AuRA (Amplified Redox Assay)

Xagenic announces $6 million GAAP partnership for Hepatitis C testing; appoints president and CEO

Xagenic Inc., a molecular diagnostics company developing the first lab-free molecular diagnostic platform with a 20 minute time-to-result, announced October 15, 2014 that its project in partnership with the University of Toronto was successful in securing funding from Genome Canada under the Genomic Applications Partnership Program (GAPP).

The funding, announced by the Honourable Ed Holder, Minister of State (Science and Technology) and Dr. Pierre Meulien, president and CEO of Genome Canada, is part of 12 selected projects under Genome Canada’s Genomic Applications Partnership Program (GAPP), on October 15 in Wallenstein, Ontario.

The project titled “Development of Low Cost Testing Chip and Device for Hepatitis C Testing” was approved with funding up to a maximum of $5,999,865 over three years. The Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation is supporting the project with a grant matching the Genome Canada contribution.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for us to leverage the viral assay development and electrochemical detection expertise in the labs of Dr. Shana Kelley and Dr. Edward Sargent at the University of Toronto to significantly advance our own research programs on several fronts,” said Dr. Graham D. Jack, Xagenic’s senior director of Research and Development. “Under this joint program, we anticipate development of a new lower-cost substrate chip, which will significantly bring down the total cost of our in-cartridge AuRA™ detection technology.

Timothy I. Still appointed Xagenic’s president and CEO

On October 16, 2014, Xagenic also announced that Timothy I. Still has been appointed president and CEO, and will serve as a member of Xagenic Inc.’s board of directors.

This announcement was covered in PE Hub.

Frost & Sullivan awards Xagenic award for new product innovation leadership

May 20, 2014
Susanne Staer
Awards

Market research company lauds start-up for developing a breakthrough workflow while dramatically improving point-of-care diagnosis

(MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif) May 20, 2014 — Based on its recent analysis of the point-of-care diagnostics market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Xagenic Inc. with the 2014 North America Frost & Sullivan Award for New Product Innovation Leadership.

Xagenic’s revolutionary product, the Xagenic X1™ system, is a point-of-care platform with intuitive features to provide lab-free molecular diagnostic testing. It is unique as a low-cost, simple, rapid sample-to-answer desktop instrument, requiring no manual sample processing or cold storage. Currently, the platform is in the beta-testing phase and is expected to launch between 2015 and 2016.

Dr. Shana Kelley and Xagenic were featured in the Globe and Mail on May 20, 2014.

Read the detailed Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Research Report report on Xagenic’s website. Xagenic is MaRS Innovation’s lead start-up company, in partnership with the University of Toronto: Xagenic news archive.

For its portfolio of cartridge-based tests, Xagenic focuses on infectious diseases (HSV 1+2, Flu A+B, CT/NG, strep A, group B strep, trichomoniasis, HCV and upper respiratory infections) that will benefit the most from rapid on-site testing. The company also intends to apply the platform to counter a critical public health threat—antimicrobial resistance.

MaRS Innovation focus of Yonge Street Media article on growing technology sectors

November 1, 2013
Susanne Staer
BresoTec Inc.

President and CEO Dr. Raphael Hofstein speaks on healthcare innovation in Toronto

Screen Shot 2013-12-18 at 12.21.01 PM — **Dr. Raphael Hofstein**, MaRS Innovation president and CEO, was featured in an article by *Yonge Street Media*. (Photo Credit: Yonge Street Media)

In an October 30 article, Yonge Street Media‘s Andrew Seale spoke with MI’s president and CEO Raphael Hofstein on the booming healthcare innovation coming from Toronto since 2005.

Seale’s article is the first of a two-part series on technological innovation.

In the article, Hofstein credits the city’s intellectual infrastructure and access to healthcare resources for allowing innovation to flourish.

Three of MI’s start-up companies are also mentioned in the article.

Here’s an excerpt (links and emphasis our own):

“The Intellectual Property that is being generated in Toronto (is) a major chunk of the IP that’s being generated across Canada,” he says.

He points to ChipCare Corporation‘s state-of-the-art handheld analyzer, which allows doctors to run multiple diagnostics on a patient’s blood on site as opposed to bringing the patient to the clinic. The University of Toronto developed cell analyzer could prove to be a game changer in the fight against HIV. “Lab-in-a-chip” technology like this is crucial in third world countries where healthcare access is severely limited.

Xagenic’s AuRA platform—another diagnostic tool for blood samples—uses ultra sensitive microelectrode arrays (nano-sensors) developed by another team of researchers at University of Toronto. The inexpensive tech makes it possible for molecular diagnostic testing outside of labs.

MaRS Innovation-backed ApneaDX has developed a clinical-quality sleep-monitoring tool. Previously, diagnosing for sleep apnea—a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal breathing patterns—often required an expensive overnight stay at a sleep clinic. The device is a fraction of the cost and records the data on a chip, which is then analyzed by the company’s software.

MaRS Innovation’s Lead Start-Up Completes $20 Million Series B

Xagenic’s financing round to test platform and first diagnostic assay, continue product development and begin FDA submission Toronto, ON (December 2, 2013) — MaRS Innovation’s first start-up company, Xagenic Inc.,…