Apr 9, 2018 | Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), BioNB, Dalhousie University, Office of Commercialization and Industry Engagement, Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industries (NATI), PEI BioAlliance
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Over the past decade Canada has become a global leader in life sciences and biotechnology innovation and commercialization. The sector’s steady growth is largely due to its solid base of expertise and continued investment in world-leading research. And while biotechnology innovation can be found across the country, Atlantic Canada has become a hotbed of activity and is leading the country in key bio and life-sciences areas.
“The region has seen over $1 billion dollars in exits and follow-on investment over the past few years in this sector,” said Scott Moffitt, managing director of BioNova, Nova Scotia’s Life Science Association. “Being responsive, nimble and knowledgeable has helped us to get to this point.”
Today, Atlantic Canada is home to over 150 bioscience companies and 25 research organizations that are at the forefront of global research in human health, medical technologies and diagnostics, marine biology, vaccine diagnostics, pharmaceutical and therapeutics, animal and fish health products, and agricultural technology, including a strong potato research cluster.
Despite all the innovative work coming out of the region, one of the most frequently asked questions to biotech and life-sciences organizations is “Why are you located in Atlantic Canada?”
And while there’s not just one answer, the reasoning does stem from a regional uniqueness and an inherent entrepreneurial spirit that drives collaboration, partnership and a belief that our tiny little region on the East Coast of Canada can compete and win on the global stage.
Supported by federal and provincial organizations including Springboard Atlantic, BioNova, BioNB, the PEI BioAlliance and NATI, the region’s continued growth in bio and life sciences doesn’t show signs of slowing down.
“The demand for these technologies and new solutions is accelerating, says Rory Francis, CEO of the PEI BioAlliance. “And we are well positioned to be part of that.”
Atlantic Canada is home to many innovative companies driving innovative research and development in key areas of bio and life sciences. Despite representing just 5% of the Canadian population, the region has continued to punch above its weight in attracting new opportunities, including Natural Products Canada – one of just two bio Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) in Canada.
This is in no small part due the world-class research talent and expertise from the region’s 20+ universities and colleges, the two dozen research institutes dedicated to supporting the region’s bio-based industries and a regional understanding that moving ideas to commercializable opportunities is key to growing the sector and region.
“It’s not enough just to do the research,” says Francis. “There’s a lot of discipline and a lot of understanding required to make this economically impactful.” And, he adds, that starts with our ability to work together as a sector.
This evolution of the Atlantic bio and life science sector leverages a history of scientific ingenuity and an entrepreneurial and self-reliant spirit – it has created a dynamic environment for innovation.
“We are not creating a sector from scratch here; we are building on 150 years of research and innovation in traditional industries that we know very well. That’s a base that not many regions have or understand,” says Meaghan Seagrave, executive director of BioNB.
“The sky’s the limit,” says Doris Grant, director for Industry Liaison and Innovation at Dalhousie University. “Collaboration is at the core of everything we do and having the whole ecosystem working together and recognizing this sector for the opportunity that it is only motivates us further.”]]>
Mar 27, 2018 | Axem Neurotechnology Inc., News
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Halifax-based Axem Neurotechnology is attending the HAX Accelerator in Shenzhen, China, where it plans to complete the prototype of its device, which enhances mental training for athletes.
The company’s co-founders, Tony Ingram and Chris Friesen, are now at Hax, the world’s largest hardware accelerator, as they prepare to begin beta-testing in Canada.
The two PhD students in neuroscience from Dalhousie University are building a wearable device that measures brain activity to help athletes improve the mental aspects of their game.
“We’re also exploring the rehabilitation market,” Ingram, the CEO of Axem, said in an interview. “We think it would provide a lot of value, like for stroke rehab and many other types of rehab, mostly neurological because we measure the brain.”
Axem’s device sits on top of your head, almost like a headband, and records brain activity and function. Its purpose is to allow users to “mentally train” for physical tasks and improve motor function. The device will also connect to a mobile app, which is being built at HAX.
It will still be a while before Axem has its device ready for manufacture but the 14-week accelerator is helping it rapidly develop the prototype.
“In Canada, when we were working on our prototype it would take a couple of weeks to get something like a circuit board,” said Ingram. “It was just a bottleneck. We’d try to fill our time with other stuff, but here it’s just better for rapid prototyping and iteration. You get through more tests and get answers quicker.”
