Ontario's leading advocate for the life sciences sector
Vasomune Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of diseases associated with vascular dysfunction, recently announced that their lead drug candidate AV-001 has received positive recommendation from the Independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (IDSMB) of the AV001-004 Phase 2a Study.
Vasomune Therapeutics is an OBIO® member and an alumnus of the CAAP® program.
KA Imaging, a company specializing in developing innovative X-ray imaging technologies and systems, is ready to showcase a robust product line that can attend both fixed rooms and mobile systems at RSNA. “1 exposure, 3 images, 0 motion artifacts”, a summary of the company patented SpectralDR technology, can now be implemented in a variety of environments for better clinical and operational outcomes.
KA Imaging is an OBIO® member and an alumnus of all our programs.
Nov 22, 2023 (Toronto, ON) – The measurement of and clinicians’ response to patient-reported outcomes (PROs) for patients undergoing radiation therapy (RT) has been found to have many clinical benefits, including the patient’s improved quality of life and increased overall survival. This method has the potential to better utilize healthcare human resources, and decrease the need for extended clinical hours, urgent care and emergency care.
Through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN®), OBIO® has facilitated a study by the University Health Network (UHN) with Zamplo Inc., an Alberta-based company with a connected health platform, the Zamplo app, to monitor PROs of patients undergoing RT.
The app provides researchers and clinicians with a flexible tool to collect PROs, including symptoms, ability to function and/or quality of life, through multiple formats at any required frequency (e.g. a routine survey or an ad hoc measurement). The app can be used for patients with any disease regardless of their treatment or related conditions and can collect information from both patients and caregivers. The data is easily shared across the platform by healthcare providers in any setting of the patient’s choice.
As part of its strategic priorities, UHN aims to transform the health system through consumer-centric innovation and emerging technologies, supporting outstanding patient experiences in every interaction.
“Consumer-friendly apps such as Zamplo focus on enhancing personalized, equitable, compassionate care and transforming the patient experience, while also helping the care team optimize treatment and use of hospital space and resources,” said Philip Wong, MD, who is the EAHN™ evaluation lead at UHN.
“Our evaluation with OBIO® focuses on a proactive model of care which enhances patient-clinician communication and informs optimal clinical decision making, leading to fundamental changes in radiation therapy symptom management while maintaining a safe model of care with better utilization of resources,” he added. “The goal is to challenge today’s fragmented system and put consumer-friendly apps and tools in the hands of patients, families and providers.”
“Navigating cancer care can be complex and daunting for patients and caregivers. Zamplo is a care tool made by patients for patients to modernize and improve their experience,” said. Jennifer Croke, MD, Radiation Oncologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network. “The platform acts as a triage for radiation follow-up care, directing more complex cases for in-person assessment and helping others avoid taxing and sometimes costly trips to the hospital. Thus, patients on radiation can use the platform to inform the treatment team of their well-being, and the care team is better informed about the patient’s medical and/or psychosocial needs or lack thereof.”
“The Zamplo app allows clinicians and researchers to focus on the “whole” patient, supporting improved communication without increasing consult time, and engaging patients and their caregivers more in their care,” said Shaneel Pathak, CEO of Zamplo. “The Zamplo app allows patients to document their health journey on a desktop or mobile device, including symptoms, activities and medications. Researchers and clinicians can use the app to gather PROs through questionnaires and health tracking journal entries to help determine quality of life. Through OBIO’s EAHN™ program, Zamplo is now partnering with the largest health research organization in Canada.”
“OBIO® is delighted to support Zamplo, an Alberta-based company, through the EAHN™ program to facilitate a project with UHN and help Zamplo access the Ontario market,” said. Maura Campbell, PhD, President and CEO of OBIO®. “We look forward to seeing the benefit of the Zamplo app to better utilize healthcare human resources and improve patients’ quality of life.”
About OBIO®
OBIO®, a not-for-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization, is prioritizing the evaluation of new technologies through their Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™). OBIO® is engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of human health technologies, positioning Canada as a leader in the international marketplace. To learn more, visit: obio.ca.
About Zamplo Inc.
Zamplo Inc. is a mission-driven social enterprise, founded in 2015. Zamplo has created a person-centered connected health platform that provides a central location for individuals to track their whole health data while staying connected to their clinicians, caregivers, researchers and the health community.
With informed consent, the Zamplo App can be used to collect patient-reported outcomes (PROs) between participants and researchers through an integration with the electronic data capture platform, Zamplo Research. This integration supports patient-centered research by streamlining study enrolment, providing tools for PRO collection, and focusing on participant engagement and quality of life. Researchers and clinicians can engage participants in their own care as participants retain control of their data and can access their personal health information to make more informed decisions.
