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University of Toronto sperm selection technology featured in the Toronto Star

U of T Logo“In a project spearheaded by PhD candidate Reza Nosrati, U of T researchers are trying to learn more about the way sperm cells move — something that could benefit those using in vitro fertilization (IVF),” writes Daniel Otis in “Sperm show U of T researchers a new trick: slithering” published in the Toronto Star on November 13, 2015.

MaRS Innovation is working with Professor David Sinton, Nosrati and the university’s Innovations and Partnerships Office to commercialize the technology for the human sperm selection markets, including intellectual property strategy and patent filing, and securing industry partners and collaborators.

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Crowdmark successfully pilots two-stage exams in North America

Crowdmark's two-stage exam interface.
A screenshot of Crowdmark’s two-stage exam interface.

TORONTO, Oct. 21, 2015 – Working with five leading universities in North America during 2014-15, Crowdmark Inc., a collaborative online grading and analytics platform, has demonstrated the benefits and advantages of using two-stage examinations in a number of undergraduate programs in post-secondary institutions across the world.

Crowdmark has worked with universities to introduce two-stage exams as a way to integrate collaborative learning and assessment into the traditional exam format. In a two-stage exam, students individually complete the exam and then, working in groups of three to four, immediately complete the exam again. This method provides students with immediate feedback through discussion with their peers as they deliberate the most correct response. The two-stage exam provides feedback on individual performance while increasing students’ engagement and comprehension of course content.

James Colliander, Crowdmark Founder/CEO and Professor of Mathematics at the University of British Columbia is encouraged by the reception two-stage exams have received at universities in North America.

“The experiments with two-stage exams last spring were very informative and helped shape our platform to support a new and emerging assessment scenario,” says Colliander. “Also with feedback from our customers, we made elegant improvements allowing Crowdmark to be used for other assessment types including lab reports and group projects.”

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Encycle Therapeutics raises $2.85 million to advance macrocycle platform and pipeline

Encycle TherapeuticsTORONTO, ON (September 30, 2015) — Encycle Therapeutics, Inc., a University of Toronto spin-off company created in partnership with MaRS Innovation, announced today that it has completed a $2.85 million (CAD) financing led by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. through its venture capital arm, Takeda Ventures, Inc., with Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator, BDC Capital and MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund.

This news was covered in PEHub, BetaKit and TechVibes.

The funding will support ongoing development of Encycle’s unique nacellin platform chemistry and advance the company’s pipeline of novel therapeutics. It will also allow the company to build on research collaborations with several pharmaceutical companies and ultimately position it for a series A transaction and/or additional strategic partnerships.

“Our proprietary chemistry has the potential to unlock myriad therapeutic avenues, including via intracellular protein-protein interactions that cannot be targeted with conventional therapeutics,” said Dr. Jeffrey Coull, president and CEO of Encycle Therapeutics; upon the closing, Coull joined Encycle’s board of directions. “This funding is critical to enable the company to further explore the vast potential of our technology and to de-risk it to the extent that major transactions will be enabled.”

“Our goal is to make an impact on patients’ lives by turning science and technology into life-changing medicines. We are enthusiastic about Encycle’s technology and its potential in the context of ‘undruggable’ proteins,” said Dr. Ilan Zipkin, senior investment director at Takeda.

“Encycle’s growing momentum reflects MaRS Innovation’s efforts to shift the Canadian paradigm for technology transfer,” said Dr. Raphael Hofstein, chairman of the Encycle Therapeutics Board of Directors and president and CEO of MaRS Innovation. “This company began with promising research in Dr. Andrei Yudin’s laboratory at the University of Toronto. With crucial support from many players along the Ontario-Quebec life sciences corridor, MaRS Innovation collaborated with him to package and protect the technology, launch the company and hire experienced management. The success of this funding round bodes well for its future growth and success.”

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Ontario Government, University of Toronto, and MaRS secure Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS for Toronto – first JLABS Incubator outside of United States

Partners for JLABS @ Toronto include Janssen Inc., MaRS Innovation and seven of MI’s 15 member institutions

 Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure Brad Duguid announces the arrival of JLABS @ Toronto in the MaRS Discovery District. First row, left to right: Chris Halyk, president of Janssen Inc.; Melinda Richter, head of JLABS, Johnson & Johnson; Dr. Meric Gertler, president, University of Toronto; Minister Duguid; Dr. Ilse Treuricht, CEO MaRS Discovery District; Dr. Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein, president and CEO MaRS Innovation, and Robert Urban, head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation Boston. Second row: Dr. Robert Howard, president and CEO St. Michael's Hospital; Dr. Catherine Zahn, president and CEO CAMH; Dr. Barry McLellan, president and CEO Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; Dr. Peter Pisters, president & CEO University Health Network; Dr. Jim Woddgett, director of research, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital; and Dr. Michael Apkon, president and CEO, The Hospital for Sick Children.

Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure Brad Duguid announces the arrival of JLABS @ Toronto in the MaRS Discovery District. First row, left to right: Chris Halyk, president of Janssen Inc.; Melinda Richter, head of JLABS, Johnson & Johnson; Dr. Meric Gertler, president, University of Toronto; Minister Duguid; Dr. Ilse Treuricht, CEO MaRS Discovery District; Dr. Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein, president and CEO MaRS Innovation, and Robert Urban, head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation Boston. Second row: Dr. Robert Howard, president and CEO St. Michael’s Hospital; Dr. Catherine Zahn, president and CEO CAMH; Dr. Barry McLellan, president and CEO Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; Dr. Peter Pisters, president & CEO University Health Network; Dr. Jim Woddgett, director of research, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital; and Dr. Michael Apkon, president and CEO, The Hospital for Sick Children.

 

TORONTO, Sept. 8, 2015 — The Ontario Government, University of Toronto, and MaRS Discovery District (MaRS) today announced a collaboration with Janssen Inc. to launch the successful Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS incubator model in Toronto.

This announcement has been covered in the Toronto Star, Metro News Canada, Sing Tao Daily, OurWindsor.ca, FierceBiotech, BioCentury, MedCity News, BioSpace, Biotechnology Focus, Lab Product News, ChinaNews.com, Pan European Networks, Economic Development Blog, BetaKit, Torontoist, and TechVibes.

It was also featured news on Rx&D‘s and Life Sciences Ontario‘s websites.

The new facility, called JLABS @ Toronto, will open in spring of 2016 at MaRS Discovery District and will support start-ups with lab space, programs, and potential investment partners as they work to build important, successful early-stage companies.

“The arrival of the Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS model to MaRS’ West Tower reinforces Ontario’s position as one of the world’s leading life sciences clusters,” said Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure. “JLABS @ Toronto will support researchers and entrepreneurs across the province and accelerate the development of Ontario companies while connecting Toronto to potential Johnson & Johnson collaborators and investors.”

“Research and innovation are fundamental to the mission of the University of Toronto,” said Dr. Meric S. Gertler, President, University of Toronto. “We host a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem featuring nine campus-led accelerators under the umbrella of our Banting & Best Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The addition of JLABS to this ecosystem will further propel the creation of new companies and new jobs, and ultimately new healthcare solutions that will benefit individuals and our society for years to come.”

“Toronto is home to a vibrant and prolific healthcare and life sciences community led by academic hospitals, world-class research institutions, top scientists, and a strong start-up ecosystem. For these reasons, Toronto is a natural choice for our first international expansion of JLABS,” said Melinda Richter, Head of JLABS. “The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies has long been active within the Toronto Ontario community, forming many important collaborations. Today we are pleased to begin an even deeper relationship with this important community. Our new location, within a University of Toronto site, close to our hospital collaborators, and neighbouring the financial centre of Canada, will deliver great opportunities and impact for emerging biomedical technology entrepreneurs.”

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My Virtual Dream publishes PLOS study on Nuit Blanche results

“My Virtual Dream” is an innovative and interactive live performance experience of the Virtual Brain technology developed by researchers at Baycrest Health Sciences Centre in partnership with neuroscience experts around the world.

Baycrest Heath Sciences’ “My Virtual Dream,” an innovative and interactive live performance experience at the intersection of science, art and music, is currently touring the installation with appearances in Amsterdam in May and more scheduled for Irvine, CA in October.

MaRS Innovation is working with the Baycrest team to commercialize the technology behind the demonstration, known as the virtual brain.

My Virtual Dream was featured in TechVibes on July 8 and in a PLOS blog published on August 14, 2015.

“The Virtual Dream tour is a ‘living lab’ that engages the public, fuels science, creates art and educates while it entertains,” says Richard Tavener, executive producer of the Virtual Dream tour.

The exhibition and research project was originally mounted in partnership with the University of Toronto, Nuit Blanche 2013, and InteraXon and also made a January 2015 appearance at the Ontario Science Centre.

Participants wear the Muse, a brain-computer interface headset provided by InteraXon, and use focus and mental relaxation states to complete a science game and create a stunning array of visuals and music.

The brain data collected at Nuit Blanche has yielded insights about how the brain learns and a science paper about this massive, one-night neuroscience experiment. The paper, which appeared in the July issue of PLOS One, found that:

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Law firm partners with UTEST program to offer legal advice to early-stage startups

TORONTO, ON (August 10, 2015) — Toronto-based law firm Aird & Berlis LLP (A&B) has become the sponsoring legal partner to the University of Toronto Early-Stage Technology Program (UTEST).

