Crowdmark was named Most Innovative among more than 50 applicants,

MaRS Innovation Statement on 2014 Ontario Budget

TORONTO, ON (May 2, 2014) – MaRS Innovation congratulates the government’s deepened commitment to support the life sciences through research and innovation funding. In particular, the new $30 million Life Sciences Seed Venture Capital Fund will create a partnership between the Province of Ontario, the private sector and hospital foundations to finance Ontario-based life sciences companies.

**Dr. Raphael Hofstein**, president & CEO, MaRS Innovation.

“As co-designers of this venture capital fund and one of its many champions, MaRS Innovation welcomes this news,” says Dr. Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein, president and CEO. “We look forward to the strong collaborations it will foster with our colleagues in the Government of Ontario, private industry and the hospital community.”

“By their nature and the need for regulation, life sciences companies take considerable time to mature products and their underlying technologies. Expanding the funding available during this critical stage through this unique public-private partnership will give more Ontario start-ups emerging with disruptive technologies from the province’s academic institutions the financing they need to succeed and thrive,” says Hofstein.

WaveCheck breast cancer technology receives $100,000

OICR’s catalyst grant enables WaveCheck to open first partner site at MD Anderson Cancer Center in May

TORONTO, April 8, 2014 — People with breast cancer are a step closer to knowing if their tumour is responding to chemotherapy at the start of treatment, thanks to a $100,000 catalyst grant from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR).

The funding builds upon MaRS Innovation‘s Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for WaveCheck, which successfully raised over $50,000 from over 500 supporters worldwide in two months last fall.

Read Jane Gerster’s article for the Toronto Star about OICR’s catalyst grant for WaveCheck. This announcement was also covered in Metro, BetaKit and Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario’s Catalyst newsletter.

WaveCheck, a clinical technique invented, refined and tested by scientists at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Ryerson University over 20 years, aims to show whether chemotherapy is actually destroying a breast cancer tumour at the beginning of chemotherapy treatment (in as little as four weeks), rather than at the end of treatment (typically four to six months).

In early clinical testing, WaveCheck’s inexpensive, non-invasive, image-guided technology (shown here) shows promise as an accurate, efficient way to monitor tumour response. Sunnybrook has partnered with GE Healthcare to co-develop WaveCheck as a clinical tool. — In early clinical testing, WaveCheck’s inexpensive, non-invasive, image-guided technology (shown here) shows promise as an accurate, efficient way to monitor tumour response. As of March 2015, Sunnybrook has partnered with GE Healthcare to co-develop WaveCheck as a clinical tool.

In early clinical testing, the non-invasive, image-guided technology has shown promise as an accurate, efficient way to monitor tumour response, opening the door to tailored treatment.

“This is a significant step towards achieving the goal of personalized medicine. The clinical trials will confirm that information provided by WaveCheck can determine if the treatment is the appropriate one or that other options should be chosen, sparing patients the side effects of treatments that will not likely be successful,” said Dr. Tom Hudson, OICR’s president and scientific director. “If successful, WaveCheck could become a standard tool in the cancer treatment of the future.”

MaRS Innovation Industry Access Program (MI-IAP) accepting applications until April 10

Researchers working in orphan indications, drug delivery devices, big data and other key areas invited to submit a brief Statement of Interest

The commercialization process: Moving transformational ideas from the lab bench to the street — MaRS Innovation’s commercialization process helps inventors move their transformational ideas from the lab bench to the street.

The MaRS Innovation Industry Access Program (MI-IAP) is a simple, formalized process for marketing early-stage technologies to MI’s industry partners: Baxter, LifeLabs (formerly CML Healthcare), GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Merck.

The program’s goal is to secure funding for researchers within MI’s membership through these collaborative, strategic R&D partnership programs.

First run in November 2013, the MI-IAP allows researchers to easily determine whether an industry partner is interested in co-developing their technologies. The application process is deliberately brief at the outset.

“Last fall, we received 28 statements of interest, 12 of which we invited to submit a non-confidential summary package,” said Ben Rogers, director, Technology Transfer & Scouting. “Of these, six have been invited for a technology presentation with an industry partner. We’d like to see all of those numbers grow during this application round.”

The program will also make it easier for researchers to find prospective industry partners.

MI’s Joel Liederman opens medical device panel at BioTransfer 2014

Joel Liederman, MaRS Innovation's vice-president of Business Development and Commercialization for physical sciences, is attending BioTransfer 2014 on March 18 to chair the Medical Devices Committee. This is the first year that…

UTEST’s co-directors share what makes for a great start-up application

March 18, 2014
Susanne Staer
Crowdmark

The University of Toronto Early-Stage Technology (UTEST) program helps U of T students, recent grads or professors to take their ideas to market.

Successful applicants get mentoring, funding and work space over a 12-month period as they advance their ideas. The program is co-managed by MaRS Innovation and the University of Toronto.

In a U of T “Spotlight on Startups” news article, Brianna Goldberg spoke with Mike Betts and Kurtis Scissons, UTEST co-directors, on what makes for a great applicant.

Here’s an excerpt:

What are you looking for in an exceptional UTEST application?
Evidence of a strong and committed team. It’s critical to have standout technology and a great market opportunity but at the end of the day it’s the team that makes these businesses work—it’s about having a balance of amazing technical talent and business leadership and execution skills. When we come across an application that has a really awesome team, it stands out. – Mike Betts, UTEST co-director

What’s one common mistake you see in applications for UTEST that might cause them to be rejected?
Commitment. We want entrepreneurs that are fully committed to the program and to their new companies. UTEST is a serious program for serious entrepreneurs who want support to create a sustainable successful company. The application must exude your confidence in your idea and the effort the entrepreneur(s) will commit to see it successful. – Kurtis Scissons, UTEST co-director

What advice would you give to those considering applying to UTEST?
1. Build a balanced team. Understand the strengths of your team members and ensure that gaps can be addressed either through internal change or be open to external hires.

2. Be passionate about your idea but also understand it will be a rollercoaster of emotions. –Scissons

Betts and Scissons are accepting applications for UTEST’s third cohort until April 17. Current students, current faculty and recent graduates of U of T are welcome to apply.

MaRS Innovation and St. Michael’s Hospital revitalizing commercialization process

Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator to Partner with BDC Venture Capital

MaRS Innovation co-partner in pan-Canadian effort to help create up to 20 leading start-up companies

XLV Diagnostics Inc. secures $3 million Series A from Boston-based investor

Portfolio Snapshot: Minuum debuts on Google Glass, Crowdmark named most innovative at SIIA

Whirlscape launches Google Glass demo video

Crowdmark named “Most Innovative” at SIIA conference

WaveCheck breast cancer technology receives $100,000

MaRS Innovation Industry Access Program (MI-IAP) accepting applications until April 10

Researchers working in orphan indications, drug delivery devices, big data and other key areas invited to submit a brief Statement of Interest

MI’s Joel Liederman opens medical device panel at BioTransfer 2014

UTEST’s co-directors share what makes for a great start-up application

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