For companies developing complex hardware and software, like Axem, China is the ideal place.
“If you need a part, you don’t need to order it. You basically just go downstairs and find it. There are vendors all over the place.”
HAX is backed by SOSV, a global venture capital firm with $300 million under management. The accelerator offers up to $100,000 in seed funding, mentorship and office and lab space for its participants.
Taking part in HAX builds on the momentum Axem gained in 2017. Late last year the startup was awarded $50,000 as winners of Innovacorp’s Spark Innovation and also became a resident company with Volta Labs in September. Ingram also said Axem received funds from the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program, or IRAP.
Ingram says Axem will tackle markets in sports training and is penning letters of intent with professional sports teams, though he declined to name them. In the fall, Ingram and Friesen plan to be more focused on raising investment.
“We got our working prototype running before we got here,” said Ingram. “The Halifax ecosystem was instrumental in that, and has been so supportive of us.”
“While we’re here in China, we’re not just doing product development; we’re meeting people and doing business development.”
Ingram said Axem is looking into the clinical applications of the technology and the subsequent regulatory requirements they would have to meet in the medical device market.]]>
Mar 26, 2018 | Axem Neurotechnology Inc., News
See original article here
Halifax-based Axem Neurotechnology is attending the HAX Accelerator in Shenzhen, China, where it plans to complete the prototype of its device, which enhances mental training for athletes.
The company’s co-founders, Tony Ingram and Chris Friesen, are now at Hax, the world’s largest hardware accelerator, as they prepare to begin beta-testing in Canada.
The two PhD students in neuroscience from Dalhousie University are building a wearable device that measures brain activity to help athletes improve the mental aspects of their game.
“We’re also exploring the rehabilitation market,” Ingram, the CEO of Axem, said in an interview. “We think it would provide a lot of value, like for stroke rehab and many other types of rehab, mostly neurological because we measure the brain.”
Axem’s device sits on top of your head, almost like a headband, and records brain activity and function. Its purpose is to allow users to “mentally train” for physical tasks and improve motor function. The device will also connect to a mobile app, which is being built at HAX.
It will still be a while before Axem has its device ready for manufacture but the 14-week accelerator is helping it rapidly develop the prototype.
“In Canada, when we were working on our prototype it would take a couple of weeks to get something like a circuit board,” said Ingram. “It was just a bottleneck. We’d try to fill our time with other stuff, but here it’s just better for rapid prototyping and iteration. You get through more tests and get answers quicker.”
For companies developing complex hardware and software, like Axem, China is the ideal place.
“If you need a part, you don’t need to order it. You basically just go downstairs and find it. There are vendors all over the place.”
HAX is backed by SOSV, a global venture capital firm with $300 million under management. The accelerator offers up to $100,000 in seed funding, mentorship and office and lab space for its participants.
Taking part in HAX builds on the momentum Axem gained in 2017. Late last year the startup was awarded $50,000 as winners of Innovacorp’s Spark Innovation and also became a resident company with Volta Labs in September. Ingram also said Axem received funds from the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program.
Ingram says Axem will tackle markets in sports training and is penning letters of intent with professional sports teams, though he declined to name them. In the fall, Ingram and Friesen plan to be more focused on raising investment.
“We got our working prototype running before we got here,” said Ingram. “The Halifax ecosystem was instrumental in that, and has been so supportive of us.”
“While we’re here in China, we’re not just doing product development; we’re meeting people and doing businesses development.”
Ingram said Axem is looking into the clinical applications of the technology and the subsequent regulatory requirements they would have to meet in the medical device market.]]>
Mar 1, 2018 | Densitas Inc., Members, News
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Breast imaging analytics innovator Densitas Inc. announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its machine learning breast density assessment software. The software empowers radiologists with standardized, personalized and automated density reports to optimize women’s breast health and follow-up care decisions.“Receiving 510(k) clearance marks a significant milestone in our company’s growth as we expand our global reach into the U.S. market with our flagship product,” said Mohamed Abdolell, CEO of Densitas. We are delighted to be entering the largest medical device market in the world, especially as 31 states have passed mandatory breast density notification laws.”
