TORONTO (May 14, 2013) — Five companies tackling pervasive healthcare challenges — such as assessing dental health, helping patients and medical personnel navigate hospitals with greater ease, staying current with medical literature, or creating digital tools to help care for the elderly or those with chronic health conditions — have been admitted to the University of Toronto Early Stage Technology (UTEST) program’s second cohort.

UTEST, supported by the University of Toronto’s Innovations & Partnerships Office (IPO) and MaRS Innovation (MI), is part of a growing system of incubators and commercialization support services at U of T.

Two companies in UTEST’s second cohort, E-Twenty Development Inc. and Treata Smart Solutions Inc. are participating in Canada 3.0 at the Metro Convention Centre May 14 and 15, 2013, in Toronto.

This announcement was covered in PE Hub.

Each company will receive up to $25,000, incubation space in the MaRS Discovery District, mentoring and business strategy support to develop protectable intellectual property, launch their products and gain market traction. They are also eligible to become clients of MaRS Discovery District’s ICE or Healthcare practices.

UTEST seeks scalable, enterprise-focused software applications interested in building business-to-business customer bases — and preferably operational products with a short term to market. The program is co-directed by Kurtis Scissons (U of T IPO) and Dr. Lyssa Neel (MI).

The second cohort has big shoes to fill. UTEST’s first cohort has collectively secured over $1.2 million in follow-on funding and currently employs 29 highly skilled people (HQPs). Each company also filed solid patent protection and most have secured customers. Notably, Whirlscape’s Indiegogo campaign secured over $87,000 in crowd-sourced product funds from nearly 10,000 users, and was featured in the Financial Post, TechCrunch, Mashable and The Verge, among other global media outlets.

Second UTEST Cohort: Company Profiles

eQOL, Inc.

Focus: Digital tools for people living with chronic conditions beyond hospital settings
CEO: Binh Nguyen
U of T connection: CEO and Co-Founder Binh Nguyen is a recent U of T grad from the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (Biomedical); CTO and Co-Founder Jonathan Tomkun is a master’s student in the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering.

http://www.linkedin.com/company/eqol-inc-
https://www.facebook.com/eQOLInc
https://twitter.com/eQOLInc

eQOL’s first product, DiCAT, is a mobile-based solution for renal dialysis patients. DiCAT provides chronically-ill patients with tools that enable them to care for themselves using home dialysis, which is especially important in remote areas. Using DiCAT, doctors can monitor their patients and intervene whenever necessary, especially during emergencies. DiCAT is unique because it extends beyond traditional monitoring systems by incorporating patient-oriented tools, enabling patients to respond immediately and independently to non-urgent issues. eQOL’s self-care model increases patient engagement and improves condition management, resulting in cost reduction across Ontario’s healthcare ecosystem and beyond.

E-Twenty Development, Inc.

Focus: Zero-infrastructure wayfinding
CEO: Edmund Bentil
U of T connection: CTO Janahan Ramanan is a master’s student studying science in The Faculty of Arts & Science; Lead Software Engineer Satyam Merja is a student in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

http://www.hospitalconcierge.co
http://www.etwenty.co

Poor wayfinding by patients, visitors and staff costs the average hospital several hundred thousand dollars each year. E-Twenty has developed a patent-pending indoor wayfinding and navigation system that requires no Wi-Fi, GPS, or additional infrastructure. Its flagship product, Hospital Concierge, is a location-aware healthcare app for iOS and Android that enables efficient wayfinding and enhances staff, patient, and visitor interactions inside hospitals. E-Twenty has signed two major university-affiliated medical centers as beta test sites for its product.

Root2Crown, Inc.

Focus: Developing products to help dentists and consumers assess the risk of caries (cavities)
CEO: Céleste Mérey
U of T connection: CEO Céleste Mérey graduted in 2011 from the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering; CSO Getulio Nogueira is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Dentistry

Root2Crown is developing hardware and software solutions to make it easier to conduct and communicate required dental risk assessment processes while increasing the efficiency, reliability and availability of dental health assessment and diagnosis for dental schools, practices and the general public.

Treata Smart Solutions, Inc.

Focus: Wearable technology to help memory-impaired older adults and their caregivers
CEO: Ashkan Sattari
U of T connection: Co-Founder Ali Shariat is a PhD candidate in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

http://www.treatasolutions.com
https://twitter.com/treatasolutions

Mild cognitive impairment affects as many as 20 per cent of older adults, and the problem is growing — every eight seconds, another Baby Boomer turns 65. Caring for a loved one with memory loss can cause frustration, distress, and real economic loss for caregivers. Lost wages cost caregivers approximately $75 million in 2010. Treata’s total solution for connecting caregivers with their loved ones eases this burden. The Treata SmartCaregiver system includes:

• Lost Item Finder that uses Bluetooth, GPS and smartphone technology to track an individual’s personal belongings
• The Smart Wandering Assistant, a tamper-proof bracelet that helps navigate or locate the wearer
• Smart Reminder phone app that keeps caregivers informed about the location and condition of their loved ones.

