Leading Health and Life Sciences in Nova Scotia

Global Halifax: Nova Scotia taps private sector for pandemic supplies and services

Mar 27, 2020 | News, Solid State Pharma Inc. (SSPI)

See original article here

As COVID-19 cases approach triple digits in Nova Scotia, the provincial government is turning to the private sector to answer a critical need for emergency supplies and services.

Scott Moffitt, executive director of BioNova, said he’s already alerted his members to the McNeil government’s request. BioNova represents the province’s health and life sciences industry.

“It’s a very big call to action and I think it’s a big opportunity for this sector to step forward and support the health system, Nova Scotians and beyond,” Moffitt told Global News on Friday.

“The companies in our sector are, for the most part, often highly regulated as medical devices or pharmaceutical products, so they already understand the requirements that the Nova Scotia Health Authority is going to be operating under.”

This morning, BioNova issued a survey to all its member companies asking about what they donated so far and what they’re able to contribute in the future.

Moffitt said they’ve been generous with donations to date, with one member, Solid State Pharma, contributing 10,000 pieces of nitrile medical examination gloves, one box of N95 masks, 25 lab coats and a commitment to prepare 10 litres of hand sanitizer.

THE CHRONICLE HERALD: Halifax company explores use of virtual reality in eye testing

Nov 6, 2018 | Electric Puppets

Read the original article here Despite the rapid uptake of digital technology in many of today’s biggest industries — with gaming and entertainment leading the way — the healthcare sector is slow to adapt to change. Halifax-based Electric Puppets, headed by CEO Ryan Cameron, aims to help them on their way. The company, under Cameron’s direction, offers solutions to real-world problems by harnessing… Continue reading]]>

Electric Puppets joins Tech Revolution Panel at BioPort 2018

Nov 1, 2018 | Electric Puppets

Ryan Cameron CEO, Electric Puppets Ryan Cameron has been a serial innovator since 1997. In 2000, Ryan led a team to create the first interactive versions of the beloved Little Golden Books for Disney Interactive, and then became CTO of an international US based firm that delivered online education to fortune 100 corporate employees. Ryan was CTO of online educational companies for the next 10 years before starting his own innovative online educational company, and advised on international boards and organizations as well. Ryan created online educational products that won numerous awards and helped hundreds of thousands of fortune 500 employees learn important new skills in multi-year award winning online programs. Ryan joined Copernicus Studios in 2013 and led the interactive division to create one of the first speech recognition engines tuned to children’s voices to empower early literacy applications, and then founded Electric Puppets in 2016. Ryan is an avid rare book and antique collector and lives on an acreage in Chester, Nova Scotia. Read the BioPort 2018 press release here ]]>

ENTREVESTOR: Bringing VR to the Eye Doctor

May 22, 2018 | Electric Puppets

Read the original article here Virtual reality and augmented experiences have revolutionized entertainment and gaming industries. Now, Halifax entrepreneur Ryan Cameron is working on bringing this technology to a clinical setting. His company Electric Puppets uses VR and eye-tracking technology to improve on the basic tests patients take when they visit the eye doctor. “In current cases, they’re using tests that are over 100 years old,” Cameron said in an interview. “It’s a combination of lenses, physical equipment, dials and whatnot.” Continue reading]]>

Newswire: Record-high venture capital funding and deals in Canada in Q1'18 according to the MoneyTree Canada Report

Apr 25, 2018 | News

See original story here

  • AI companies riding even higher as waves of investment continue to grow
  • Internet quarterly funding up 155% and healthcare funding up 66%
  • Toronto funding increased by 165%, with a 73% increase in deals
TORONTO, April 25, 2018 /CNW/ – Reaching a six-year quarterly high, investment funding (all figures in USD) and number of deals to venture-backed Canadian companies increased significantly during the first quarter of 2018, according to the MoneyTree™ Report from PwC Canada and CB Insights. More than $1B, was invested across 105 deals. This represents a 52% increase in investments from the previous quarter and a 30% increase in the number of deals.
“With a record $1 billion in VC financing, Q1 sets a high bar and shows that 2018 is off to a great start. Canada continues  to be an innovative and attractive market when it comes to financing and it is set to continue,” said Chris Dulny, National Technology Industry Leader, PwC Canada. “Investment in Canadian companies reached record highs this quarter, in both deals and dollars. Unlike financing to venture-backed companies in the US market, private investment increased in Canada,” stated Anand Sanwal, co-founder and CEO of CB Insights. “Canadian AI and digital health companies keep drawing attention as they received significant investment, helping contribute to this record quarter. It’ll be interesting to see if this quarter’s momentum in those noteworthy sectors continues.” Total quarterly investments to Canadian AI companies increased 88% to $83M across 8 deals in Q1 ’18. The majority of the deals are in the seed and early stages and compared to previous quarters, they are attracting larger investments. Digital health companies also witnessed an upward trend as deal activity and funding increased to $22M across 6 deals, up from just one deal in Q4’17. The types of projects that receive funding are split evenly between B2B and B2C all of which provide access to health information more efficiently. Canadian Internet companies experienced the largest increase with 155% increase in funding to $355M across 41 deals, a 52% increase from the previous quarter, representing a return to a historical range recorded in Q2’17 and Q3’17. The report shows a notable increase in consumer retail, with 11 deals further delivering on the promise of omnichannel retail. Funding to Canadian healthcare companies increased 66% with a total of $126M invested, while deals to the sector declined to 10 deals for the second straight quarter, down one from Q4’17. Despite a successful Q4’17, investments to Fintech companies declined by 60%  from the previous quarter as only $88Mwas invested across 8 deals in Q1’18. Funding to Canadian Mobile & Telecom companies declined by 66% with $70Minvested across 12 deals. Key highlights for Q1’18:
  • Corporate participation declined, with 28% of all deals to Canadian companies featuring at least one participation by corporate venture capital investor compared to 30% in Q4’17.
  • Seed-stage activity remained flat as a percentage of overall deal activity, accounting for 28% of deals for the second quarter. Early stage deal share increased 25% this quarter, up from 19% in Q4’17.
  • In terms of regional activity, Toronto saw a 165% increase in funding and 73% increase in deal activity as $321M was invested across 38 deals. Deal activity in Vancouver hit an eight-quarter high as total quarterly funding declined 31% compared to Q4’17. Montreal was up 96% in investments despite two fewer deals in Q1’18 as $399M was invested across 16 deals. Ottawa’s total quarterly funding increased to $14M as 5 deals were completed, up from three in Q4’17. Waterloo deal activity remained low, while funding increased 68%.
  • Most active investors included BDC, MaRS, iNovia Capital and Fonds de Solidarite FTQ.
The MoneyTree Report can be accessed here.
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