Aspect Biosystems Canada

Aspect Biosystems uses proprietary bioprinting and cell culture technologies to create high quality living 3D human tissues.  We aim to improve the pre-clinical drug discovery process by providing pharmaceutical companies and researchers with functional living tissues that better predict the human response to drugs.  Our testing platforms will enable pharmaceutical customers to identify failed drugs earlier in the development pipeline, before expensive clinical trials begin.  Aspect Biosystem’s long-term vision is to create human tissues on demand for multiple applications including cosmetics-testing, personalized medicine, diagnostics and regenerative medicine.

Year Founded
2013
Medtech Subsector
Technology Overview
Aspect has proprietary 3D bioprinting and tissue engineering technologies that enable the fabrication of complex, biologically relevant living human tissues.
Alliance & Collaborations
Multiple academic and industry collaborations
Supporting Metrics or Evidence
Multiple functional endpoints confirm biological function of the engineered tissue constructs.
Current Timeline
1st tissue product (airway) is in the process of productisation. Bioprinter development and optimisation of alternative tissue types is underway.
Current Investors
Founders, family and friends, Angels, Seed fund.
IP Status
Bioprinter PCT in place. Full patent application in September 2015
Recent Milestones
2nd place in BC Innovation Council's New Ventures competition (Sept 2014)
Mr Simon Beyer
Co-founder 

Immusoft Corporation United States

Immusoft’s mission is to develop a breakthrough platform for delivering targeted medicines — programming a patient’s own cells to become miniature drug factories.

Our technology instructs a patient's cells to constantly secrete gene-encoded medicines (biologics). It will enable new treatments by solving current delivery limitations and production challenges. We are initially targeting orphaned diseases. 

Immusoft’s platform can program cells to continually produce and secrete therapeutic proteins and rare antibodies that have been impossible to elicit with a vaccine. This approach makes possible treatments that are otherwise impractical due to short halflife, injection site reactions, production challenges or a small market size. It offers many of the benefits of traditional approaches and modern gene therapies with less risk and greater control.

Immusoft has received grants from the National Institutes of Health and Peter Thiel's Breakout Labs as well as support from private investors, including the former head of preclinical development at Seattle Genetics. We have an exclusive license option on our core technology from Caltech and have filed two additional patents covering our extensive modifications to the technology.

ISP technology could replace a lifetime of infusions with a patient’s own drug-producing cells.

Website:
www.immusoft.com
Year Founded
2009
Biotech Phase of Development
Technology Overview
Turning patients' cells into drug factories
Alliance & Collaborations
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Discovery Genomics, Inc, University of Minnesota, The Ragon Institute, University of California San Francisco
Supporting Metrics or Evidence
Late-stage preclinical
Current Financing Needs
$3 to >$20M
Current Timeline
Preparing IND for clinical trial
Current Investors
Breakout Labs, Founders Fund Science, several angels
IP Status
multiple patents filed worldwide
Recent Milestones
GMP scale-up in preparation for clinical trial; engaging the FDA for Investigator-initiated IND; use of Sleeping Beauty Transposon non-viral vector
Management Team Highlights
Matthew Scholz (Founder and CEO) – Seasoned startup executive; founded and exited Point B Telematics. Eric Herbig, Ph.D., M.B.A. (CSO) – 15+ years of research experience and significant commercialization and management expertise. Zach Hall (Dir. of Operations) – Co-founder and operations director at two previous biomedical startups. Mei Xu, Ph.D. (Dir. of Research) – Molecular biologist with extensive research experience.
J. Zach Hall
Director of Operations 
Matthew Scholz
CEO 

Precision NanoSystems Canada

Precision NanoSystems Inc. (“PNI”) has developed proprietary technology (NanoAssemblr) and companion Reagent Kits (SUB9KITS) that enable the simple manufacture of novel nanoparticles that are used to delivery genetic and small molecule medicines (nanomedicines). Nanomedicines are the "FedEx" of the health-care industry and are used for cell-specific delivery of research tools, diagnostic imaging agents and drugs to study, diagnose and treat disease. PNI's products are commercialized and in high demand from many of leading RNA and small molecule therapeutic biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.  http://www.precisionnanosystems.com/products/

Year Founded
2010
Biotech Phase of Development
Current Financing Needs
PNI is currently raising Series A financing.
Recent Milestones
PNI launched its flagship NanoAssemblr Benchtop and SUB9KIT products in H2 2013. Since that time, PNI has seen significant latent demand for its products and is rapid expanding product manufacturing to satisfy market need. Additionally, PNI has achieved important technical milestones in it's large-scale nanomedicine platform and SUB9KIT products.
Management Team Highlights
PNI’s management, directors & advisors have collectively contributed to over 100 patents and 500 papers, started over 20 biotech companies, raised over $1B in financing/deals and have brought 4 drugs to market. PNI’s CEO, Dr. James Taylor has over 10 years of experience in commercializing biotech and has lead PNI since invention. PNI’s COO, Dr. Euan Ramsay, has 13 years commercializing biotech, has secured over $40M in leveraged financing, and has developed nanomedicines to clinical trials.
James Taylor
CEO 
Euan Ramsay
COO 

Rhamnopharma, Inc. United States

Year Founded
2010
Biotech Subsector
Biotech Phase of Development
Current Financing Needs
Initial
IP Status
Issued US patents
Recent Milestones
Identification of novel MOA
Management Team Highlights
Founder experienced in drug development
Anton Leighton
CEO 

STRATEC Biomedical AG Germany

For more than 35 years STRATEC Biomedical AG is a business partner for the development and manufacture of fully automated analyzer systems. It's headquarter is located in Birkenfeld, Germany and it has nearly 500 employees in 5 locations worldwide. The public owned company has cooperations with 15 of the 20 IVD companies worldwide and has boosted its annual sales from USD 10.4 million in 1998 (IPO) to USD 122.4 million in 2014. STRATEC has strived to achieve market-leading expertise and to build a technology pool that is unique to its industry. The company invests in a variety of fields within the diagnostic and life science sector including medical devices.

Website:
www.stratec.com
Year Founded
1979
Medtech Subsector
Dr Claus Vielsack
Dr Claus Vielsack
Member Board of Management Product Development