Treata helps people with memory loss live independently longer, and gives their loved ones peace of mind.

TrendMD

Focus: Medical publication trending engine
CEO: Paul Kudlow
U of T connection: CEO Paul Kudlow is a resident physician in psychiatry

http://www.trendmd.com/
https://twitter.com/trendMD

TrendMD, a medical trending engine, instantly delivers personalized, high-impact research articles. With over 2,000 new publications added daily, TrendMD uses aggregate social metrics and algorithmic filters to identify the few must-read articles. Founded in 2013 by physicians looking for an easier way to keep up, TrendMD’s goal is simple: keep medical professionals current and save them time.

About University of Toronto

The University of Toronto has assembled one of the strongest research and teaching faculties in North America, presenting top students at all levels with an intellectual environment unmatched in breadth and depth on any other Canadian campus. The U of T faculty are also widely recognized for their teaching strengths and commitment to graduate supervision. Established in 1827, the University of Toronto today operates in downtown Toronto, Mississauga and Scarborough, as well as in nine renowned academic hospitals.

About MaRS Innovation

MaRS Innovation is the commercialization agent for Ontario’s exceptional discovery pipeline from 16 leading academic institutions. As a single-entry point to member-based activity of $1 billion in annual research and development, MI is a gateway for investors and licensees to access technology assets. Supported by the Government of Canada through the Networks of Centres of Excellence, by the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Centres of Excellence, and by its 16 member institutions, MI is a transformational partnership that turns research strengths into commercial opportunities. MI’s portfolio includes the most promising assets from its members’ pipeline, which it advances into global markets through industry partnerships, licensing and company creation.

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

Biotechnology Focus, a compendium of the Canadian life sciences industry, has published a guest column by MaRS Innovation President & CEO, Raphael Hofstein.

The article explores the role of catalysis in building Canada’s Life Sciences sector:

In chemistry, according to Encyclopædia Britannica Online, a catalyst is any substance that increases a reaction’s rate without itself being consumed. Kinetically, Wikipedia tells us, catalytic reactions are typical chemical reactions where the reaction rate depends on the reactants’ frequency of contact in the rate-determining step. Usually, the catalyst participates in this slowest step, and rates are limited by the amount of catalyst and its “activity.”

I would like to propose a second definition within the context of knowledge-based economies, where a catalyst is the minimal funding that allows promising early-stage technologies to bridge the “Valley of Death.”

As a chemist by training, catalysis intuitively describes for me what it takes to successfully translate sensational discoveries into transformational healthcare advancing processes and products.

But in Canada’s life science sector, true catalysts are quite rare. More accurately, angel investors willing to advance scientific findings from the bench to the bedside are not abundant entities in Canada. And without this particular brand of catalysis, the chemical reaction that produces the sweeping rates of innovation and company creation desired by government, investors and Canadians seeking highly-qualified jobs in their native land will proceed at a very low rate.

Correspondingly, the likelihood of Canadians benefiting from their country’s sizable research investment and its contingent outcomes is low to nil.

The federal government’s recent initiative to revitalize the Canadian venture funding industry through the $400 million now earmarked for venture capital activity, demonstrates the government’s equal concern regarding this rate of return. While it is a very significant and positive move in the right direction, one has to ask the key question: is it relevant to the medical science sector? What kind of catalysis will it produce?

While it remains a positive signal, this funding’s successful implementation depends on various players taking the right steps to prime the venture capital ecosystem. The kinetic barrier has to be reduced by de-risking the assets in play, which remains the responsibility of both provincial governments and angel investors.

Yet, Canada has lost the energy required to address de-risking simply because no significant financial tools came to replace labor-sponsored funds, the main engine of the 1990s. Provincial governments created certain vehicles to fill the void, but clearly at suboptimal levels; simultaneously, angel investors did not emerge in sufficient numbers to assist the life sciences sector.

It is time to address the need for a mechanism to bridge the valley of death’s chasm. The first step is comparing notes with other jurisdictions where governments have moved to close the gap. Massachusetts’ $1 billion campaign, which enabled that state’s life science industry to overcome hurdles that inflicted other economies, is a prime example. Massachusetts remained attractive to a wide spectrum of strategic partners, including Sanofi, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis.

Strategic alliances exist wherever early-stage technology development is extensively and creatively addressed. Yet as any entrepreneur will tell you, angel investors aren’t likely to come to the table in a significant way until early-stage technology is sufficiently de-risked for their purposes. To ensure their participation at an early stage, even earlier catalytic financing is required to establish a mutually-tolerable comfort zone.

The task of taking the necessary action required to ensure that tolerable risk in the ratios that produce significant results falls to federal and provincial governments alike. While numerous agencies, including MaRS Innovation, have been tasked to cover the gap, the level of financial support remains suboptimal.

