MaRS Innovation

Strategic Partnership with NovoTek Therapeutics Inc.

Susanne Staer — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:26:06 +0000

May 7, 2012 – MaRS Innovation, The Hospital for Sick Children and NovoTek Therapeutics Inc. have announced a strategic partnership… Read More »

ApneaDx video release

Susanne Staer — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:35:55 +0000

ApneaDx – a MaRS Innovation spin-out company video release: http://qmediasolutions.com/file/tr12-102-sleep-apnea-4/

Sleep Apnea is a medical disorder, which is increasingly being recognized as a major health issue. It is estimated that 6-8% of the population suffer from it and that 85% are undiagnosed. Undiagnosed sleep apnea is estimated to cause $3.4 billion in additional medical costs in the US. Access to sleep laboratories is expensive ($1500 in US) and in limited supply. Home sleep apnea methods require expensive equipment, technician set-up, have wires the patient can tangle in, and offer poor data quality. For this reason they have had modest market penetration. ApneaDx is uniquely positioned to give the quality of sleep lab data, with minimal inconvenience (e.g no wires, no bulky equipment, no set up) at home, and at a fraction of the price of a sleep lab or other home systems.

ApneaDx is a well developed device and algorithm that allows one to capture breathing sounds with a microphone in a home environment, and calculate an Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI) which is essentially equivalent to an AHI derived from an overnight stay in a sleep laboratory. The device is lightweight and flexible and is worn over the mouth and nose. It is comfortable and does not restrict breathing since it is a flexible open structure. It is self-contained with no external wires or associated hardware and can be disposable. It records breath sounds during sleep using a miniature data acquisition module that supports a single microphone and the data are stored on a removable memory device. The instrument’s simple portable design makes it appealing to end-users and surpasses other portable devices in terms of accuracy, comfort and convenience

MaRS Innovation has been working with the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (a division of UHN) to bring the technology to market. A company ApneaDx was spun out in 2012 to commercialize the technology. MaRS Innovation has invested in the development, seed funded the company and provided an initial CEO. The link above was released by Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (TRI) as part of their R&D annual report

$10 Million Series A financing in Xagenic

Susanne Staer — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:07:21 +0000

Toronto (January 30, 2012) – Xagenic Inc., a start-up company created by University of Toronto Professor Dr. Shana Kelley and… Read More »

Top 100 Hall of Fame welcomes Mary Jo Haddad

Susanne Staer — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:46:21 +0000

Mary Jo Haddad, President and CEO of the Hospital for Sick Children and Chair of the Board of Directors of… Read More »

Encycle Investigators Receive CQDM Investment

Susanne Staer — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:44:50 +0000

Toronto, December 6th, 2011 – The Quebec Consortium for Drug Discovery (CQDM) is pleased to announce the funding of two… Read More »

Prestigious Award: Board Member Ilse Treurnicht

Susanne Staer — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:27:33 +0000

TORONTO (December 1, 2011) – MaRS Discovery District congratulates CEO Dr. Ilse Treurnicht for being recognized as one of Canada’s… Read More »

DLVR Therapeutics Inc. adds MaRS Innovation to investor base

Susanne Staer — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:04:52 +0000

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada – October 24, 2011 – DLVR Therapeutics Inc. - a privately-held biotechnology company currently focused on developing oncology therapeutics based on its proprietary high density lipoprotein-like nanoparticle – announced today that the Company has completed its seed round investment bringing the total raised to $2 million in cash and in-kind support.

Interview with Rafi Hofstein: Commercializing Canadian Assets

Susanne Staer — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:41:22 +0000

Canadian International Council Video Interview with Rafi Hofstein on commercializing Canadian assets:

Provincial Investment Supports Commercialization of Leading-Edge Molecular Diagnostic Screening Technology

Susanne Staer — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:22:55 +0000

Toronto (July 26, 2011) – Xagenic Inc., one of MaRS Innovation’s portfolio investments, was awarded $1-million in funding by Ontario’s Ministry… Read More »

MaRS Innovation and GlaxoSmithKline Announce Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Translational Research in Health Sciences

Susanne Staer — Tue, 31 May 2011 13:06:44 +0000

TORONTO (May 31, 2011) – MaRS Innovation (MI) and GlaxoSmithKline Inc. (GSK) today announced a new development fund — the GSK-MaRS Innovation Fund — that will support and fast-track the commercialization of some of the country’s most promising translational research coming from 16 leading academic health sciences centres, hospitals and universities derived from the MI membership.