1. Ontario Centres of Excellence to flex financial muscle under new leadership

    February 25, 2010 by AURP Canada

    RE$EARCH MONEY
    January 25, 2009

    Leadership of Ontario Centres of Excellence Inc (OCE), one of Ontario’s key innovation engines, is being taken up by technology commercialization veteran Tom Corr. Effective March 1st, Corr will move from his current position at the University of Waterloo and its affiliated Accelerator Centre and guide the organization which has recently expanded and taken on a wide range of new responsibilities aimed at stimulating the uptake of S&T in the province’s diverse business community.

    OCE is currently being led by interim CEO David Choat, who stepped into the breach following the September 25th departure of Mark Romoff after a five-year term.

    With an annual budget of approximately $100 million, OCE had demonstrated impressive flexibility over its 23-year history, with its most recent evolution beginning in 2004 with the amalgamation of several semi-autonomous centres into a single corporate entity. Since that time, it has taken on several new mandates including a collaborative working relationship with MaRS Discovery District and a Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR).

    For Corr, heading up such a dynamic organization represents the culmination of a career that began with more than 30 years in the software sector, including the founding, management and sale of two start-ups. A career in commercialization followed teaching stints at the University of Toronto, McMaster University and the University of Waterloo. At the latter, Corr was associate VP commercialization and CEO of its affiliated Accelerator for Commercialization Excellence (ACE). Prior to joining the University of Waterloo, he worked at the U of T as director of commercialization (information technology and communications).

    “The OCE took off five years ago when the five centres were brought together. It’s worked well and allowed MRI (Ministry of Research and Innovation) to focus on areas they see as important for the Ontario economy,” says Corr. “It’s quite a large organization now with a total budget of about $100 million… There are now six centres and more opportunities than there are resources.”

    In recent years, the provincial government has chosen OCE to embark on a number of new ventures, often in collaboration with other partners such as the MaRS Discovery District and the University of Waterloo’s ACE. More recently, the Ontario government realigned its program offerings with four areas of focus under the moniker, Ontario Network of Excellence (ONE). The OCE was charged with heading up the province’s efforts in academic-industry collaboration.

    Perhaps even more significantly, OCE was chosen to head up a new federal CECR called the Centre for the Commercialization of Research, giving the organization added clout. MaRS was also chosen to run a new CECR (MaRS Innovation) to augment its role as a business accelerator, focused on the development of entrepreneurial talent required to run new technology ventures.

    “We want to pick winners and losers at a very early stage. We’re also working closely with MaRS to ensure that we work in a complementary fashion,” says Corr.

    In the near term, however, Corr will face the prospect of possible budget cuts due to the province’s growing deficit which stands at $25 billion. But speculation of across the board cuts have not hindered his enthusiasm for honing OCE into a potent agent for economic growth. “We have a good shot at sustaining our level of funding because we’re all about creating jobs,” he says.

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  2. Topping the Canadian Innovation list

    November 19, 2009 by AURP Canada

    November 15, 2009
    by Vanessa Caldwell

    Looking for an innovative Canadian company? Look no further – nine of the 20 finalists that will compete for the Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) 2009 Award for Canadian Innovation Leader are clients of MaRS and our partner organizations Communitech and the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI).

    The CIX Top 20 recognizes the most innovative ideas, products and services and companies in Canada.  Each of the 20 finalists, all technology-based compaies, will pitch thier product or service at the Canadian Innovation Exchange on December 2.  They’ll have just seven minutes to win over audience members and judges before the CIX community voes for and crowns Canada’s most innovative organization.

    MaRS Clients

    • CognoVision Solutions Inc. develops automated audience measurement systems and people counting solutions for the digital signage and out-of-home advertising industry.
    • NIMTech Inc. has developed SonicGauge, a patent-pending tools with smart-sensing technology to “see” chemical reactions occurring inside a pipe in real time.
    • Rypple is an online feedback tool that helps individuals and organizations improve.
    • Skymeter Corp. provides a complete GPS-based system that generates pricing data for pay-as-you-go insurance, parking and roads.

    Communitech Clients

    • Aeryon Labs Inc. designs and manufactures small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and related systems.
    • IGLOO Inc. develops online community and social networking solutions for groups, teams and organizations.
    • Metranome is a mobile video service that delivers personal content to a wide range of mobile phones and wireless networks.
    • PostRank Inc. monitors and collects social engagement events and correlates it with online content in real-time across the web.

    OCRI Clients

    • YOU i Labs Inc. is the creator of the world’s first intelligent software graphics processing unit.