As in the case of chemical catalysis, there ought to be a certain minimum concentration of the catalyst, still very small relative to the whole, which allows the innovation reaction’s kinetics to safely cross the barrier the valley of death represents and better society for all of us.

So what is MaRS Innovation’s role as an example of an early-stage catalyst?

We first need to define our identity within Canada’s innovation ecosystem: namely, as the catalyst that ensures a reaction will take place with the minimal energy cost. Others and I have already said much concerning the best practices to translate academic research to a commercialization-driven program.

Yet the chasm between the two remains, and is significant enough to be called the valley of death. Bridging that valley is the first rate-limiting step required to successfully establish a life-sciences based knowledge economy.

Those of us contributing to this successful transformation are the Catalytic Bridge—it is our responsibility to address the complexities of de-risking early-technologies for a community that has grown somewhat risk-averse in recent years. It’s clear our federal and provincial partners recognize both the potential and their obligation to contribute.

The Boston Red Socks’ legendary third baseman Wade Boggs, once said, “A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.”

MaRS Innovation exists to bring one catalytic positive action. The extraordinary results we and others spark will speak for themselves.

The original post is available on Biotechnology Focus’ website.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, marketing and communications manager.

Walberg’s article, “Innovation in medical learning a Canadian business success story,” describes the process Campisi and his colleague and co-founder Dr. Vito Forte, both of the Hospital for Sick Children and cross-appointed to U of T, undertook to design the OtoSim device, which addresses the gap in how students were learning skills associated with otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat diseases or infections).

Here’s an excerpt (beginning with a quote from Dr. Forte):

“The answer wasn’t more time to lecture or show big pictures on a screen, but rather some kind of instrument that would mimic the experience of looking into an ear with an otoscope. And we went through a number of prototypes developing a simulator that can do just that.”

The result is the OtoSim, brought to market and sold by OtoSim Inc. The simulator consists of a rubber ear made to scale, and a computer display integrated into the model where the eardrum would be in a patient, which can display images of ear canals that correspond to a wide range of medical conditions.

. . .

In late 2010, MaRS Innovation (MI) — a non-profit established to develop intellectual property stemming from academic and medical research into viable businesses — became involved, and in January 2011 OtoSim Inc. was created with MI’s support.

“MaRS Innovation made the seed investment to carry the technology forward, because they believed in the prototype and the product,” says Andrew Sinclair, CEO of OtoSim and one of the first employees of MaRS Innovation.

OtoSim first went to market in September 2011 and had generated $500,000 in revenue within a year. Dr. Sinclair says the company is aiming to generate $1-million in 2013.

The full article is available on the Financial Post website.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, marketing and communications manager.

Lyssa Neel, co-director of UTEST and MaRS Innovation project manager

MaRS Innovation’s (MI) Lyssa Neel, co-director of the UTEST program and project manager, has been selected to represent MI’s ICT start-up companies at the TechWomen Canada program in San Francisco, which runs May 13 to 16, 2013.

The announcement was covered in TechVibes:

TechWomen Canada is run by the Canadian Consulate and is focused on providing Canadian women leaders in the ICT sector an opportunity to expand both professional and business networks in Silicon Valley.

The program brings approximately 20 companies from across Canada together with tech leaders, Venture Capital firms and potential corporate partners for three days of one-to-one meetings, workshops, panels and networking events in San Francisco and Palo Alto.

Each of the following participants will have the opportunity to work directly with industry experts offering advice, guidance and introductions that can enhance and accelerate business plans, technology strategies and overall company growth.

“I’m really looking forward to participating in this event,” says Neel. “The mentorship and introductions that TechWomen Canada offers are extraordinary, and will benefit not just the companies I work with directly, but all the ICT opportunities in MaRS Innovation’s portfolio. I’m honoured to have been chosen.”

The full list of participating companies is on the TechVibes website.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, marketing and communications manager.

Every six weeks, MaRS Innovation’s marketing and communications manager writes a guest post for the MaRS Discovery District blog profiling MI’s activities or one of our start-up companies. You can read the original post on the MaRS blog.

Chicago‘s famous downtown skyline during the 2013 BIO Convention.

Nearly 14,000 delegates—representing over 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centres and related organizations across the United States and more than 60 countries—attended the 2013 BIO International Convention from April 22 to 26, 2013.

The event drew biotechnologists, pharmaceutical industry executives and life sciences researchers, along with sector-based organizations and associations, to Chicago.

According to a press release issued by the conference organizers, BIO 2013 offered “a record number of partnering meetings and panel sessions on the latest science, policy issues and business opportunities and challenges facing the biotechnology industry.”

The BIO2013 showroom floor in the Canada pavilion was a busy spot throughout the conference.

On the showroom floor, it was hard to miss the combined Canada and Ontario pavilions, or the Quebec pavilion located nearby. Plenty of maple leaves, signature red carpeting and even a pair of Mounties were on hand to welcome attendees.