Breast density has been shown to be strongly associated with cancer risk. Densitas has the distinct advantage of facilitating breast density assessments of routinely stored standard processed images and their priors because the technology processes the same standard digital mammograms that radiologists view. This provides a practical solution for integrating breast density into risk-based models in population-based screening.The software is cleared for clinical use in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Australia, and is the first of several follow-on products. The software is being showcased at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR 2018), booth 114 at the Austria Center Vienna.About Densitas
Densitas develops advanced imaging analytics technologies powered by machine learning that deliver actionable insights at point-of-care for personalized breast health. Our products address the key challenges facing breast imaging today, including mammography quality, workflow efficiencies, compliance with national guidelines and standards, and delivery of appropriate care at sustainable costs. For more information, visit www.densitas.health]]>
Feb 15, 2018 | Acadian Seaplants Limited, Members, News
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When Jean-Paul Deveau returned home to Nova Scotia in 1981 on summer break from McGill University, he discovered he had no bedroom.
“I’m about to go put my stuff in my room and my mother stops me and says, ‘So, before you go upstairs . . . your father started a business and he’s running it out of your bedroom,’ ” the president and CEO of Acadian Seaplants Limited remembers. “ ‘So you’re welcome to stay here but you have to find some other place to sleep.’ ”
His bedroom was the incubation laboratory for Acadian Seaplants, which today is the largest independent marine plant processing company in North America, with six processing plants spread across Atlantic Canada, Ireland and Scotland. It makes seaweed-based food, agricultural and chemical products, ranging from dehydrated “sea vegetables” for salad and pasta dishes to pet food to crop fertilizer to additives for brewing. Seaweed is plentiful around the Nova Scotia coastline, where the company is still headquartered. Deveau’s father, the 86-year-old Louis E. Deveau, was perhaps destined for a career in seaweed. As a kid growing up on the shores of Baie Sainte-Marie, Louis noticed his own father put goémon de roche (the Acadian term for the seaweed harvested from the rocky shoreline) on the family’s vegetable garden. The practice yielded excellent results and spurred his realization that the plentiful plants were rich in nutrients.
His fascination with the sea plant’s potential resulted in Louis joining Marine Colloids, a subsidiary of the world’s largest carrageenan gum manufacturer, in 1967. He later led seaweed-connected businesses in the Philippines and Mexico before moving to New Jersey as a vice-president of Marine Colloids’ U.S. operations. He was soon appointed president of the company’s Canadian wing, where he was also responsible for sourcing seaweed around the globe. “He also spearheaded the development of an entirely new industry—seaweed farming in the Philippines and Indonesia, which today is a major industry in those countries,” notes the Acadian Seaplants website with pride.
In 1981, already a seaweed expert, he decided to become a seaweed entrepreneur. It was a risky—and prescient—move.
“There was no market for most of the products we make now,” Deveau says. “The market emerged afterwards.” And, in many instances, it was created by Louis.
The company that would become Acadian Seaplants was originally a small, seasonal seaweed harvesting operation, based in Nova Scotia and owned by the parent company of Louis’s long-time employer. After Louis bought its Nova Scotian assets in 1981, the firm’s former owners became its first—and for several years only—customer. It wasn’t a bad way to start a business, but Louis quickly recognized the vulnerability and unsustainability of such a business plan.
Meanwhile, Deveau was finishing his M.B.A. at McGill. When he came home in 1985, he still had no bedroom. Instead, his father presented him with the kind of job every freshly minted M.B.A. dreams of: there was no pay and high risk. But it had big potential, for either success or failure.
“He said, ‘Do you want to see what we can build with this thing I’m running out of your bedroom?’ ” Deveau laughs. “ ‘We don’t have enough money to pay you, but let’s see what we can build.’ And off we went, and we never looked back.”
The ability of both Deveaus to take calculated risks continues to define the multinational company’s culture in its fourth decade of operations.
“What I really like about Acadian is they are not afraid,” says Derrick Dempster, a partner at Deloitte who works with Acadian in the Best Managed Companies program. “They operate in a number of countries, they continue to expand strategically and they’re open to taking risks in new environments. They take on those challenges and they create new markets for themselves as a consequence.”
The Deveaus agree. Louis, from Acadian’s inception, applied a “long-play” business strategy, grounded in heavy investment in scientific research and developing new markets. Deveau believes the company’s current success is driven by four deceptively simple factors. They are all about investment: in research and development, in international market development, in sustainability and in people. These commitments were seeded by Louis on day one, and have been consistently nurtured ever since by father, son and an ever-expanding pool of talent.