This partnership was covered in TechVibes, Law Times and the Financial Post‘s Legal Post blog.

Welcome to the table: Aird & Berlis are joining MaRS Innovation and the University of Toronto in supporting UTEST, an early-stage incubator for start-up companies that has graduated 17 companies and counting.
Welcome to the table: Aird & Berlis are joining MaRS Innovation and the University of Toronto in supporting UTEST, an early-stage incubator for start-up companies that has graduated 17 companies and counting.

UTEST is a 12-month incubation and acceleration program co-managed by the University of Toronto (U of T) and MaRS Innovation that allows selected U of T-affiliated early-stage startup companies to incorporate, use office space, receive mentorship and access $30,000 in funding, with opportunities for follow-on funding from MaRS Innovation.

In 2014, UTEST was named one of Canada’s most promising start-up accelerators in an online series by BetaKit, a digital publication that covers Canadian technology.

“We are thrilled to partner with A&B and leverage their legal expertise for our startups and emerging companies,” said Kurtis Scissions, who co-directs UTEST with MI’s Mike Betts. “To date, 17 companies, including Granata Decision Systems, Whirlscape, Crowdmark, eQOL and TrendMD, have successfully graduated from our program. We look forward to adding A&B’s Startups Team of lawyers to our mentorship group for the UTEST program, beginning in 2015.”

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Onyx Motion signs NBA’s Ben Gordon and launches Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign

Former Orlando Magic player new innovation director for basketball smartwatch app

This article is republished with the kind permission of Brianna Goldberg and our friends at U of T News.

Onyx-Motion-Swish-app-basketball-coach-1024x675UTEST company Onyx Motion has partnered with NBA shooting guard Ben Gordon to raise the calibre of digital basketball coaching offered by the company’s first-of-its-kind technology, a smartwatch app that offers on-court skills guidance. The company announced Gordon’s role in helping to further develop the app, called Swish, on July 8 when launching their Indiegogo campaign.

“We’re hoping to build a motion marketplace — a library of data, moves and audio tips from pro players,” said Onyx Motion co-founder and CEO Marissa Wu.

Onyx Motion’s Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign launch was covered by: TechVibes, Silicon Angle, IT Business.ca, Canadian Reviewer, Network World, GizMag and Sport Techie.

Swish uses smartwatch motion sensors to analyze athlete techniques and offer straightforward tips on how a player can improve.

“The Swish technology is bringing users closer to their favourite basketball player by giving them the opportunity to learn from them,” said Gordon. “I’m excited to work with the team on the further development of this one-of-a-kind experience and help players at any level improve their game.”

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Xagenic announces $15 million financing round with Series B investors

MI_xagenicTORONTO (July 9, 2015) — Xagenic, a molecular diagnostics company developing the lab-free Xagenic X1™ platform for point-of-care use, today announced that it has raised $15 million (CAD). Each of the company’s Series B investors has participated in this financing, including Domain Associates, CTI Life Sciences, BDC Capital and the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation.

PE Hub, Cantech Letter, Genome Web, Fierce Medical Devices and the Wall Street Journal‘s Venture Capital Dispatch blog covered this announcement.

In June, Xagenic also announced it has acquired exclusive rights to a mutation detection technology with potential applications to liquid biopsy testing. The electrochemical clamp assay technology was developed by University of Toronto Professor and Xagenic Founder (now CTO) Dr. Shana Kelley. Genome Web covered the news in June and July 2015.

“This investment round is a testament to the faith our existing investors have in the power of the Xagenic X1™ platform and the promise of our enzyme-free approach to molecular diagnostics,” said Timothy I. Still, Xagenic’s CEO. “This funding will accelerate our development efforts in bringing our point-of-care diagnostic platform to market.”

Xagenic’s rapid, lab-free, molecular diagnostic system affords a large market opportunity created by a significant, unmet medical need for point-of-care diagnostic solutions. Because of its highly scalable, consumables-driven business model, Xagenic is well-positioned to capitalize on this opportunity with a differentiated product offering and unique menu strategy.

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Encycle Therapeutics working with major pharmaceutical companies to design rules for drugs meant to be swallowed

CQDM and MaRS Innovation investing in new Encycle project to determine rules for making peptide drugs orally bioavailable

CQDM announcement
Encycle Therapeutics is generating a better understanding of the chemical properties required to make small peptide-like molecules, which Encycle calls nacellins, orally bioavailable. With these rules, Encycle will target many of the proteins that are currently regarded as undruggable.

PHILADELPHIA (June 16, 2015) — FiercePharma has predicted that the pharmaceutical industry stands to lose $44 billion in drugs going off patent in 2015. The industry is searching for new therapeutics to replenish their pipelines while tackling existing and new drug receptor targets within the cell, improve patient care and lower administrative costs. In this context, drugs that can be orally swallowed, known as orally-bioavailable drugs, are in great demand.