All three levels of Canadian government were well represented at the conference. On Monday, April 22, the Honourable Reza Moridi, minister of research and innovation for the Ontario government, and Nicolas Marceau, minister of finance and the economy for the Quebec government, were present for the pavilion openings, joined by Hazel MacCallion, mayor of Mississauga, and other prominent leaders within the Canadian biotech community.

On Tuesday, April 23, the Honourable Gary Goodyear, minister of state (science and technology), was present for BIOTECanada’s Gold Leaf Awards, which recognize the best of Canadian entrepreneurship and leadership in the biotech sector.

The Ontario pavilion, organized by the Ministry of Research and Innovation, included kiosks for six organizations committed to supporting life sciences commercialization, entrepreneurship and sector development.

• Clinical Trials Ontario (CTO)
• Life Sciences Ontario (LSO)
• MaRS Discovery District (MaRS)
• MaRS Innovation (MI)
• Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE)
• Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR)

During the pavilion’s opening, Minister Moridi announced MaRS Innovation’s formation of a strategic partnership with Pfizer Inc. to advance early-stage technologies related to human health in therapeutics and diagnostics.

Through this collaboration, MI and Pfizer will jointly identify investment opportunities emerging from well-validated scientific research discoveries emerging from within MI’s member institutions.

Both Raphael Hofstein, president and CEO of MI, and Uwe Schoenbeck, chief scientific officer, external R&D innovation at Pfizer, were present at the event and announcement.

From left to right: IRICoR CEO Michel Bouvier, Quebec Minister of Finance and the Economy Nicolas Marceau, Merck Canada President and Managing Director Thomas Cannell, Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation Reza Moridi, CDRD CEO Karimah Es Sabar and MI President and CEO Raphael Hofstein.

Later that afternoon in the Canadian pavilion, Merck Canada announced that it is reinforcing its commitment to the Canadian life sciences research innovation sector by providing $4 million in funding to the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer – Commercialization of Research (IRICoR) for future corridor projects developed.

IRICoR, in conjunction with MI and the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), will identify, develop and commercialize technologies in healthcare.

All three institutions share a common objective: facilitating and accelerating the commercialization of research breakthroughs that will improve the quality of life of Canadians and others around the world.

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

“As our partnership announcements demonstrate, BIO is a team event,” says Hofstein. “Ontario’s presence was well planned and well orchestrated. By taking MI along with our colleagues at CTO, LSO, MaRS, OCE and OICR, MRI sent a strong signal about our openness to international business and the integrated infrastructure that exists to support the biotechnology industry in Ontario and across the country.”

Through the partnering forum and informal meetings on the showroom floor, BIO also provided opportunities to highlight emerging companies within Ontario’s and Canada’s life sciences sectors, including the following MI startup companies:

• ScarX Therapeutics (also a client of the MaRS life sciences and healthcare practice), which is developing the first topical wound-healing cream from the Hospital for Sick Children
• Encycle Therapeutics, which is exploiting a proprietary platform technology to rapidly synthesize small to medium macrocycles from the University of Toronto
• DLVR Therapeutics Inc., which is developing a novel high-density lipoprotein–mimicking nanoparticle delivery system suitable for various oncology indications
• Vasomune, which is developing a first-in-class Tie2 receptor antagonist for diseases associated with endothelial cell dysfuntion and vascular destabilization

MaRS life sciences and healthcare practice at BIO

Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, CEO of MaRS Discovery District and member of the board of directors for MaRS Innovation.

The MaRS Discovery District team, including CEO Ilse Treurnicht, members of the life sciences and healthcare practice and more, was also very active at BIO’s business forum and partnering sessions, connecting with more than 80 organizations during the conference, including multinational pharma companies, contract research organizations, innovation clusters, accelerators and foreign venture capitalists. These connections will help advance the development and growth of MaRS’ life sciences and healthcare client companies and enhance MaRS’ role as a global hub of innovation in the sector.

Sonia Sanhueza, practice lead for the MaRS Life Sciences & Healthcare.

“The BIO event is about collaboration and networking at the national and international levels,” said Sonia Sanhueza, MaRS advisor and life sciences and healthcare practice lead. “MaRS Discovery District was well represented and, along with our clients, we were able to successfully develop alliances with key industry partners and network with colleagues at many organizations, including OICR, BIOTECanada, LSO, OCE, MRI, MaRS Innovation, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and international organizations.”

Armour Therapeutics, a MaRS client developing a first-in-class anti-hormonal therapy for the treatment of reproductive cancers (including prostate and breast cancer), was selected to give a showcase presentation in the Canada pavilion on April 24. The presentation was well-received and included an overview of new research data showing the effectiveness of their lead compound toward impairing human prostate cancer growth in an animal model system.

All in all, it was a tremendous showing of Canadian entrepreneurship and leadership in the biotech sector.

