The Region’s innovation hub Communitech has named its newest CEO in Chris Albinson, a well-established tech investor. Albinson will be taking over for Iain Klugman, who announced he would be stepping down from his position in September of 2019 after 17 years as CEO.
AceAge receives $1.5 million from FedDev Ontario
AceAge Inc, a 2020 CAAP company, received a $1.5-million repayable contribution from FedDev Ontario to scale its operations to meet increasing demand in Canada and Europe by growing its development and support teams. This investment will also help the company launch its technology in the United States. AceAge Inc. will also leverage an additional $4.5 million in private sector investment and grow its team to 70 employees with the addition of 50 skilled jobs in Burlington.
SeaSpine to buy 7D Surgical for $110M
Spine surgery tech company SeaSpine Holdings has agreed to acquire privately-held 7D Surgical for $110 million. The planned merger comes more than a year after SeaSpine entered into a strategic alliance agreement to distribute Toronto-based 7D Surgical’s flagship navigational system.
Biomed Israel 2021: Export Business Mission
The Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade will be leading a business mission to participate in Biomed Israel, a virtual trade show taking place May 11-13, 2021. Members of the Ontario delegation will be introduced to key industry players and benefit from a custom meeting program designed to connect each participant with potential clients and partners active in Israel and the wider region.
Export Business Mission to Expomed Eurasia 2021
The Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade is organizing an Ontario Life Science virtual mission to Expomed Eurasia 2021, which will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, June 3-5, 2021. Expression of interest forms are due April 15.
iCo Therapeutics Inc. Agrees to a Business Combination with Satellos Bioscience Inc.
iCo Therapeutics Inc. and Satellos Bioscience Inc., announced business combination of iCo and Satellos. The parties expect to complete an amalgamation of iCo and Satellos, with the resulting entity named "Satellos Bioscience Inc." operating in the life sciences industry.
Canada-Israel Cardiovascular Innovation Forum Innovation Competition
Canada-Israel Cardiovascular Innovation Forum is hosting an innovation competition targeting early stage companies with projects in either cardiovascular devices or digital heart health. Applications are due April 1 at 5pm EST. Winners will be invited to present to a virtual audience, including investors, at CICI Forum event on April 25, 2021.
INOVAIT Lecture Series in Image-Guided Therapy and AI
The series consists of 7 lectures that will take place every Thursday starting on April 1, 2021 through May 13, 2021. Lectures will address the role of big data analytics in the field of image-guided therapy and the integration of artificial intelligence data handling into IGT technologies. Attendance is free but registration is required.
7D Surgical Accelerates Footprint of Game-Changing Machine-Vision Technology into European Market
7D Surgical, a Toronto based medical device company developing cutting-edge optical and machine-vision technologies for surgical navigation, announced it has successfully launched its FLASH™ Navigation System into Germany and Switzerland, with multiple units already placed and over 30 spinal procedures completed since the start of the new year.
Montreal’s CHUM hospital turns to MIMs to learn about COVID
Montreal’s CHUM Hosputal (Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal) will partner with AI startup My Intelligent Machines (MIMs) to filter the mass amounts of scientific research about COVID. The artificial intelligence supercluster SCALE AI will back the project for $500,000. MIMs presented at the 2021 OBIO Investment Summit.
Apply for the next Forge Business Incubator cohort
The Forge Business Incubator program is a limited-enrollment program for entrepreneurs actively working on an innovative early-stage startup. The program supports entrepreneurs in growing their startups, without giving up equity. Startups receive expert mentorship, access to a makerspace with advanced prototyping equipment, entrepreneurial workshops, non-dilutive seed funding, and warm introductions to active investors.
Application deadline: March 28
Logibec Expands into Virtual Care with Ontario-based Acquisition
Logibec announced it has entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement to acquire QoC Health, an Ontario-based company. This transaction supports Logibec's growth in Canada and consolidates its innovative position in the healthcare sector by adding virtual care solutions to its offering.
Vasomune Announced the Government of Canada’s Investment in AV-001 Targeting COVID-19
Vasomune announced that the company has received a substantial investment on behalf of the Government of Canada through the National Research Council (NRC) for Vasomune’s continued development of AV-001, the company’s lead candidate drug targeting COVID-19.
Huron Digital Pathology Receives CE-IVD Mark for TissueScope iQ Scanner
Huron Digital Pathology has received a CE-IVD mark for its high throughput TissueScope iQ 400 slide whole slide scanner. The CE mark indicates that the TissueScope iQ scanner complies with the European In Vitro Diagnostic Regulations.
KA Imaging Appoints World-Renowned Radiologist, Dr. Philip Templeton, as Chief Medical Officer
A board certified radiologist, Dr. Templeton brings over 38 years of academic and entrepreneurial medicine experience to KA Imaging. Dr. Templeton is most recently known as Cofounder and Chief Medical Officer of DocPanel Technologies.
VBI Vaccines Announces Initiation of Enrollment in Adaptive Phase 1/2 Study of Prophylactic COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate, VBI-2902
VBI Vaccines Inc., a biopharmaceutical company driven by immunology in the pursuit of powerful prevention and treatment of disease, announced the initiation of enrollment of its Phase 1/2 clinical study of VBI-2902, the Company’s monovalent enveloped virus-like particle (eVLP) COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
Perimeter Medical Imaging AI Announces U.S. FDA 510(k) Clearance for OCT Imaging System
Perimeter announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Perimeter’s Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Imaging System, which is designed to examine tissue microstructures during surgical procedures by providing cross-sectional, real-time margin visualization.
Considering the creation of new biomanufacturing capacity for Canada
Let OBIO know what you think the federal government should include in their biomanufacturing consultation, “Considering the creation of new biomanufacturing capacity for Canada”.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, in partnership with Health Canada, and the Public Health Agency of Canada, are seeking input on the long-term and enduring elements of a robust domestic biomanufacturing sector, including the prospective expansion of domestic biomanufacturing capacity and related enhancements to the ecosystem. Specifically, input is sought with respect to:
Mandate
Scope of operations
Role within the biologics research and manufacturing ecosystem
Sustainability
Governance
The consultation deadline is March 12. Please let OBIO know your ideas by March 10 at 5 pm EST.
Spartan Bioscience Appoints Jeremy Bridge-Cook as Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President of Research and Development
Spartan Bioscience announced the appointment of Jeremy Bridge-Cook as Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President of Research and Development. This hire further strengthens Spartan’s executive leadership team as it focuses on the growing demand for its breakthrough Health Canada Authorized diagnostic testing solution. Bridge-Cook will be in charge of leading the research and development of all product lines at Spartan, and leading the Assay and Engineering teams.
Felix Health Raises $10 Million
Toronto-based healthtech startup Felix Health, which offers users access to treatments for common, but often stigmatized, health issues, has raised a $10 million Series A round of funding. The round was led by new investor Whitecap Ventures. Previous investors Mantella Venture Partners, BrandProject and H Ventures also participated in the round.