    For more information about or to register for the Canadian Innovation Exchange, visit www.canadianinnovationexchange.com. CIX is part of Innovation Week 09, a series designed to galvanize key present and future players in Canada’s innovation economy.  Events will take place at the Design Exchange in Toronto on November 30 – December 2.

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  3. MaRS Mission to New York: Success through perspiration

    November 4, 2009 by AURP Canada

    November 3, 2009 – Was it Edison who said that “Success is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration”? After countless rounds of coaching and dress rehearsals, the time had come to get on stage for six MaRS high-potential clients. All participants were selected by a panel of US venture capital firms to present at 2009 Life Sciences and Healthcare Venture Summit in NYC.

    Six Ontario companies out of sixty presenters is not a bad score, is it? We’ll be able to tell in a few months whether the initial interest from prospective investors and strategic partners has resulted in actual commerce. For now, I’m pleased to see us help really young, small companies to punch above their weight and get in front of important audiences. Take Somnaform, producer of a treatment for sleep apnea (and snoring!) who was recently profiled on BNN’s Next technology segment. It’s a big win for these guys that we helped make happen.
    Other clients involved in the conference include Biomedical Photometrics, Colibri Technologies, INTERxVENT, MedCurrent, Profound Medical and Rejuven8 Labroratories. Download the dealbook to read all their stories (PDF) or flip through it below.

    The mission to NYC is just one of many small steps towards addressing the big challenges of launching a new enterprise, and it is so easy to get bogged down in all the difficult bits of developing a brand-new business. I had a perfect illustration of how hard work ultimately pays off on the way back from New York. As fate would have it, on my flight back to Toronto I ran into Nick Koudas, Founder of Sysomos (and a master of perspirationJ). I first started working with Nick in February of 2007 when Sysomos was nothing more than a vague concept for commercializing Blogscope, a technology developed by his graduate student. Today, Sysomos has 12 employees and a growing roster of big name clients.

    In short, perspiration pays off… most of the time.

    For more information visit http://blog.marsdd.com/

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  4. Future Technology 2009 The year of technology invention (milliongenerator)

    September 29, 2009 by dgann1

    Are we keeping up with the change? Is the world commercializing? Watch this!

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  5. MaRS Innovation Appoints President and CEO

    June 2, 2009 by AURP Canada

    Dr. Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein brings global perspective to important leadership role at MaRS Innovation

    TORONTO (June 1, 2009) – The Board of Directors of MaRS Innovation is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein as President and CEO, effective June 8, 2009.

    “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Hofstein to Canada and to MaRS Innovation,” said Mary Jo Haddad, Chair, MaRS Innovation Board of Directors, and President and CEO, The Hospital for Sick Children. “His outstanding credentials and experience stood out in our extensive international search.  His is exceptionally qualified to build and lead this important partnership to a recognized success.” 

    MaRS Innovation was created as a single, market-facing commercialization storefront for Toronto’s renowned academic institutions. It aggregates the discovery pipeline in life sciences, physical sciences, information and communication technology, and cleantech from its member institutions, which include three universities, 10 academic teaching hospitals and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.  MaRS Innovation, with support from MaRS and BioDiscovery Toronto, will advance commercialization through industry partnerships, licensing and company creation.

    Dr. Hofstein joins MaRS Innovation from Israel, where he has held the position of President and CEO of Hadasit Ltd., the technology transfer company of the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem, since 1999. He has also served as Chair of Hadasit BioHolding Ltd., publicly traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), since 2005. In these roles, he was responsible for the commercialization of intellectual property emerging from the Hadassah Medical Organization, clinical trials with industry partners, as well as the launch, development and strategic oversight of a series of medical devices, biomedicine and diagnostic equipment spin-off companies.

    “I am delighted to take on this new challenge,” said Dr. Hofstein. “MaRS Innovation is a unique global initiative, and I must commend the institutional leaders in Toronto for pulling this innovation powerhouse together to strengthen commercialization output.  In my experience, good science is the single most important ingredient for success in this business. Toronto is already known as one of the strongest science cities in the world, and it continues to grow. Leading MaRS Innovation is a wonderful opportunity to do something remarkable.”

    From 1997 to 1999 Dr. Hofstein was President of Mindsense BioSystems Ltd., an Israeli company that develops neuropsychiatric immune assays.  Previously, he was Vice President Business Development for Ecogen Inc., a subsidiary of Monsanto, in Langhorne, Pa. Dr. Hofstein is a co-founder and Board Member of ILSI, the Israeli Life Science Industry Organization, and co-founder and executive in Israel’s Tech Transfer Network (ITTN).  Other Directorships held on TASE publicly traded companies include: Bioline RX (drug development), Exalenz (medical devices); and Evogene (agri-bio). He has also served as Chairman of BIOMED, Israel’s annual biomedical conference, from 2005 to 2007.

    “On behalf of the Board of Director’s, I would like to thank Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, CEO MaRS Discovery District, for her important contribution to the launch of MaRS Innovation, and for serving as Interim Managing Director for the past year,” said Ms. Haddad. “The foundations are built and the organization is well-positioned for this next phase. We are pleased that Ilse will remain an active board member, providing a wealth of knowledge and experience as MaRS Innovation matures.”

    About MaRS Innovation
    MaRS Innovation (www.marsdd.com/mars-innovation) provides an integrated commercialization platform that harnesses the economic potential of the exceptional discovery pipeline of 14 leading Toronto academic institutions. MaRS Innovation is a non-profit organization with an independent industry-led Board of Directors, funded through the Government of Canada’s CECR Program and contributions of its member institutions, as well as support from the  Province of Ontario.

    Contact Information:
    For more information or to arrange an interview with Dr. Hofstein please contact Susan McGovern, Vice President MaRS Innovation, at smcgovern@marsinnovation.com or 647-260-7878.

    BACKGROUNDER

    About Dr. Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein.

    Dr. Hofstein received his PhD and Master of Science degrees in Life Science and Chemistry from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. His Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Physics was attained from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  Awards received while completing post-doctoral training and research at the Harvard Medical School in Boston in the Departments of Biological Chemistry and Neurobiology include the Hereditary Disease Foundation Fellowship in 1982-83, and the Chaim Weizmann Postdoctoral Fellowship in 1980-82.

    During the 1980s he held the roles of Scientific Director of Biotechnological Applications Ltd., and Manager R&D and Chief of Immunochemistry at the International Genetic Scientific Partnership, organizations that were pivotal in the development of Israel’s world-leading biotechnology sector.

    Dr. Hofstein was Scientific Director of the Israeli office of Ecogen Inc., a subsidiary of Monsanto, for over six years before assuming the role of Vice President, Business Development for Ecogen in Langhorne, Pa.

    From 1997 to 1999 Dr. Hofstein was President of Mindsense Biosystems Ltd., an Israeli company that develops neuropsychiatric immune assays. From 1999 to present, he has held the position of  President and CEO of Hadasit Ltd., the technology transfer company of the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem.

    He has served as Chair of Hadasit BioHolding Ltd., publicly traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), since 2005.  Other Directorships held on TASE publicly traded companies include: Bioline RX (drug development), Exalenz (medical devices), and Evogene (agri-bio).  He has also served as Chairman of BIOMED, Israel’s annual biomedical conference, from 2005 to 2007.  In addition, Dr. Hofstein is a co-founder and Board member of ILSI, the Israeli Life Science Industry Organization, and a co-founder and executive in Israel’s Tech Transfer Network (ITTN).

    MaRS Innovation Member Institutions:

    • Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care
    • BioDiscovery Toronto
    • Bloorview Kids Rehab
    • Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
    • MaRS Discovery District
    • Mount Sinai Hospital
    • Ontario college of Art and Design
    • Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
    • Ryerson University
    • St. Michael’s Hospital
    • Sunnybrook Health Science Centre
    • The Hospital for Sick Children
    • The New Women’s College Hospital
    • Toronto Rehabilitation Institute
    • University Health Network
    • University of Toronto

    MaRS Innovation Board of Directors:

    • W. Geoffrey Beattie – Deputy Chair & President, Woodbridge Company Ltd., Thomson Reuters Corp.
    • Christopher C. Capelli, M.D. – Vice President, Technology Based Ventures, Office of Technology Commercialization, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre.
    • Ron Close – Entrepreneur-in-Residence, MaRS, and Executive Entrepreneur-in-Residence, The Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario.
    • Nicholas Darby – President, Darby & Associates Consulting LLC.
    • Mary Jo Haddad – President & CEO, The Hospital for Sick Children.
    • Jacqueline H.R. Le Laux – General Counsel, Purdue Pharma Canada.
    • David A. Leslie – Former Chairman & CEO, Ernst & Young, and Chair, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
    • Michael H. May – President, Rimon Therapeutics.
    • Chandra  J. Panchal – President, Mentra Nova Enterprises Inc.
    • Ilse Treurnicht – CEO, MaRS Discovery District.
    • Donald A. Wright – President & CEO, The Winnington Capital Group Inc.

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