Encycle Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company founded by Dr. Andrei Yudin of the University of Toronto in partnership with MaRS Innovation, is a Canadian start-up emerging as a market leader in finding orally-bioavailable molecules. Today, the company announced $840,000 in funding from CQDM and MaRS Innovation to generate a better understanding of the chemical properties required to make small peptide-like molecules, which Encycle calls nacellins, orally bioavailable.

This release was covered in Biotechnology Focus and BioSpace.

This funding, generated through MaRS Innovation’s strategic partnerships programs with Pfizer Inc. and GSK, and CQDM’s global membership program with Pfizer Inc. and Merck, brings Encycle’s total funding to approximately $4 million, including an earlier investment in 2011 from Ontario Centres of Excellence.

Dr. Diane Gosselin, president and CEO of CQDM, together with Dr. Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein, president and CEO of MaRS Innovation, made the announcement this morning at the 2015 BIO International Convention in the presence of Dr. Reza Moridi, Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation and Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, and Dr. Gaétan Barrette, Quebec Minister of Health and Social Services.

MI_encycle“Encycle’s proprietary cyclized peptides are very different from other types of therapeutics and should enable us to target many of the proteins that are currently regarded as undruggable,” says Dr. Jeffrey Coull, Encycle’s president and CEO. “Our research suggests that, due to their unique properties, it’s easier for our peptides to cross cell membranes than it is for other types, allowing them to be taken orally and access proteins on the inside of a cell. Working on this project together with Pfizer and Merck through CQDM, as well as Pfizer and GSK through MaRS Innovation, we now wish to develop a more precise understanding of the relationship between their structure and composition, and the ability to be delivered orally.”

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Ontario Government Invests $1 Million in Toronto’s Neuroscience Catalyst Consortium

Ministry of Research & Innovation joins founding partners University of Toronto and Janssen Inc., and new partners Evotec AG, MaRS Innovation and Ontario Centres of Excellence, to advance treatments for neurological disorders and develop early-stage biotech companies

From left to right: Dr. Rafi Hofstein, president and CEO of MaRS Innovation; Professor Ruth Ross, director of the Centre for Collaborative Drug Research at the University of Toronto; Guy Seabrook, vice president of Neuroscience Scientific Innovation at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, California; the Honourable Reza Moridi, Minister of Research &Innovation; and Chris Halyk, president of Janssen Inc.
From left to right: Dr. Rafi Hofstein, president and CEO of MaRS Innovation; Professor Ruth Ross, director of the Centre for Collaborative Drug Research at the University of Toronto; Guy Seabrook, vice president of Neuroscience Scientific Innovation at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, California; the Honourable Reza Moridi, Minister of Research &Innovation; and Chris Halyk, president of Janssen Inc.

TORONTO and PHILADELPHIA (June 16, 2015)— Toronto’s neuroscience efforts to find new drugs to treat and manage brain disorders — specifically, mood disorders and Alzheimer’s disease — took another step forward as the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Research and Innovation announced a $1 million contribution to the Neuroscience Catalyst consortium, bringing the total raised for the open innovation fund to $3.7 million. Reza Moridi, Minister of Research and Innovation and Minister of Training Colleges and Universities, announced the contribution at the 2015 BIO International conference in Philadelphia during the opening of the Ontario pavilion.

This release was covered by Pharma TV and in TechVibes, BioSpace and Biotechnology Focus, and was referenced on the Canadian Science Policy Centre‘s and the Alzheimer Society of Toronto’s respective websites.

“We are pleased to support this collaborative innovation model which will accelerate the development of better treatment options for people with neurological disorders,” said Minister Moridi. “Partnerships between universities, academic hospitals, research institutes, industries and government are key to positioning Ontario as a global leader in Life Sciences.”

Founded by the University of Toronto (U of T) in partnership with Janssen Inc. and facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation, the Neuroscience Catalyst consortium is using the Toronto research community’s well-established strengths in neuroscience to identify promising early-stage molecules and technologies through an open innovation model. The consortium aims to combine expertise to enable and accelerate the translation of basic sciences through to start-up companies and investor partnerships.

“We all want the next generation of solutions that are so desperately needed by patients and their families,” said Professor Ruth Ross, director of the Centre for Collaborative Drug Research at U of T. “In Canada, mood disorders such as depressive disorder and bipolar disorder affect about 10 per cent of the population. Alzheimer’s disease affects more than 745,000 Canadians. The need is urgent and this unique open collaborative partnership will allow us to rapidly develop new treatments.”

Other partners joining the project include MaRS Innovation, which introduced the partners to the Ministry of Research & Innovation and led the early conversation; Evotec, a global, high-quality provider in the drug discovery field; and Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE), which is administering the funding.

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