About University Health Network
University Health Network consists of Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals, the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and The Michener Institute of Education at UHN. The scope of research and complexity of cases at University Health Network has made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. It has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in cardiology, transplantation, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, arthritis, vision, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. University Health Network is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. For more information: www.uhn.ca.
Contacts
For more information about OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), or if you are interested in joining the Network, please contact:
Bibaswan Ghoshal
Senior Director, Technology Adoption
Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization
bibaswanghoshal@obio.ca
For more information about Zamplo Inc. please contact:
Shaneel Pathak
CEO
Zamplo inc.
shaneel@zamplo.org
For more information about University Health Network please contact:
Ania Jones
Sr. Manager, Strategic Communications & Partnership Engagement
University Health Network
ania.jones@uhn.ca
Four new start-ups have been welcomed into BioCreate, Ontario Genomics’ $11.6-million accelerator program providing financial and business support to biotechnology companies creating game-changing solutions in the health, food and agriculture, and cleantech industries.
Congratulations to the winners!
We are proud to share that two of the four winners, QurCan Therapeutics and Virica Biotech, are OBIO® members.
Northern Nanopore Instruments (NNi), a Canadian biotechnology start-up with unique expertise in an innovative solid-state nanopore fabrication technology was recently acquired by Oxford Nanopore Technologies, the company delivering a new generation of nanopore-based molecular sensing technology. The NNi team will continue to work with Oxford Nanopore to develop and scale solid-state nanopore fabrication technology, with a potential long-term goal of developing arrays of solid-state nanopores.
Northern Nanopore Instruments is an alumnus of our BDSP™ program.
Enhanced Medical Nutrition, Inc. (EMN) recently announced the successful closing of an over-subscribed Pre-Series A equity financing supported by dsm-firmenich venturing, The Kale Fund, Keiretsu Forum, and various angel investors. The financing comes on the heels of EMN's expansion across more than 150 orthopaedic providers. Proceeds of the transaction will be used to fund EMN's operations and growth.
EMN is an OBIO® member, an alumnus of all our programs and presented at the OBIO® Investment Summit.
Edesa Biotech, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on inflammatory and immune-related diseases, has secured a commitment of up to CAD $23 million from the Government of Canada for a pivotal Phase 3 clinical study of the company’s first-in-class therapeutic candidate.
Edesa is an alumnus of our WiHI program.
Nov 7, 2023 (Toronto, ON) – In trauma situations where physicians are treating an unstable patient who is experiencing bleeding, time is of the utmost importance and the medical team needs to act quickly. Small and fast-acting solutions are needed to reduce complications and save lives.
Through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN ™), OBIO® has facilitated an evaluation between Front Line Medical Technologies and Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) to help trauma patients receive a cutting-edge treatment for hemorrhage control.
Front Line’s COBRA-OS® is an innovative, minimally invasive medical device that helps control bleeding in patients with non-compressible trauma in the torso. The device is inserted to block the artery above the injury. This stops the blood flow and enables patients to reach the operating room where trauma surgeons can effectively control the bleeding and increase the patient’s chance of survival. The COBRA-OS® can be deployed in just over a minute and is the smallest device of its kind in the world. It is being used in multiple American Level 1 trauma centres and by US military groups.
“We have had the incredible privilege of providing front line physicians with a tool that has already helped save many lives since the COBRA-OS® has been available commercially in North America,” said Asha Parekh, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of Front Line Medical Technologies. “The device has mainly been adopted in the United States and we are extremely excited to have Hamilton Health Sciences evaluating the utility of the COBRA-OS® for their system and patients”.
“As an alumnus of the McMaster University general surgery program, I am so proud to come back to Hamilton to help introduce this life-saving device to my colleagues for their trauma patients,” said Adam Power, MD, CMO, Co-founder, and practicing vascular surgeon.
”At Hamilton Health Sciences, we’re committed to finding innovative solutions to help our patients and the community. Collaborating with organizations like OBIO® is an essential part of developing partnerships with the right companies to make impactful change,” said Ted Scott, Vice President Innovation at Hamilton Health Sciences. “When it comes to trauma patients, every second counts. So, as the regional trauma centre for Central South Ontario, it’s our responsibility to explore all ways to utilize the limited time we have to save a patient’s life.”
“The trauma team is very pleased to be part of this project and looks forward to working with these important partners to bring cutting-edge technology to the bedside of our injured patients to help make a difference with saving their lives,” said Paul Engels, MD, trauma surgeon and trauma medical director at Hamilton Health Sciences.
