Research and Innovation : Innovation + Job News

Cipher Pharmaceuticals, based in Mississauga, has had its drug CIP-TRAMADOL ER, a pain-killer, accepted for review by Health Canada. The company expects the review to be completed by early 2011. The product has already received tentative FDA approval in the United States. It is an extended release version of tramadol, which already has a $50 million market in Canada (up 30 per cent in one year).

Cipher President and CEO Larry Andrews says it is one of three new drug products the company has in late-stage development. The company's lead compound, a prescription medication for managing cholesterol, is already marketed in the United States under the trade name Lipofen. The third new product, the acne medication isotretinoin, is in Phase 3 trials in the US.

The company went public in 2004 and employs 14 people today, and expects to grow revenue significantly as its products go to market. Given the typically glacial pace of the pharmaceutical research industry, Andrews says the current situation is a relief to be in. "It's nice to see some light at the end of the tunnel," he says. Encouragingly, in a business where financial health is often measured by the ability to generate new capital, the company has a low burn rate. With cash reserves of $9 million, the company spent only $1 million in 2009. Andrews says they are currently able to fund their work through their own revenues.

Author: Edward Keenan
Source: Larry Andrews, President and CEO, Cipher Pharmaceuticals

Got an Innovation and Job News tip? Email [email protected].

On March 26, the Ministry of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages announced the April 1 launch of the Canada Media Fund, which will invest $350 million across the country in "innovative Canadian content and software applications for current and emerging platforms through financial support and industry research."

Though the fund is not intended primarily as a job-creation strategy, the investment in innovation is likely to create or sustain a significant number of high-value knowledge jobs in software and digital development, says Canadian Media Fund Director of Marketing and Communicatons Betsy Chaly. The fund will invest $27 million into an "experimental stream" to develop leading edge application and content for internet, wireless and mobile devices, as well as emerging platforms. The rest of the money will be allocated to the "Convergence Stream," which targets television shows and related digital media content in the drama, documentary, children's, variety and performing arts genres.

"In launching the Canada Media Fund, we've taken an important step towards supporting a truly modern, multi-platform, industry and a digital content strategy for Canada," said federal Heritage Minister James Moore in the announcement of the fund.

Author: Edward Keenan
Source: Betsy Chaly, Director of Marketing and Communications, Canada Media Fund

Got an Innovation and Job News tip? Email [email protected].

When WIND mobile launched in December 2009, it was the first cellular network provider to launch in Canada in more than a decade. Now, just months later, a second new service has launched retail operations in preparation for switching its network on in mid-May.

On March 18, Public Mobile opened 15 stores in Toronto and 10 more in Montreal to sell phones and service prior to the network's launch. Public Mobile media relations person Lisa Papas says that the company has been staffing up, conducting research and building its network since its inception in 2008. She points out that the company is hiring now (17 Toronto positions are listed on its website) and says the pace of growth at this stage has been hard to keep up with -- "We've been so busy during the launch I haven't even had a chance to post a position I'm hiring for."

Public Mobile CEO Alek Krstajic said in his announcement of the store openings that the company will double the number of locations open to the public before the launch of its network's service in mid-May of this year. The company is pitching its service based on local unlimited talk and text plans for $40 per month, and has stated that it does not see itself competing with the gizmo-happy web, video and application-based  smartphone services the traditional mobile providers in Canada have focused on.

Author: Edward Keenan
Source: Lisa Papas, media relations, Public Mobile

Got an Innovation and Job News tip? Contact Edward Keenan at [email protected].

When the National Society of Black Engineers brings its conference to Toronto March 31-April 4, it expects to contribute up to $30 million to the local economy (including 9,000 hotel room nights).

The Toronto conference is the first time the 33,000-member US-based organization has held its annual meet-up outside the United States. The society's Pamela Sharif says Toronto was chosen because of the large number of the organization's members in Canada, and because the key corporate partners of the organization -- cutting edge engineering employers -- generally have offices in Toronto. "The fact that Canada -- and Toronto in particular -- is an international leader in the technology sector is a huge factor," Sharif says.