“We find the best people in the world and either bring them to Canada to have them work for us in Nova Scotia—we speak more than 10 languages in our facility here—or we base them throughout the world to represent our company in all the countries in which we operate,” says Deveau. The company now exports to more than 80 countries and has staff in 12 locations around the globe.
Acadian’s talent strategy is guided by the same kind of long-term focus Louis brought to the seaweed business: nothing is about today. It’s not even about tomorrow—it’s about the next three, five or 10 years. Acadian tries to envision the future, and then it actively creates it.
“I go to a lot of conferences and we are, of course, comparing ourselves to our competitors. And when we see that what we presented three years ago, other companies are doing now, we have to ask ourselves, immediately, what do we do next? What’s the potential, the next opportunity, the new market no one else is thinking about?” says Deveau.
Indeed, how the company harvests its products is under constant evaluation and improvement. Hyper-competitive long-term thinking like that will continue to contribute to Acadian’s success.
“They will continue to change and create new products,” says Dempster. “They really think of themselves as a learning organization, and they’ve created infrastructure to support that. They’re a Canadian business based in Nova Scotia, but they understand that their market is global.”]]>
Aug 9, 2017 | Members, News
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As it continues to fund young companies, the First Angel Network has developed an investment niche for the biomedical space and is showing an eagerness for repeat investments.
FAN, as it is known, has been investing in Atlantic Canadian startups for 12 years, making it the dean of active investment groups. Its portfolio has included a couple of exits and a few failures. The group has sometimes been controversial, and a group of FAN investors is now suing the developer of King’s Wharf in Dartmouth.
Through it all, the co-founding team of Ross Finlay and Brian Lowe has been arranging quarterly investments for their network of angels, as they have been for the past 48 quarters. The landscape has changed since FAN started, and the group concentrates more these days on life sciences companies or IT companies that have medical applications. Recent investments like Chinova Bioworks, Covina Biomedical and Spring Loaded bear this out.
“It seems like our members gravitate toward those types of deals,” said Lowe in an interview last week.
“Our members like to invest in biotechnology and medical devices. They seem to understand the sector well.”
A look at the companies FAN has invested in shows the concentration in life sciences:
Spring Loaded Technology, Dartmouth — Spring Loaded has recently launched the Levitation knee brace, which not only stabilizes the joint but also adds power to it.
Chinova Bioworks, Fredericton — Chinova is using the multi-purpose compound chitosan in an anti-microbial agent, which it uses in a natural preservative in such foods as juices.
Iron Apple International, Halifax — Iron Apple International provides food safety solutions to transportation companies throughout North America.
Covina Biomedical, Halifax — Covina is commercializing a non-toxic bone cement that can be injected into the vertebrae of osteoporosis patients who have suffered a fracture. The company has said it raised $350,000 from FAN as part of a round with a target of $1 million.
WellTrack, Fredericton — WellTrack is a product that helps organizations — especially universities — improve the mental health of their members, especially those suffering from stress, anxiety and depression.
NB Biomatrix, Saint John — NB Biomatrix has developed Naqua-Pure, a liquid that uses nanotechnology to remove heavy metals and other pollutants from waste water.
What’s interesting about the Spring Loaded funding is that it is the second time the knee-brace-maker has tapped FAN for funding. The company received funding from FAN and Innovacorp two years ago, then from Build Ventures last year and returned to FAN earlier this year.
“FAN has been a long-term supporter of Spring Loaded,” said CEO Chris Cowper Smith in an email. “They are well organized and offer an efficient process for raising capital through their network. We had excellent uptake from FAN on our current offering and we look forward to working with them going forward.”
Lowe and Finlay said the organization is interested in providing follow-on funding from its more successful portfolio companies. It has done return investment for Spring Loaded and Halifax-based Metamaterial Technologies Inc., which recently announced an $8.3-million funding round that included contributions from FAN. Some of these companies are also raising money through the Wilmington Investor Network, a North Carolina group with whom FAN sometimes co-invests.
Finlay noted that research by the Angel Research Institute of the United States shows that follow-on funding accounts for more than half the angel investment in the U.S.
“We’ve been wondering if we should try to focus more on not chasing the shiny new object but on supporting the companies that are already in our portfolio,” he said. “We think that’s a good use of our capital.”