“OBIO® is eager to facilitate this EAHN™-funded project between HHS and Front Life Medical Technologies, supporting a medical device that increases the survival for trauma patients,” said Maura Campbell, PhD, OBIO® President and CEO. “We are delighted to see Front Line Medical Technologies build on the previous success of COBRA-OS® and to support the commercialization of their innovation in Canada.”
About OBIO®
OBIO®, a not-for-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization, is prioritizing the evaluation of new technologies through their Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™). OBIO® is engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of human health technologies, positioning Canada as a leader in the international marketplace. To learn more, visit: obio.ca.
About Front Line Medical Technologies
Front Line Medical Technologies is a medical device company lowering the barriers to bleeding control and resuscitation worldwide. The company offers a life-saving tool, the COBRA-OS™ (Control of Bleeding, Resuscitation, Arterial Occlusion System) to help patients survive emergency situations. The COBRA-OS is used for REBOA (Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta) procedures, and its significantly reduced size decreases both the time it takes to complete the procedure and the risk of complications.
About Hamilton Health Sciences
Hamilton Health Sciences is a community of 15,000 staff, physicians, researchers and volunteers that proudly serves southwestern Ontario residents. It is the only hospital in Ontario that cares for all ages, from pre-birth to end-of-life and offers world-leading expertise in many areas, including cardiac and stroke care, cancer care, palliative care and pediatrics. Hamilton Health Sciences is also a world-renowned hospital for healthcare research and has a daily focus on improving the quality of care for patients through innovation and evidence-based practices.
Contacts
For more information about OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), or if you are interested in joining the Network, please contact: Bibaswan Ghoshal, Senior Director, Technology Adoption
For more information about Front Line Medical Technologies, please contact: Asha Parekh, CEO and Co-Founder
For more information about Hamilton Health Sciences, please contact: Wendy Stewart, Communications Advisor
By Christina Yeh
On October 24, 2023, the OBIO® Women in Health Initiative (WiHI) hosted “Networking with Inspirational Women in Science in Kingston”, sponsored by Kingston Economic Development and Queen’s University, and in partnership with Queen’s Partnerships & Innovation, WE-CAN, and Women in Science at Queen’s (WISQ). The event featured a panel discussion on “Understanding the Kingston Health Innovation Ecosystem and Its Impact on the Canadian Economy”, followed by a networking reception.
Dr. Nancy Ross, Vice-Principal Research at Queen’s University, opened the event and spoke about Queen’s University’s vibrant health science ecosystem, strong women in science and leading research. Next, Dr. Maura Campbell, President & CEO of OBIO® and alumna of Queen’s University, outlined the Women in Health Initiative (WiHI), a program designed to increase the participation and advancement of women in the health science sector.
Shelley Hirstwood, Director of Business Development at Kingston Economic Development, moderated the discussion with panelists Allison Turner (Co-Founder & Director of Product Development at PnuVax), Anne Vivian-Scott (President & CEO at Kinarm), and Dr. Irsa Wiginton (Co-Founder & Business Development Officer at mDETECT). The panelists shared their experiences as entrepreneurs leading health science companies and taking their technologies from research to commercialization. They discussed exit strategies, the importance of being assertive and open to opportunities, and the benefits of building their businesses in Kingston.
Following the panel, attendees at all stages of their career were invited to meet the panelists, network and share their experiences.
OBIO® WiHI is supported by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
Specific Biologics Inc., a venture-backed, early-stage genome editing company, recently announced it has appointed Steven Kanner, PhD, as an Independent Director. The appointment coincides with renewed investment from Lumira Ventures and adMare BioInnovations to advance the preclinical development of therapeutics based on Specific's proprietary Dualase® platform gene editors.
Specific Biologics is an OBIO® member, an alumnus of our BDSP™, CAAP® , H2BB™ and WiHI programs, and presented at the OBIO® Investment Summit.
Ironstone Product Development has recently joined Avania, a leading, global full-service contract research organization focused on the management of clinical studies for medical devices, IVDs, biologics and device-drug combination products internationally.
Ironstone is an alumnus of our EAHN™ program.
The Innovation Factory announced the launch of the Canadian Medtech Alliance (CAMEDA) program. This program will help accelerate the commercialization of medical device innovations in southern Ontario, through a partnership with the accelerator and a total Government of Canada investment of over $7 million through FedDev Ontario, which includes $1 million for the CAMEDA program.
Delivered in collaboration with the Synapse Life Science Consortium, CAMEDA brings together Innovation Factory’s commercialization services with the Consortium’s strategic network to also offer participants access to business expertise and resources, as well as the capabilities of Canada’s leading health innovation ecosystem.