During the conference, local high school students from Mother Theresa and Cardinal Newman Catholic schools in Scarborough will have the chance to participate in hands-on activities (including, Sharif says, robot and car design and construction) meant to introduce them to the profession.

Author: Edward Keenan
Source: Pamela Sharif, Media Relations, National Society of Black Engineers

Got an Innovation and Job News tip? Contact Edward Keenan at [email protected].

Global technology giant Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and the Ontario government have announced a five-year, $432.8 million innovation project for the company's Markham, Ontario campus that will employ 637 people, including 100 new hires.

The R&D project will aim to "merge high-performance computer and graphics processors that excel at processing multimedia, like video or 3D games, onto a single silicon die." The project will receive $56.4 million in funding from the Ontario government and see $376.4 million in investment from AMD. The company's Markham office currently employs 1,600 tech professionals, and the company says 527 of those will be retained to work on this project, while an additional 100 new staff will be hired.

"Dirk Meyer, AMD president and CEO, says, "AMD Fusion technology is set to enable significant breakthroughs in personal computing and our R&D facility in Markham, Ontario is playing an instrumental role in creating this technology." He calls the company's Markham office  a wellspring of technical innovation.

The Ontario government hopes the investment will make Markham a hub for the global graphics industry. Minister of Economic Development and Trade pointed out the "immense potential" that the industry represents for Ontario's economy, given the growth of digital animation and video games.

Author: Edward Keenan
Source: Eric Shapiro, Communications, Government of Ontario

Got an Innovation and Job News tip? Contact Edward Keenan at [email protected].

Open Text, Canada's largest independent software company, will embark on a five-year, $225 million research project at its Waterloo, Ottawa and Richmond Hill offices, it announced last week. The undertaking includes a grant of $33.75 million from the Ontario government and is expected to create 400 jobs across the province.

The company -- whose current products are used by 100 million users in 114 countries -- specializes in digital data storage and management. This new project will conduct research into emerging market sectors, including green computing and mobile applications.

According to company media spokesperson Stephanie Fazio, the new jobs will be overwhelmingly for R&D professionals, though she said that at this time the company was unable to project exactly how many of the new employees would work from Open Text's GTA hub in Richmond Hill.

Author: Edward Keenan
Source: Stephanie Fazio, Media Relations, Open Text

Got an Innovation and Job News tip? Contact Edward Keenan at [email protected].

YM Biosciences, based in Mississauga, is in the business of turning our country's investments in health sciences research and innovation into products that can be brought to market and improve public health. "We take our public investment in innovation and turn it into a return for society," says David Allan, the company's CEO. Hospitals and universities spend billions of public dollars on basic research, he notes, but very little of it is pursued beyond the basic stage. YM Biosciences uses that basic research to pursue clinical trials to prove the efficacy of drugs for the market.

Allan says he is surprised and somewhat dismayed that there are very few companies doing what his does, noting that the investment in research we make as citizens is so often wasted -- that is, it finds no public health application. And he also sees it as a huge opportunity, "it's almost free food," he says. Which doesn't mean conducting clinical trials is inexpensive.

Last week, YM Biosciences secured US$17.5 million in financing by issuing shares. The money will be used to pursue three products it is currently developing. Allan says that as drug testers, YM Biosciences is a "huge consumer of capital," and that the company has raised roughly $200 million in financing in the 15 years since its founding.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: David Allan, CEO, YM Biosciences

Bioprocessing Alliance Inc, a new biologics drug development "think tank" meant to assist innovator companies with managing their third-party relationships, has set up shop in the 905 to serve the global market, with an "intergalactic headquarters" in Timmins.

Co-founder and director of corporate affairs Terry Cochrane says that in the past 10 years, innovator companies in the drug development field have moved away from constructing their own facilities to manufacture medications for clinical trials. The shift towards outsourcing in the industry has led to increased complexity in managing relationships with service providers. "Our group has extensive experience managing these things from the service-provider side," Cochrane says. "We basically provide the handshake between the service providers and the knowledge companies."

