UHN is pleased to announce the launch of another spin-off company, DNAMx Inc., founded around an exciting circulating cell-free methylated DNA liquid biopsy technology developed at UHN’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in collaboration with Sinai Health System.  The diagnostic method, developed by Princess Margaret Cancer Centre’s Drs. Daniel De Carvalho and Scott Bratman, shows great promise as a liquid biopsy tool for cancer patients, as outlined in the publication in Nature, "Sensitive tumour detection and classification using plasma cell-free DNA methylomes." The platform also holds promise for application to conditions beyond cancer detection including prenatal diagnostics,...

Hard to believe two years have passed!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Congratulations on the incredible progress made by the AVROBIO team in the two years since AVROBIO Inc, a public gene therapy biotechnology company raised over US$100 Million in it's initial public offering (IPO)  on the NASDAQ stock exchange in July 2018.  Less than one month after going public, AVROBIO was trading with a market...

New Disposable Sleeve allows MolecuLight i:X to Be Used in Operating Rooms (for skin grafts and skin substitutes), in Covid-19 Wards and in MRSA Isolation Wards

Toronto, CANADA – (July 9, 2020) MolecuLight Inc., the leader in point-of-care fluorescence imaging for real-time detection of bacteria in wounds, announces the launch of its new i:X Sterile Surgical Sleeve Convenience Kit for imaging bacteria in wounds using the MolecuLight i:X in a surgical and/or isolation setting. The convenience kit includes a unique disposable surgical sleeve that is fitted to neatly shroud the i:X device via an adaptor to align the optics of the...

A simple but highly sensitive blood test has been found to accurately diagnose and classify different types of brain tumours, resulting in more accurate diagnosis, less invasive methods and better treatment planning in the future for the patients.

The findings, published in Nature Medicine on June 22, describe a non-invasive and easy way to classify brain tumours.

The study is also being presented virtually the same day at the prestigious Opening Plenary Sessionof the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2020: "Turning Science into...

UHN is pleased to announce that Mark Taylor, PEng MSc MBA has accepted the position of Director, UHN Technology Development and Commercialization (TDC), effective immediately. Mark has been with TDC since 2008; he was promoted to Associate Director in 2019 and has been Interim Director since February of this year.

Mark brings a wealth of business and commercialization experience, with previous roles in industry as well as several years developing research innovations within the health sciences sector. An engineer by training, his initial focus at TDC was on the development of medical technologies; he was also instrumental in the creation of the original plans for the launch of the Techna...

New Code Enables Facility Reimbursement to Hospital Outpatient Centers Performing MolecuLight’s Procedure Benefiting Wound Care Patients

Toronto, CANADA – (June 11, 2020) MolecuLight Inc., the leader in point-of-care fluorescence imaging for real-time detection of bacteria in wounds, announces that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has assigned an Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) code 5722 for the MolecuLight i:X imaging procedure for point-of-care real-time fluorescence wound imaging for bacterial presence, location and load (CPT^® code 0598T (Category III)). The new APC code is effective July 1, 2020 and enables facility reimbursement under the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment...

Treadwell Therapeutics Announces US FDA Clearance of IND Application for Phase 1/2 Study of HPK1 Inhibitor, CFI-402411

June 02, 2020 04:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Treadwell Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics for highly aggressive cancers, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its Investigational New Drug (IND) application to evaluate its third therapeutic candidate, CFI-402411, an oral, first-in-class inhibitor of hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1) in patients with solid tumors as a monotherapy or in combination with PD1 pathway blockade....

A Big Deal for Cancer Therapeutics

Antibody-based therapeutics company Northern Biologics was acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim.

Northern Biologics Inc., a UHN spin-off and developer of antibody-based therapeutics, was acquired today by Boehringer Ingelheim (BI), the world’s largest private pharmaceutical company.

Northern Biologics was the first modern UHN spin-off backed by venture capital. Its acquisition follows in the footsteps of a string of similar successes for UHN spin-offs created by UHN’s Technology Development and...

Three Finalists Announced for the 2020 Bloom Burton Award

Award Recognizes the Year’s Most Significant Contributor to Canada’s Innovative Healthcare Industry

TORONTO, April 30, 2020 - Bloom Burton & Co. is pleased to announce the three finalists for the 2020 Bloom Burton Award. Bestowed annually and nominated by the public at large, the Bloom Burton Award honours an individual who made the greatest contribution to Canada’s innovative healthcare industry in the previous year.

The three finalists are, in alphabetical order:

• Gordon Keller, Scientific Co-founder, BlueRock Therapeutics;
• Arun Menawat, CEO of Profound Medical; and
• Simon Pimstone, President and CEO, Xenon Pharmaceuticals.

All three finalists will be invited to and celebrated at the Bloom Burton Award Gala on...

As announced today by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Navdeep Bains Thornhill Medical, a leading innovator in medical technologies, has agreed to produce and deliver 500 mobile compact ventilator systems as part of Canada’s response to fight COVID-19.

Today’s announcement comes on the heels of an agreement signed with the Government of Ontario and Thornhill Medical to produce and supply several of its compact, portable ICU units for use across the province. Thornhill Medical’s MOVES® SLC™ is already in use around the world and is produced at the company’s own manufacturing facility in Toronto.

Following the recent signing of a letter of intent by the Government of Canada, Thornhill Medical moved immediately to scale up its production plans and expand its...

For those looking for a way to help during this uncertain time, Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation has established an emergency #COVID19 fund to support the highest-priority needs of UHN's Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals during this pandemic. The funds raised by this emergency COVID-19 fund will support the most urgent needs of UHN's Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals during this pandemic.  Please visit their website for more information. 