HeartX, a cardiovascular-focused healthcare accelerator that facilitates guaranteed hospital pilot projects and clinical trials for accomplished, early-stage companies bringing new cardiovascular innovations to market, recently announced five start-ups that will participate in the 2023 Accelerator Program.
Flosonics Medical, which develops and commercializes wearable sensors improving clinical management of critically ill patients inside and outside of the hospital is named among the selected start-ups.
Congratulations to the selected companies! We are proud to share that Flosonics is an OBIO® member and an alumnus of our CAAP® , EAHN™, HealthMINT™ and WiHI programs, and presented at the OBIO® Investment Summit.
October 19, 2023 (Toronto, ON) – Treating schizophrenia spectrum disorders effectively is challenging due to the complexity of the illness. Treatment often requires lifelong self-management and various therapies that must be used in timely cycles to achieve the best outcomes. Additionally, constraints across the healthcare system limit many aspects of clinical interaction, including risk identification and care planning, which can lead patients to feel disempowered, socially isolated and disengaged from the treatment process.
To address barriers to treating severe mental illnesses and improve patient experience, A4i Inc. (A4i – App4Independence) has partnered with The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre to drive the adoption and integration of their app-based platform. The A4i app helps patients experiencing severe mental illness improve their health by building connections with other peers and using app features designed to identify risk of relapse and readmission. Commercially and clinically validated, A4i’s tools and digital biomarkers have shown excellent engagement, increased retention rates and other promising clinical outcomes.
With support from OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), The Royal is evaluating A4i in the Ozerdinc Grimes Family Regional Psychosis Clinic, which provides specialized care and support for individuals who experience psychosis due to a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. The evaluation’s goal is to assess how A4i integrates into an outpatient clinical setting and to help clinicians understand the app’s impact on patients who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum.
“We are grateful to be working with The Royal in Ottawa to support a particularly vulnerable population in such a resource intensive environment,” said Amos Adler, CEO of A4i Inc. “Validated technologies such as A4i can support the health system’s efforts to better engage and support client populations in the recovery process. We are learning and adapting to truly integrate innovation into clinical workflows.”
“With the right support, people with schizophrenia spectrum illnesses can manage their symptoms and live well. Through this collaboration enabled by OBIO®, we have the potential to expand and strengthen the supports available to our clients using A4i. We are demonstrating how a digital therapeutic mobile app and clinical portal can scale virtual care, care-coordination and create system efficiencies,” said Dr. David Attwood, Clinical Director of the Integrated Schizophrenia Recovery Program at The Royal.
“OBIO® is excited to support this first project with the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, which is bringing digital therapeutic innovations to the forefront of the mental health space,” said Dr. Maura Campbell, President and CEO of OBIO®. “We are eager to see how the A4i solution can improve care for patients living with schizophrenia and enhance their wellbeing.”
A4i addresses the gaps in the current system of care for individuals with severe mental illness and, more specifically for this project evaluation, schizophrenia spectrum illnesses. The A4i app supports recovery, care coordination and community functioning while using machine learning to identify risks of relapse for patients with complex mental health issues.
About OBIO®
OBIO®, a not-for-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization, is prioritizing the evaluation of new technologies through their Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™). OBIO® is engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of human health technologies, positioning Canada as a leader in the international marketplace.
About A4i
A Joint Venture between Canada’s largest mental health teaching hospital the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and MEMOTEXT digital therapeutics platform, A4i has secured early pilots across North America and has deep expertise in mental and digital health.
About The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre
The Royal is one of Canada’s foremost mental health care, teaching, and research hospitals and is home to The Royal Mental Health Centre, the Brockville Mental Health Centre, the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health, and the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health. Hope, access, and new possibilities are at the centre of everything we do. Through partnerships with clients, families, colleagues and community partners, our mission is to transform the lives of people living with complex and treatment-resistant mental health and substance use needs – today, and tomorrow. Click here to learn more about The Royal, our suite of services, and our impact.
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Media contacts:
Bibaswan Ghoshal, Senior Director, Technology Adoption, OBIO®
Amos Adler, M.Sc, CEO, A4i Inc.
Michaela Berniquez, Communications Coordinator, The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre
October 12, 2023 (Toronto, ON) – Currently, clinicians go through a time-consuming process of manually analyzing endoscopy video and images, and then reporting the patient’s results. The process can sometimes lead to unfortunate human errors. This is exacerbated by the current backlog of patients waiting for endoscopies resulting in increased physician burnout.