Just launched on March 10, the Alliance is in "encouraging" talks with a long and growing list of potential clients, Cochrane says.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Tom Cochrane, Director of Corporate Affairs, Bioprocessing Alliance Inc.

On March 9, the Toronto Cyclists Union was honoured for the 'Innovation of the Year' at an awards ceremony in Washington, DC hosted by the Alliance for Cycling and Walking. The group was recognized for its Partnership for Integration and Sustainable Transportation, which it runs in conjunction with Culturelink Settlement Services.

"We're honoured to be accepting this award on behalf of our partnership," says Yvonne Bambrick, Executive Director of the Toronto Cyclists Union who received the award in Washington. "This project is helping us to grow roots in Toronto's diverse communities, and to exchange knowledge about sustainable habits here and around the world."

The recognized program involves workshops around the city in 16 different languages, a handbook and a poster campaign.

The union was formed in Toronto in May 2008 to promote cycling as a viable form of transportation and to provide services and information to the city's bike riders.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Yvonne Bambrick, Executive Director, Toronto Cyclists Union

Pretty much since the social media revolution took off in 2008, people began searching for ways to make money from their Twitter accounts. Waterloo University school friends Saif Ajani, Mike Rhemtulla and Minaz Abdulla joined them when they launched their company, Assetize, in September 2009.

"We looked at the growth that had been happening on Twitter and thought that there must be ways to monetize it," says co-founder and CEO Ajani. "If you look at the history of other media developments ... every time there's a place where people can create content, there's been a way to make money from it."

Originally they looked at ways to have people embed advertising into their message streams, but found the approach too invasive. So they developed an application that would display advertising in the frame of links that people tweet (it looks like this). As Ajani says, in addition to direct revenue, this creates viral revenue as links are re-tweeted across the network. The concept took off and in the first six months of operation, Ajani says revenue has grown approximately 50 per cent each month and the company's clients have served more than 147 million ads.

In addition to private users, the concept has attracted business from large mainstream media organizations, including the Canoe network, publishers of the Sun chain of tabloids, who use the service to brand all their content and photos rather than to drive direct revenue. Ajani says the company is in talks now with a major American television network, and is in the process of launching a service for a professional sports organization.

The three founders have been working together from their Financial District offices since the launch, and are in the process of adding their first additional employee. Ajani says that's just the beginning, as he expects Assetize will "double or triple the size of the team over the next year."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Saif Ajani, Co-Founder and CEO, Assetize

Last year was a tough one for much of the Information Technology industry, but when Entertainment-District-based server management firm uptime software closed its 2009 books on January 31, it looked back on a solid year. They launched up.time 5, an update on their server dashboard product, and saw their global client list grow from 580 to 700 companies. Already this year, they've added three new employees to bring their team to roughly 40 members, and a company spokesperson says he expects this year to be even better as they launch another update.

"We're in a good position, and so far we've been growing [revenue] at a clip of about 45 per cent per year" says Nick Johnson, uptime's director of marketing. This year, he says, the company has targeted matching their expansion levels from 2008, when they saw 67 per cent growth. If things go as anticipated, Johnson says the company will add "conservatively, eight-10" more new positions in 2010.

The company was founded by three former Sun Microsystems employees in 2001. At the time, Johnson says, most of the server management products on the market were from multinational corporations, "they were multi-million-dollar solutions." With no venture capital or outside investment, the founders built their company and financed growth through sales.

"These guys have done a good job hiring a team made up of really good talent," Johnson says, noting that all the company's development, marketing and sales is handled in-house from their Richmond Street offices. "When you bring in these types of people, they love to succeed ... and they work their butts off."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Nick Johnson, Director of Marketing, uptime software

When Bill Milne bought his father's sanitation company, Alex Milne Associates, in 1980 and turned it into an environmentally friendly chemical company, people laughed at him. "They thought I was Mr Hug-A-Tree," he says. But despite the lack of green consciousness at the time, Milne knew ecology would become a hot topic. "I'd been a scuba diver since 1950, so I could see the marine environment going downhill," he says. He'd retired at age 40 from his first career and "walked around the world with a backpack and a girlfriend" for two years. That experience, he says, gave him the perspective he needed. His first major product, launched in 1987, was a protective wax for boats that wouldn't destroy the sea bottom.