Thornhill Medical, a company that got its start at UHN, manufactures a portable ventilator that can help Canadian patients with COVID-19.

The portable intensive care unit, operated by battery power, has a ventilator, oxygen concentrator and can perform vital signs monitoring, among other features.

Originally developed to treat members of the military who had been critically injured and were in need of transport, the technology will now be used to assist patients who need life support due to the current global pandemic, says Dr. Joe Fisher, an anesthesiologist at Toronto General Hospital and a professor in the department of anesthesiology and pain medicine in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto (U of T).

Dr. Fisher is co-founder of Thornhill Medical, which manufactures the device. He is a Director of the company, as is Dr. Ludwik Fedorko, a former...

UHN researchers are leading a study to see if a drug which has been licensed for decades to ward off malaria and treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis can protect healthcare workers from COVID-19.

Dr. Kevin Kain, a researcher at the Toronto General Hospital (TGH) Research Institute, and Dr. Megan Landes, an Emergency Department (ED) physician at TGH, are co-Principal Investigators in the study, which will investigate whether a safe derivative of chloroquine – called hydroxychloroquine – can protect essential frontline staff in the ED and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) from COVID-19.

Called the HEalth Care Worker pROphylaxis (HEROs) Trial, it's one of the world's first...

Toronto General Hospital number four in the world

For the second year in a row, Toronto General Hospital (TGH) has been ranked one of the world's best hospitals in a global ranking. TGH is ranked number four – up three spots from last year's inaugural listing – and is again the only Canadian hospital in the top 10.

TGH is cited for its world-leading Sprott Department of Surgery, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and Soham & Shaila Ajmera Family Transplant Centre. TGH's excellence in the fields of endocrinology, autoimmunology and diabetes, its work to provide access to high-quality care to patients in remote communities, and a strong strategic plan were also contributing factors.

The ranking, managed by a global market research company in partnership with Newsweek magazine, rated more than 1,000 healthcare institutions. The 2020 top-10 list was...

Closing the Gap

New conductive biomaterial helps damaged hearts beat normally by reconnecting healthy tissue.

Heart muscle cells known as cardiomyocytes (illustrated above) are responsible for heart contractions. They are arranged side-to-side and are tightly connected to each other.

Like the arms of spectators rising and falling in unison during a ‘stadium wave’ at a game, the muscles in the heart contract in unison across the heart. This concerted contraction efficiently pumps blood throughout the body.

However, after a heart attack, regions of the heart can become damaged and lose their ability to contract. “When a heart attack occurs, muscle cells known as cardiomyocytes die in the...

A therapeutic agent arising from research conducted in 2002 by Drs. Josef Penninger and Michael Crackower at UHN's Princess Margaret Hospital is now being tested for effectiveness against COVID-19.

See details:

https://nationalpost.com/news/ubc-research-helps-fuel-potential-covid-19-treatment/wcm/a3b6d1d2-0548-4ba6-84e9-3606917d167a

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ubc-researcher-treatment-covid19-1.5477607

PRESS RELEASE

NoNO Inc. Reports Groundbreaking Results from the Phase 3 ESCAPE-NA1 Study of the Peptide, Nerinetide, in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Data presented at the plenary session of the International Stroke Conference 2020 and simultaneously published online in The Lancet​

The novel peptide nerinetide, without prior administration of alteplase, improved functional outcome, reduced mortality and reduced infarct volume among acute ischemic stroke patientsTORONTO, Feb. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NoNO Inc., a privately-held biotechnology company, today reported results from the pivotal Phase 3 ESCAPE-NA1 study, a multicenter, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, parallel group,...

FACIT announces Artificial Intelligence pitch as Winner of 2020 Falcons' Fortunes on World Cancer Day

Annual cancer-focused pitch competition showcases Ontario's emerging entrepreneurs and FACIT's commitment to drive local value from intellectual property

TORONTO, ON (February 5, 2020) – In front of another at-capacity, packed house of scientists, innovation experts and community stakeholders, FACIT crowned the newest winner of its annual Falcons’ Fortunes pitch competition. The winning pitch was delivered by Mr. Meir Dick of Bridge7 Oncology. This local start-up is scaling clinical expertise with AI to automate and improve the efficiency, consistency and quality of delivering cancer care....

TIO Bioventures Launches Treadwell Therapeutics, Seeded With $27m to Develop First-in-Class Oral Medicines Against Novel Targets

Industry Veteran Rachel W. Humphrey, M.D., Head of R&D at TIO Discovery, appointed as Board Member and Chief Medical Officer of Treadwell Therapeutics

January 13, 2020 08:05 AM Eastern Standard Time

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TIO Bioventures, an emerging life science venture creation fund with a mission to build companies with innovative anti-cancer therapies, today announced the launch of Treadwell Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology company exploiting cancer cells’ vulnerabilities to develop first-in-class and best-in-class small molecules to address unmet needs in patients with cancer. Treadwell, one of TIO Bioventures family...

Air Date: December 17, 2019 | Length: 37:14

In the final episode of Behind the Breakthrough, we hear from Dr. Donald Weaver, director of the Krembil Research Institute. Dr. Weaver talks about his groundbreaking research into Alzheimer’s disease, and explains how drug research works and the challenges of getting to a clinical trial. He also tells us why his response to questions of “What next?” is a cheery “More failure!,” the purpose of his weekly story-telling in team meetings, and talks about his poetry career.

Get this episode:​

...