Posted: June 30, 2011 In: Portal News

On June 23, the innovation captured by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research’s (OICR) commercialization team was on full display to members of the biotechnology and finance sectors at the inaugural OICR Technology Expo. Those in attendance from across North America heard about the major advancements being made in Ontario in fields ranging from privacy software for medical records to nanoparticles for the targeted delivery of cancer drugs.

In his opening remarks, OICR’s chief commercial officer Mr. Frank Stonebanks, re-affirmed that the Institute is open for business and that there are multiple ways to undertake a partnership with OICR.

OICR chief commercial officer Mr. Frank Stonebanks welcomes guests to the 2011 OICR Technology Expo.

To view a photo album of the OICR Technology Expo please click here. (S.Sacco/CP Images)

“Collaborations can take the form of a traditional research and development alliance, in-licensing of a technology for development through OICR or by partnering with Triphase, a new private, for-profit proof-of-concept focused accelerator company recently launched by OICR,” he stated.

Stonebanks noted that many of the technologies being showcased at the Expo were recipients of capital funding through OICR’s Intellectual Property Development and Commercialization Fund (IPDC Fund). The IPDC Fund provides support for promising technologies in the mid-late preclinical stages of development in areas such as therapeutics, medical technology and diagnostics. Since its inception three years ago, more than 16 investments have been made to bridge the “valley of death” in development – the financing gap that exists between early stage public funding and private investment in a new technology. In addition to capital, having a project funded by the IPDC Fund means that it will also benefit from the expert management of a multi-disciplinary commercialization team.

Following Stonebanks’ introduction, those at the Expo were treated to a keynote address entitled “Health care deal making post-recession” by Mr. Charles Ditkoff, vice chairman, global corporate and investment banking, Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The address was significant given that OICR’s commercialization group’s approach is aimed at supporting early-stage innovation while mitigating issues such as limited available capital, challenges within the Canadian venture capital sector and risk aversion within the financial sector.

“Not only has the Technology Expo given us the opportunity to highlight some of the great cancer-related technology that has been developed in Ontario, but it also allows us to show that OICR is focused on commercialization and that our novel approach is indeed working,” says Stonebanks.

Eight companies and their technologies were featured at the Technology Expo:

• Xagenic, Inc.: Rapid, PCR-free infectious disease molecular diagnostics;
• Privacy Analytics, Inc.: Software for the de-identification of medical records;
• Harmonic Medical, Inc.: Ultrasound-guided focused ultrasound therapy;
• TORCell Therapeutics, Inc.: Novel T-cell immunotherapy;
• DLVR Therapeutics, Inc: Multifunctional nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery of cancer therapeutics;
• Smart-Well Plate(TM): A digital microfluidic platform for high-throughput screening;
• Cellax: Polymer-based nanomedicine technology;
• Coil-RFA: Novel radio-frequency ablation technology.

The slides presented by speakers at the Technology Expo are now available at here and will be accessible until July 15. For more information about all of OICR’s commercialization projects please visit: the commercialization portfolio.

Following the presentations, those at the Technology Expo were given the opportunity to learn more about the technologies being showcased through a poster session and one-on-one meetings with company representatives. The event concluded with a tour of OICR’s drug discovery and genomics laboratories at the MaRS Centre led by president and scientific director Dr. Tom Hudson.

To contact Mr. Frank Stonebanks please Frank [dot] Stonebanksoicr [dot] on [dot] ca (click here.)

OICR Technology Expo 2011 - Photo album

OICR cheif commercial officer Mr. Frank Stonebanks welcomes guests to the 2011 OICR Technology Expo. (S.Sacco/CP Images)

Keynote speaker Mr. Charles Ditkoff delives his address “Health care deal making post-recession.”(S.Sacco/CP Images)

Privacy Analytics Inc. CFO Mr. Sheldon Stevens presents at the Tech Expo about the companies innovative new software for de-identifying medical records.(S.Sacco/CP Images)

Dr. Li Zhang attended the 2011 Tech Expo to present TORCell Therapeutics Inc.’s novel T-cell immunotherapy technology.(S.Sacco/CP Images)

Mr. John Marshal, president and CEO of the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation informs the audience about his organization’s investment models.(S.Sacco/CP Images)

Dr. Li Zhang shows her poster presentation to OICR executive-in-residence Mr. Frank Gleeson.(S.Sacco/CP Images)

OICR president and scientific director Dr. Tom Hudson delivers an overview of OICR’s research activities.(S.Sacco/CP Images)

Mr. Ihor Boszko of Xagenic Inc. speaks about the company’s rapid, PCR-free infectious disease molecular diagnostics technology.(S.Sacco/CP Images)

Dr. Kullervo Hynynen speaks at the Tech Expo about the ultrasound-guided focused ultrasound therapy technology developed by Harmonic Medical Inc.(S.Sacco/CP Images)

Dr. Brian Barber presents DLVR Therapeutics Inc.’s multifunctional nanoparticles for targeted cancer drug delivery.(S.Sacco/CP Images)

Dr. Aaron Schimmer of the University Health Network poses with his poster presentation on the development of novel proteasome inhibitors.(S.Sacco/CP Images)

Drs. Shyh-Dar (Star) Li and Mark Ernsting of OICR’s Medicinal Chemistry Platform pose with their poster about Cellax, a polymer-based nanomedicine technology.(S.Sacco/CP Images)