Today, no one is laughing at Milne. With the explosion of of environmental awareness and the launch of an innovative, all-natural mosquito repellent, he's seen his revenue grow 100 per cent since 2008. He says the launch of Mosquito-less spray, an all natural and effective insect repellent, is a large part of that growth. The product is made from garlic oil, an idea he got when he spoke to some farmers about what they used to keep bugs off their horses.

Looking further into 2010, at age 71, Milne is still working on developing another new, innovative line of products for launch. He's developed and marketed several products for the equine market that use zeolyte, and claims the substance will revolutionize the Canadian gardening market when he brings his new development to stores this year.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Bill Milne, President, Alex Milne Associates

When Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced the new federal budget last week, the headlines were all about the tightening of purse strings.

But there was some good news in the budget for research and innovation adding up to more than $1 billion in investment. The university of Toronto provides a breakdown of its own here and the Cross-Border Biotech Blog has another roundup of innovation highlights here.

Among the research grants, the government will provide $45 million over five years to create 140 post-doctoral fellowships at universities. "Though the vast majority of post-doctoral fellows will not directly benefit from this funding, we hope that it will serve as a benchmark for the value we bring to university research," Dr. Jesse Greener, President of the University of Toronto Post-doctoral Association in a statement.

For small business, the budget included $40 million over five years to for a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Innovation Commercialization Program that supports businesses in developing new prototypes. In a statement issued by Polytechnics Canada, Doug Smith of Conematic Heating systems said the funding would enable "companies such as mine to market our products to federal departments and agencies. These programs will greatly enhance the economic competitiveness of Conematic in these trying times."

Author: Edward Keenan
Sources: Dr. Jesse Greener, President, University of Toronto Post-doctoral Association; University of Toronto News; Polytechnics Canada; Corss Border Bio-tech Blog





 

Everyone in the media world, it seems is obsessed with the future of magazines in an online world. Yorkville-based Mygazines thinks they have at least part of that problem figured out.

The online newsstand was originally launched in June 2008 as a YouTube-inspired portal for consumers to upload magazines they read. But after running into copyright problems, the company was taken over in November of that year by FlypTech to, as CEO Yoav Schwartz says, "offer the same technology scaled to meet publishers demands.

Since then, the company has grown to employ a staff of seven and represent over 100 direct publishers from countries including the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand on its digital newsstand, and 400-500 titles through resales. Last week, the company announced the launch of an interface for mobile devices -- the same system will work for all major handheld gadgets, including the iPhone and Google Android.

"This technology is revolutionary in that it's device-independent," Schwartz said in a news release, explaining why the company did not opt to build an app for a specific device. "With so many devices entering the market, the only consistent element that we can count on lasting the test of time is the internet browser. That's why we've created this interface to adapt to mobile browsers across different devices."

The company also plans to soon formally launch an e-commerce program (already soft-launched on the site) that Schwartz expects to be "a real game-changer." Plans are also afoot to launch Flipbook 3.0, a vector-based reader for PC, Mac, netbooks, laptops and other flash devices.

Author: Edward Keenan
Source: Yoav Schwartz, CEO of Mygazines

Just a month ago, on January 20, we covered the launch of CommunityLend, a new peer-to-peer lending system in Toronto. The service connects borrowers with good credit to those who would like to lend money, cutting out the middle-men traditionally involved in borrowing to offer better rates on loans through competition and community-building.

Now, co-founder Colin Henderson says, the company has registered users "well into the hundreds," which he notes is encouraging given that rather than looking for as many members as possible, the company is seeking a niche of qualified borrowers and lenders. And that growth has led to the company's need to add a new staff member to bring its full-time contingent to six.

Henderson says CommunityLend is looking for a junior developer to work with their professional outsource developers on the Ruby on Rails platform. Developers interested in working with best-of-breed Ruby on Rails developers and joining the growing team of finance innovators at CommunityLend should contact Henderson directly at [email protected].

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: CommunityLend