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, marketing and communications manager.

In an article for YourMississaugaBiz.com, Jon Cook writes, ” ‘The health-care industry is relying more on the private sector for innovation and small businesses need to make sure they have a strong value proposition in order to get their projects funded,’ said Telus Health executive Nicholas Zamora.”

The article describes a panel discussion organized by the Research Innovation and Commercialization Centre (RICC) on the “intersection of health care and technology with the goal of how start-ups can get their solutions into the hands of physicians and hospital administrators.”

Here’s an excerpt:

“It’s about following the money,” said Zamora, who addressed a crowd of about 80 at the inaugural TechNext conference at the Mississauga Convention Centre. “We’re used to different approaches and models, depending on what the market is interested in.”

…

Telus Health, a spinoff of telecom parent Telus (TSX:T), has quickly become a player in the industry. It pulls in $1 billion in annual revenues, has 9,000 physicians using its electronic medical record (EMR) solution that has 130,000 registered patients.

. . .

As Telus Health’s chief clinical advisor, Zamora said it’s his job to find these ‘pockets of innovation’ and connect them to patients through collaborations with organizations like Mississauga-based Trillium Health Partners.

Rajesh Sharma, CEO of Bedside Clinical Systems, a MaRS Innovation start-up commercialized out of The Hospital for Sick Children, was included on the panel.

BCS’s software, Cook writes, “acts as an early warning system for young children who are at greater risk for cardiac arrest. BCS began testing the product in area hospitals for six months before landing its first client.”

The full article is available on YourMississaugaBiz.com. You must subscribe to view the content; subscription is free for 30 days.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, marketing and communications manager.

The Flybits mobile user interface presents relevant information from surrounding geo-fences (zones).

TORONTO, Canada (April 24, 2013) — Flybits Inc. announced today that  Forrester Research Inc. has recognized Flybits, a Toronto-based start-up company, as a tool for on-demand marketing processes in a recent report.

The February 2013 Forrester report, written by Anthony Mullen, “Emerging Touchpoints Require a Marketing Mind Shift,” states that to master the new basics, marketing professionals must increase corporate spending on innovation and formalize working relationships in areas such as customer experience, analytics, IT and product design — all of which the Flybits framework addresses.

To address the problem of information overload on mobile devices, Flybits unifies the mobile user experience across multiple channels, creating a cohesive mobile presence for a company’s communication needs. Rather than introducing heterogeneous mobile channels to users, all relevant information can be structured within Flybits Zones — semantic-driven, rule-oriented geo-fences.

Flybits Founder Dr. Hossein Rahnama (centre) demonstrating the context-aware mobile platform’s capabilities to His Royal Highness, the Prince of Whales (right), in May 2012.

The Flybits Activity Recognition Engine (FARE), processes and disseminates information to users in real-time by creating these zones and then processes the contextual parameters surrounding each individual, automatically crafting a customized experience. The platform allows businesses to have real-time and direct engagement with their mobile customers through an intuitive and easy-to-use web portal, which does not impose significant infrastructure or integration costs. As part of the portal, the Flybits Analytics engine generates reconfigurable and customized analytics for companies using a proprietary mobile-sensing technology.

“With the help of our partners, we are creating zones for every location on earth using our mapping engine, building a spectrum of relevance for mobile users. Every participating company can have a significant mobile presence and deliver relevant content to a broad spectrum of users with varying interests and requirements,” says Dr. Hossein Rahnama, Flybits’ founder and CEO. “Flybits leverages the sensing capabilities of mobile devices, serving customized and timely information to each user in manageable volumes through an intuitive mobile interface.”

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

“We believe Forrester’s recognition of the Flybits platform positions the company as a leader in the development of innovative, emerging context-aware technology that will drive the ubiquitous use of mobile devices,” says Dr. Raphael Hofstein, president & CEO of MaRS Innovation.

This citation follows the 2012 MIT Technology Review’s identifying Rahnama as one of the world’s top innovators under the age of 35 (TR35) based on his work on the Flybits platform. In December 2012, The Smithsonian also referred to Rahnama as one of the Top 6 Innovators to watch in 2013 because of his work on Flybits.

Flybits has also demonstrated its prolific technology at several high-profile industry events, including digitalNow 2013 on April 4 at Disney World Resort in Florida. Rahnama demonstrated the technology and spoke about how it is defining a new spectrum of communication and interaction for the public and enterprises.

Rahnama’s digitalNow presentation is available to watch on demand. Website registration is required to access event footage; registration is free.

Revised: April 25, 2013 4 pm EST

About Flybits

Flybits, founded by Dr. Hossein Rahnama and a team of Ryerson University computer science students, graduates and professionals, is commercializing a cloud-based platform for creating applications that deliver the ultimate mobile user experience. The company’s core middleware platform, Flybits Activity Recognition Engine (FARE) enables enterprises to benefit globally from Ubiquitous Relevance™: customers, employees and suppliers all receive timely and tailored information when needed. Flybits creates opportunities, connecting people and places to possibilities™.

Flybits is a spin-off company of Ryerson University with the participation of MaRS Innovation. The company is headquartered in the Digital Media Zone at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, with an office in the United Kingdom.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, marketing and communications manager.

The ClevrU platform (shown here) will integrate NewMindsets Inc.’s technology through this acquisition.

WATERLOO, ON, Canada (April 23, 2013) — ClevrU Corporation today announced that it has acquired NewMindsets Inc., a company founded on online pedagogy researched and developed by two Schulich School of Business professors that has provided leading-edge educational content and services to over 10,000 Schulich students at York University over the past decade.

Through the acquisition, ClevrU will fully integrate NewMindsets’ proven e-teaching pedagogy in leadership, researched and developed by Professors Gareth Morgan and Jean Adams, into its world-class e-teaching platform, to be presented to York as a pilot and then delivered to millions of students worldwide.

TechVibes, EdSurge, Private Equity Hub, Yonge Street Media, and the Waterloo Record covered this announcement. The release is also viewable on CNW and in Chinese (.pdf).

The two companies announced a partnership in October 2012 to establish a second-generation online learning standard.

ClevrU had the mobile-friendly, multilingual, globally adaptive solution to create interactive learning environments; New Mindsets had spent 12 years developing and validating their pedagogy for an engaging, effective online learning experience with thousands of undergraduate and graduate leadership and management students at Schulich.

“We created NewMindsets so universities and colleges could deliver online education in a meaningful way,” says Morgan, founder and chairman of NewMindsets. “Now that our pedagogy is being completely integrated into ClevrU’s platform, we have the perfect solution to help students learn in a responsive, interactive and user-friendly environment.”

“ClevrU is excited to partner with New Mindsets and York University,” said Mark Arnason, president and CEO, ClevrU Corporation. “As the online education market matures, universities are looking at superior forms of online and distance learning as new revenue opportunities. ClevrU will provide a solution for educational institutions wishing to develop and deliver effective online courses and effective learning outcomes to students in Canada and internationally. Together, we’re going to build a marketplace where students can use a flexible, fully-customizable learning system to gain valuable, personalized learning outcomes.”

MaRS Innovation — working in close collaboration with Innovation York, York University’s commercialization office — developed New Mindsets’ commercialization plan, arranged the initial introduction between the companies, structured the initial partnership and negotiated the resulting transaction.

“York University is pleased to partner with ClevrU and MaRs Innovation to support this innovative technology,” said Robert Haché, York’s Vice-President Research & Innovation.  “Professors Morgan and Adams have developed an e-teaching model and pedagogy that will be integrated into ClevrU’s e-teaching platform and made available to students around the world. This initiative is a prime example of Innovation York’s role in working together with external organizations to help researchers maximize the social and economic impact of their intellectual property.”

“MaRS Innovation is enthusiastic about the commercial prospects represented by the marriage of ClevrU’s positioning in the e-learning market and content delivery system to the proven, highly engaging pedagogy methods and leadership training content developed by internationally recognized York University professors,” said Dr. Raphael Hofstein, president and CEO. “This transaction illustrates the effectiveness of MI’s commercialization process, our collaboration with our members and our contribution to strengthening of Ontario companies’ competitiveness on the world stage.”

About ClevrU Corporation

We are passionate about sharing education with the world and putting the right tools in the right hands, right now.

ClevrU  allows North American educators to reach beyond the confines of their local markets by removing the barriers to online international education delivery. Simply put, ClevrU allows educators to deliver knowledge to users anywhere, anytime, in the student’s language of choice.

ClevrU’s dynamic, multilingual World Class Learning Platform, provides educators with the tools to deliver rich, multi-media, customized e-Teaching content to millions of people around the globe. Uniquely, the ClevrU Platform adapts content based on the OS of the users’ mobile device and browser speed, recognizes the user’s browser language setting and automatically sets the navigation tools, user interfaces, and applicable content to the language of choice, supports both synchronous and asynchronous course structures, and supports multiple pedagogies and flexible content presentation methodologies.

The ClevrU platform removes other barriers to international online success with innovative operational elements such as operating servers behind the firewall in key emerging markets to remove latency and content filtering constraints, providing innovative translation solution, and providing a local market online Educational MarketPlace in each geography and local e-commerce solutions and established marketing relationships with in-market social media powerhouses like Renren and Sina Weibo.

The student experience is uniquely interactive in the way in which the ClevrU World Class Platform presents integrated learning objects, provides interactive discussions linked to point of content, and enables students to combine text from multiple learning objects with their own observations into a set of integrated and context related course notes — all in the student’s language of choice. The patent-pending ClevrDNA analytics captures every student interaction and provides deep analytics that can be used track individual or group progress, identify and respond to learning flashpoints, assess student learning patterns and predict outcomes and guide the student experience through the learning process.

About Innovation York

Innovation York is the commercialization and industry liaison office for York University. The unit provides services to faculty members, trainees, and industry within four service streams: agreements, industry liaison, commercialization, and entrepreneurship and startup acceleration. Innovation York’s goal is to provide an integrated suite of services to the York research community, in order to facilitate research, realize the commercial, economic, and social potential of research outcomes, and to create a culture of industry-engaged scholarship and entrepreneurship.

About MaRS Innovation

MaRS Innovation is the commercialization agent for Ontario’s exceptional discovery pipeline from 16 leading academic institutions. As a single-entry point to member-based activity of $1 billion in annual research and development, MI is a gateway for investors and licensees to access technology assets. Supported by the Government of Canada through the Networks of Centres of Excellence, by the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Centres of Excellence, and by its 16 member institutions, MI is a transformational partnership that turns research strengths into commercial opportunities. MI’s portfolio includes the most promising assets from its members’ pipeline, which it advances into global markets through industry partnerships, licensing and company creation.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, marketing and communications manager.

TORONTO, April 22, 2013

Through this collaboration, MaRS Innovation and Pfizer will jointly identify investment opportunities emerging from well-validated scientific research discoveries within MaRS Innovation’s 16 member institutions, including the University of Toronto and its nine affiliated teaching hospitals.

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

“There’s growing consensus that transferring technologies from the university lab bench and into the market requires unique public-private partnerships,” said Dr. Raphael Hofstein, president and CEO of MaRS Innovation. “Partnering with MaRS Innovation gives Pfizer access to Toronto’s robust innovation pipeline and a close look at emerging IP from Canada. It signals both the strength and attractiveness of our commercialization model and Toronto-based research technologies to global industry players.”

“Our government is committed to making Ontario the best place to translate great ideas into innovative products that will gain demand around the world,” said the Honourable Reza Moridi, Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation. “Today’s announcement from MaRS Innovation is an exciting collaboration with Pfizer that will both advance healthcare technologies for Ontarians and help to strengthen our economy.”

Pfizer will provide funding over a three-year period to support promising individual projects based on their due diligence, which will be leveraged with financial support from MaRS Innovation. Together, it is intended to accelerate the development and validation of healthcare technologies within a highly innovative academic cluster in Canada.

“We are excited by this partnership with MaRS Innovation and look forward to working collaboratively to help advance promising healthcare technologies,” said Uwe Schoenbeck, chief scientific officer, External R&D Innovation at Pfizer.

The partnership’s shared vision for transformative technologies will benefit the health of Canadians and others around the world. “Forming this partnership also builds on MaRS Innovation’s recent success in securing $15 million in funding from the Networks of Centres of Excellence,” said Hofstein. “Pfizer is a significant global player in delivering healthcare technologies in Canada and worldwide; our projects will benefit from their understanding of the marketplace and help us achieve our goal of jointly developing long-term, mutually-beneficial technological solutions to many challenging health problems.”

About MaRS Innovation

MaRS Innovation is the commercialization agent for Ontario’s exceptional discovery pipeline from 16 leading academic institutions. As a single-entry point to member-based activity of $1 billion in annual research and development, MI is a gateway for investors and licensees to access technology assets. Supported by the Government of Canada through the Networks of Centres of Excellence, by the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Centres of Excellence, and by its 16 member institutions, MI is a transformational partnership that turns research strengths into commercial opportunities. MI’s portfolio includes the most promising assets from its members’ pipeline, which it advances into global markets through industry partnerships, licensing and company creation.

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, marketing and communications manager.

CHICAGO, Illinois – April 22, 2013 – Merck Canada will be announcing today at the BIO International Convention that it is reinforcing its commitment to the Canadian life sciences research innovation sector.

Merck will provide $4 million in funding to the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer – Commercialization of Research (IRICoR) for future corridor projects developed in collaboration with two other Canadian Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECRs) based in Ontario and in British Columbia.

This partnership announcement was covered by PEHub.

IRICoR will work in conjunction with MaRS Innovation and the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) to identify, develop and commercialize technologies in healthcare. All three CECR institutions – identified as CECR in 2008 by the federal government – share a common objective: facilitating and accelerating the commercialization of research breakthroughs that will improve the quality of life of Canadians and others around the world.

“The corridor initiatives we are funding today are part of our new approach to R&D which is about building collaborative research relationships. Private-public partnerships, in particular, will provide a fertile environment for innovation to grow and to quickly reach the commercialization stage in the best interest of patients,” said Dr. Thomas Cannell, President and Managing Director, Merck Canada Inc. “This is an important milestone for the company as it is broadening its scope to include important research centers that are part of the Quebec – Ontario and Quebec – British Columbia corridors.”

“Merck Canada’s investment in research and development in Quebec is excellent news, and its partnership with one of our public research flagships – Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer – Commercialization of Research (IRICoR) – demonstrates the dynamic nature of our biopharmaceutical industry. Further, it is proof that our business environment is both competitive and well suited to this new industry model. It is for these reasons, and thanks to our highly skilled workforce, that Quebec remains the partner of choice in the development of pharmaceuticals,” said Quebec Minister of Finance and the Economy, Mr. Nicolas Marceau.

Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation, the Honourable Reza Moridi, said, “We commend Merck for this important investment that opens up exciting joint research and commercialization possibilities for the teams at MaRS Innovation in Ontario and IRICoR in Quebec. We support and seek collaborations such as this so that companies, institutions and governments can help foster economic growth and an improved quality of life for all.”

Bridging the commercialization gap between academic research and industry

“This important contribution further solidifies our position as the leading center for innovative drug discovery and medicinal chemistry in Quebec.  The funds will allow us to continue to develop innovative therapies through our validated business model of working closely with leading pharmaceutical companies. This exciting partnership will leverage the unique expertise within IRICoR and its partners to capture more value from the world-class research being carried out in Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia. This is the best way to rapidly bring the benefits of our cutting edge research to patients who are suffering from serious unmet medical needs,” said Dr. Michel Bouvier, President and CEO of IRICoR.

“MaRS Innovation joins Merck and IRICoR in welcoming this partnership and the life sciences research that it will support,” said Dr. Raphael Hofstein, President and CEO of MaRS Innovation. “These funds will provide much-needed capital to help bridge the gap to successful commercialization for early-stage technologies, and will allow our scientists to demonstrate the depth of Canadian expertise when it comes to creating innovative life sciences opportunities.”

“CDRD is delighted to be collaborating with Merck and IRICoR on selected projects of mutual interest. As a national drug development and commercialization centre, CDRD recognizes the critical importance of building partnerships such as this that bring together complementary resources from across the country,” said Ms. Karimah Es Sabar, President and CEO of The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD). “This is a unique occasion to further leverage CDRD’s drug development platform to help Canada develop the most commercially-promising discoveries and maintain our competitive edge on the international scene,” commented Ms. Es Sabar.

This announcement marks the latest contribution by Merck in its 2010 announcement to inject $100 million over five years in biopharmaceutical research and development (R&D) in Quebec. Today’s announcement brings Merck’s total contributions to date to approximately $65 million.

In late 2012, Merck announced a $13.5-million investment to fund basic and translational research at four prominent universities and hospital-affiliated Montréal research institutions, including the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), the Université de Montréal Hospital Research Centre (CR-CHUM), the Montreal Heart Institute Research Centre (MHI) and Concordia University.

Prior to that, in 2012, Merck invested $35 million in the Merck Lumira Biosciences Fund, as its primary investor and only pharmaceutical industry partner. The Fund, established by Merck in collaboration with Lumira Capital, Teralys Capital and other partners, provides investment capital to support early stage life science innovation in Quebec.

Merck has invested $6.8 million in AmorChem, a fund launched in 2011 to increase the commercial potential of high quality academic research carried out in Quebec. In 2011, Merck also announced a $5 million investment over five years in the Quebec Consortium for Drug Discovery (CQDM).

Note: All amounts expressed in this press release are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

About Merck

Today’s Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well.  Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Through our medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and consumer and animal products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to healthcare through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships.

About IRICoR

IRICoR, the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer – Commercialization of Research, is a non-profit organization whose mandate is to accelerate the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in oncology, immunology and related indications that originate from Université de Montréal. IRICoR is Quebec’s only fully-integrated drug discovery and commercialization center of its kind, with one of the largest academia-based medicinal chemistry groups in the country. IRICoR, as a Center of Excellence in Commercialization and Research, invests in highly innovative projects to rapidly transition them from academia to the market, while identifying the best development partners for these commercially-promising projects.

About MaRS Innovation

MaRS Innovation is the commercialization agent for Ontario’s exceptional discovery pipeline from 16 leading academic institutions. As a single-entry point to member-based activity of $1 billion in annual research and development, MI is a gateway for investors and licensees to access technology assets. Supported by the Government of Canada through the Networks of Centres of Excellence, by the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Centres of Excellence, and by its 16 member institutions, MI is a transformational partnership that turns research strengths into commercial opportunities. MI’s portfolio includes the most promising assets from its members’ pipeline, which it advances into global markets through industry partnerships, licensing and company creation.

About CDRD

The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) was established in 2007, and is Canada’s fully-integrated, national drug development and commercialization centre, providing expertise and infrastructure to enable researchers from leading health research institutions to advance promising early-stage drug candidates. A Canadian Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR), CDRD’s mandate is to de-risk discoveries stemming from publicly-funded health research and transform them into viable grant opportunities for the private sector — thus successfully bridging the commercialization gap between academia and industry, and translating research discoveries into new therapies for patients.

The news release is available at www.cnw.ca.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, marketing and communications manager.