Ontario's leading advocate for the life sciences sector
Vasomune Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of diseases associated with vascular dysfunction, recently announced that their lead drug candidate AV-001 has received positive recommendation from the Independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (IDSMB) of the AV001-004 Phase 2a Study.
Vasomune Therapeutics is an OBIO® member and an alumnus of the CAAP® program.
KA Imaging, a company specializing in developing innovative X-ray imaging technologies and systems, is ready to showcase a robust product line that can attend both fixed rooms and mobile systems at RSNA. “1 exposure, 3 images, 0 motion artifacts”, a summary of the company patented SpectralDR technology, can now be implemented in a variety of environments for better clinical and operational outcomes.
KA Imaging is an OBIO® member and an alumnus of all our programs.
Four new start-ups have been welcomed into BioCreate, Ontario Genomics’ $11.6-million accelerator program providing financial and business support to biotechnology companies creating game-changing solutions in the health, food and agriculture, and cleantech industries.
Congratulations to the winners!
We are proud to share that two of the four winners, QurCan Therapeutics and Virica Biotech, are OBIO® members.
Northern Nanopore Instruments (NNi), a Canadian biotechnology start-up with unique expertise in an innovative solid-state nanopore fabrication technology was recently acquired by Oxford Nanopore Technologies, the company delivering a new generation of nanopore-based molecular sensing technology. The NNi team will continue to work with Oxford Nanopore to develop and scale solid-state nanopore fabrication technology, with a potential long-term goal of developing arrays of solid-state nanopores.
Northern Nanopore Instruments is an alumnus of our BDSP™ program.
Enhanced Medical Nutrition, Inc. (EMN) recently announced the successful closing of an over-subscribed Pre-Series A equity financing supported by dsm-firmenich venturing, The Kale Fund, Keiretsu Forum, and various angel investors. The financing comes on the heels of EMN's expansion across more than 150 orthopaedic providers. Proceeds of the transaction will be used to fund EMN's operations and growth.
EMN is an OBIO® member, an alumnus of all our programs and presented at the OBIO® Investment Summit.
Edesa Biotech, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on inflammatory and immune-related diseases, has secured a commitment of up to CAD $23 million from the Government of Canada for a pivotal Phase 3 clinical study of the company’s first-in-class therapeutic candidate.
Edesa is an alumnus of our WiHI program.
Specific Biologics Inc., a venture-backed, early-stage genome editing company, recently announced it has appointed Steven Kanner, PhD, as an Independent Director. The appointment coincides with renewed investment from Lumira Ventures and adMare BioInnovations to advance the preclinical development of therapeutics based on Specific's proprietary Dualase® platform gene editors.
Specific Biologics is an OBIO® member, an alumnus of our BDSP™, CAAP® , H2BB™ and WiHI programs, and presented at the OBIO® Investment Summit.
Ironstone Product Development has recently joined Avania, a leading, global full-service contract research organization focused on the management of clinical studies for medical devices, IVDs, biologics and device-drug combination products internationally.
Ironstone is an alumnus of our EAHN™ program.
The Innovation Factory announced the launch of the Canadian Medtech Alliance (CAMEDA) program. This program will help accelerate the commercialization of medical device innovations in southern Ontario, through a partnership with the accelerator and a total Government of Canada investment of over $7 million through FedDev Ontario, which includes $1 million for the CAMEDA program.
Delivered in collaboration with the Synapse Life Science Consortium, CAMEDA brings together Innovation Factory’s commercialization services with the Consortium’s strategic network to also offer participants access to business expertise and resources, as well as the capabilities of Canada’s leading health innovation ecosystem.
HeartX, a cardiovascular-focused healthcare accelerator that facilitates guaranteed hospital pilot projects and clinical trials for accomplished, early-stage companies bringing new cardiovascular innovations to market, recently announced five start-ups that will participate in the 2023 Accelerator Program.
Flosonics Medical, which develops and commercializes wearable sensors improving clinical management of critically ill patients inside and outside of the hospital is named among the selected start-ups.
Congratulations to the selected companies! We are proud to share that Flosonics is an OBIO® member and an alumnus of our CAAP® , EAHN™, HealthMINT™ and WiHI programs, and presented at the OBIO® Investment Summit.
