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.”
Through the collaboration, MaRS Innovation and technical experts from the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Center in Boston, Massachusetts will jointly identify and fund high-potential opportunities emerging from well-validated scientific research discoveries within MaRS Innovation’s 16 member institutions, which include the University of Toronto and its affiliated teaching hospitals.
Dr. Raphael Hofstein, president and CEO of MaRS Innovation.
“We are looking forward to working with Johnson & Johnson Innovation,” said Dr. Raphael Hofstein, president and CEO, MaRS Innovation. “There are many high quality opportunities coming out of the Toronto research community, and these opportunities can benefit from our close collaboration.”
Through the agreement, Johnson & Johnson Innovation will provide funding over a three-year period to support promising individual projects based on joint due diligence, which will be leveraged with financial support from MaRS Innovation.
Dr. Keith Jarvi (left), Head of Urology and Director of the Murray Koffler Urologic Wellness Centre and Dr. Andrei Darbovich, lead author of the paper.
Mount Sinai’s Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute has developed a new test that could make a big difference to men facing infertility.
A study published in a leading international journal, Science Translational Medicine, details the discovery of a key biomarker that can pinpoint the cause of infertility without the need for invasive surgery.
About half a million Canadian men are infertile, according to clinician-research Dr. Keith Jarvi. As a urologist who treats men with infertility, he knows how valuable this simple, inexpensive test could be. “Testing a semen sample can be done in the doctor’s clinic as it’s noninvasive and much easier for the patient than surgery,” he says.
Dr. Jarvi directs the Murray Koffler Urologic Wellness Centre, is head of Urology, and associate scientist at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute. He is a professor of Surgery at University of Toronto.
MaRS Innovation, which commercializes discoveries made by University of Toronto hospitals and research institutes, is already working on the project, which Jarvi believes may lead to commercial tests within the next couple of years. [For more information, contact Barry Elkind].
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Assurex Health combine resources to bring personalized medicine in psychiatry, reducing the current trial-and-error approach
TORONTO – The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Canada’s leading hospital for mental health, and Assurex Health, a global leader in personalized medicine, have signed an agreement for a joint venture to bring the benefits of this treatment approach to more Canadians.
The personalized approach helps to match the right medication at the right dose for each patient, based on their genetic makeup. Using Assurex Health’s GeneSight panel, physicians can easily see which psychiatric medications are likely to be effective for each patient and which ones are not, often avoiding treatment failure and side effects.
“This partnership between CAMH and Assurex Health is essential to advance the widespread use of personalized medicine in psychiatry, and improve health care for Canadians who need medications for mental health problems,” said Dr. James Kennedy, head of the Tanenbaum Centre for Pharmacogenetics at CAMH. This approach is a game-changer from the current trial-and-error approach to prescribing, which results in many patients having to try different psychiatric medications, each with potential side-effects, before the best medication for them can be determined.
AssureRx Canada (ARxC) has been established as a subsidiary of the U.S. company, with its Canadian office and laboratory on CAMH premises. Assurex Health will provide backing for ARxC operations. CAMH holds a minority equity share in AssureRx Canada and will receive royalties on the sale of genetic tests that incorporate CAMH-discovered genetic markers.
The City of Ottawa and Flybits Unveil New Traffic Management Tool That Provides Real-Time Traveler Information to Residents TORONTO, November 18, 2013 — The City of Ottawa and Flybits, an…
This program provides a simple mechanism to connect researchers with MI’s industry partners. The process and application form are intentionally brief to save researchers time and allow MI’s partners to review a wide range of remarkable technologies within the Toronto academic community in a short period of time.
Parimal Nathwani, vice-president, Life Sciences, MaRS Innovation.
“Many granting programs require an industry partner, but leave finding that partner to the researcher,” says Parimal Nathwani, vice-president of life sciences at MI. “Our Industrial Partnership Program completes that step for them. We also know researchers within our member institutions are incredibly busy, which is why we’ve adopted a streamlined process to save them time.”
The program is open to any researcher affiliated with our 16 member institutions working on technologies in:
