Ontario provides $500K grant to innovative health technology company in Mississauga

A Mississauga health care technology company is one of 11 to receive a $500,000 grant from the province.

The Ontario government announced $5.5 million to help 11 companies in the life sciences sector develop and launch made-in-Ontario health care technologies and innovations.

Vic Fedeli, minister of economic development, job creation and trade, made the announcement today (July 8) in Mississauga.

“These investments signal our government’s continued commitment to promoting the very best of Ontario’s life sciences sector,” said Fedeli. “These ambitious companies demonstrate the innovation, talent and expertise that has the potential to improve lives around the world while creating good-paying jobs at home.”

HDAX Therapeutics, a Mississauga company, which develops medicine and next-generation therapeutics, will receive $500,000, the province announced.

The company finds solutions for diseases driven by microtubule dysfunction to achieve better patient outcomes. Microtubule dysfunction is a common feature of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

The funding is part of $15 million the province allocated to the Life Sciences Innovation Fund in 2022. The fund aims to help entrepreneurs and innovators bring their ideas and prototypes from the lab to the marketplace.

The other 10 companies are:

• Apiary Therapeutics, Toronto, engineers cells that act as advanced drug delivery vehicles for a patient, offering advantages over traditional methods like repeat injections.
• Cohesys Inc., Toronto, has created a special adhesive bone tape used by orthopedic surgeons in place of plates and screws for non-loadbearing bone fracture repairs. The technology aims to reduce surgery times with better patient outcomes.
• Gold Sentintel Inc., Waterloo, has advanced AI-powered technology for seniors living in care by identifying early signs of illness and detecting and preventing falls.
• KVR Pharmaceuticals Inc., Toronto, developed products to treat patients with bleeding disorders and related diseases. The company is also exploring how coagulation medicines could be used in the treatment of cancer.
• Noa Therapeutics Inc., Toronto, is developing non-steroidal therapies to transform the treatment of immune diseases.
• Novel Biotechnology Inc., Vaughan, has created technology that enhances the manufacture of plasmid DNA, which is used to make vaccines and gene therapies.
• Quthero Canada Ltd., Toronto, uses bio-engineering technology to help skin healing and regeneration for dermatology and plastic surgery patients.
• Radialis Inc., Thunder Bay, developed high-definition positron emission tomography imagers. The technology creates a very clear image of an area of concern in a patient’s body, which helps the clinical team make the best diagnosis and treatment plan.
• Realize Medical Inc., Ottawa, uses virtual reality technology to create 3D models, enabling clinicians working remotely to collaborate and better plan surgeries.
• Tenomix Inc., London, uses robotics, ultrasound imaging, AI and machine learning to improve the way cancer tissues are processed in pathology laboratories, leading to better-informed treatment decisions for patients.

To date, $8.5 million has been provided through the Life Sciences Innovation Fund, helping 17 companies develop and launch new technologies.

The Ontario Centre of Innovation administers the  Life Sciences Innovation Fund.

Lead photo: Chokniti Khongchum