Through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), OBIO® has facilitated the first-ever partnership between the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) and A.I. VALI, a female-led, Toronto-based health technology start-up, to evaluate the modular Artificial intelligence (AI) platform, AIDREA™, within endoscopy clinics.
The A.I. VALI AIDREA™ platform uses real-time Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) techniques to analyze physicians' voices during procedures, as well as data collected from medical images, such as endoscopy video images and tissue biopsy samples. This solution provides clinicians with accurate, reproducible and affordable real-time analysis. It has a critical impact on the quality of analysis in the early detection of diseases such as cancer and allows delivery of the best-personalized treatment model. The AIDREA™ solution offers four key features: it works with any endoscopy device, it provides real-time video image analysis, it generates instant patient reports, and it has a feedback loop to train the AI model.
“Our mission is to improve the quality of diagnosis and care, therefore, validating the AIDREA™ platform in top Canadian research hospital settings benefits A.I. VALI by providing valuable feedback, enhancing credibility, opening new market opportunities, acquiring data for research and development, and generating financial gains through increased adoption,” said Azar Azad, CEO of A.I. VALI.
“OBIO is thrilled to support a female-led company that is tackling significant healthcare challenges while simultaneously leveraging critical technologies such as AI,” said Dr. Maura Campbell, President and CEO of OBIO®. “The A.I. VALI platform can help improve workflow efficiencies to address patient backlogs that hospitals are currently facing which in turn can result in increased diagnostic accuracy.”
About OBIO®
OBIO®, a not-for-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization, is prioritizing the evaluation of new technologies through their Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™). OBIO® is engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of human health technologies, positioning Canada as a leader in the international marketplace.
About A.I. VALI
A.I. VALI offers services in research and development, analytical validation, optimization, and validation for regulatory submissions. These services can be utilized by our clients and incorporated into the early stages of drug development through clinical trials and validation of biomarkers, or companion diagnostics (CDx), by providing precise interpretation of information on cell functioning, as well as the structure of critical proteins and biomarkers. Our extensible data science environment and toolkit was built to serve as an architectural framework and community platform for developing and distributing reusable data visualization modules and reusable multi-modality data integration pipelines. Our innovative system allows our team to develop the algorithms, validate them properly, and either commercialize them directly, or support our clients in their efforts to commercialize these products.
Contacts
For more information about OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), or if you are interested in joining the Network, please contact:
Bibaswan Ghoshal
Senior Director, Technology Adoption
Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization
bibaswanghoshal@obio.ca
For more information about A.I. VALI please contact:
Azar Azad
CEO
A.I. VALI.
azar@aivali.org
Canadian medical technology company, Therapeutic Monitoring Systems Inc. (TMS), recently announced Health Canada approval of their first clinical decision support tool - Extubation Advisor (EA), a Class III Medical Device, via its commercial software manufacturing partner OBS Medical Ltd.
Therapeutic Monitoring Systems is an OBIO® member and an alumnus of our EAHN™ and HealthMINT™ programs.
FluidAI Medical, a pioneer in leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for postoperative patient monitoring, recently announced that it has raised $15 million in Series A funding. The investment will allow FluidAI to develop deeper medical record integration, expand into existing and new global markets, grow its dynamic team, and introduce novel AI-driven solutions catering to a broader range of postoperative complications.
Fluid AI is an OBIO® member and an alumnus of all OBIO® programs.
Conavi Medical, a leader in hybrid intravascular imaging, recently announced closing $12.5 million USD of funding, including participation from existing investors. The funding is part of a larger effort by Conavi Medical to raise up to $30 million USD to expand its commercial footprint and ready the system for broad market adoption.
Conavi is an OBIO® member, an alumnus of our CAAP® and workforce development programs and presented at the OBIO® Investment Summit.
Allarta Life Science, the Hamilton-based regenerative medicine company using novel hydrogels to enable cell-based therapies for type 1 diabetes (T1D), recently announced it has received an award from JDRF, the leading global T1D research and advocacy organization, that could amount to US$800,000 upon completion of research and development milestones.
The award will directly fund Allarta’s ongoing work to increase durability and avoid the need for systemic immune suppression in current islet and beta cell transplantations to cure T1D.
Allarta is an OBIO® member and an alumnus of our CAAP® and workforce development programs.
Zucara Therapeutics, a diabetes life sciences company developing the first once-daily therapeutic to prevent hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels) in people with diabetes, recently announced that it has dosed the first patient in its Phase 2a trial of the effect of ZT-01 On Nocturnal hypoglycemia Events in Type 1 diabetes.
Zucara Therapeutics is an OBIO® member and presented at the OBIO® Investment Summit.