Canadian medical technology company, Therapeutic Monitoring Systems Inc. (TMS), recently announced Health Canada approval of their first clinical decision support tool - Extubation Advisor (EA), a Class III Medical Device, via its commercial software manufacturing partner OBS Medical Ltd.
Therapeutic Monitoring Systems is an OBIO® member and an alumnus of our EAHN™ and HealthMINT™ programs.
FluidAI Medical, a pioneer in leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for postoperative patient monitoring, recently announced that it has raised $15 million in Series A funding. The investment will allow FluidAI to develop deeper medical record integration, expand into existing and new global markets, grow its dynamic team, and introduce novel AI-driven solutions catering to a broader range of postoperative complications.
Fluid AI is an OBIO® member and an alumnus of all OBIO® programs.
Conavi Medical, a leader in hybrid intravascular imaging, recently announced closing $12.5 million USD of funding, including participation from existing investors. The funding is part of a larger effort by Conavi Medical to raise up to $30 million USD to expand its commercial footprint and ready the system for broad market adoption.
Conavi is an OBIO® member, an alumnus of our CAAP® and workforce development programs and presented at the OBIO® Investment Summit.
Allarta Life Science, the Hamilton-based regenerative medicine company using novel hydrogels to enable cell-based therapies for type 1 diabetes (T1D), recently announced it has received an award from JDRF, the leading global T1D research and advocacy organization, that could amount to US$800,000 upon completion of research and development milestones.
The award will directly fund Allarta’s ongoing work to increase durability and avoid the need for systemic immune suppression in current islet and beta cell transplantations to cure T1D.
Allarta is an OBIO® member and an alumnus of our CAAP® and workforce development programs.
Zucara Therapeutics, a diabetes life sciences company developing the first once-daily therapeutic to prevent hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels) in people with diabetes, recently announced that it has dosed the first patient in its Phase 2a trial of the effect of ZT-01 On Nocturnal hypoglycemia Events in Type 1 diabetes.
Zucara Therapeutics is an OBIO® member and presented at the OBIO® Investment Summit.
Paradox Immunotherapeutics, a biotech company based in Toronto, has been announced the winner of Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s (BIO) 2023 Start-Up Stadium! Paradox is focused on the development of monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies for the treatment of protein misfolding diseases, including amyloidosis.
Congratulations to Paradox and to all the finalists! We are proud to share that Paradox is an OBIO® member and an alumnus of our BDSP™, CAAP®, H2BB™ and WiHI programs.
The Ontario Brain Institute recently announced $600,000 in funding to the 2023 NERVE cohort, a group of six entrepreneurs funded through Canada's single largest award for early-stage neurotechnology companies. The Neurotech Entrepreneurship to Validate Emerging Innovations (NERVE) program provides $100,000 to awarded Canadian-based entrepreneurs, in addition to 12 months of training and mentorship opportunities.
Congratulations to the NERVE cohort and special shout-out to OBIO® member, Foqus Technologies, that is also a part of our current CAAP® cohort.
Check out how Retispec’s AI platform can detect early signs of Alzheimer’s from a simple eye exam in this article featured in the MaRS newsletter. Retispec’s innovative technology can transform Alzheimer’s disease screening by making it easily accessible and timely.
Retispec is an OBIO® member, an alumnus of the BDSP™, CAAP®, H2BB™, HealthMINT™ and WiHI programs and presented at the OBIO® Investment Summit.
Nabanita Nawar, co-founder/CEO of HDAX Therapeutics, is the winner of BIOTECanada’s Gold Leaf Award for Next Generation Leadership. The awards recognize the remarkable individuals and companies who have made significant contributions to the biotech industry in Canada. The 2023 Gold Leaf Awards ceremony will be held on September 27 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa during Global Biotech Week (September 24 – 30).
HDAX Therapeutics is a drug discovery start-up developing targeted therapeutics platform for the safe and efficacious treatment of HDAC-driven pathologies such as neuropathies and neurodegenerative disorders.
HDAX Therapeutics is an OBIO® member, an alumnus of the BDSP™ and WiHI programs and presented at the OBIO® Investment Summit.
Epineuron, a clinical-stage nerve care company, recently announced that it has successfully enrolled the first patient in the company’s pivotal trial, REGAIN™. This is a huge milestone for Epineuron and a step towards advancing better care for the treatment of injured peripheral nerves.
Epineuron is an alumnus of OBIO’s BDSP™, CAAP® , H2BB™ and WiHI programs.
