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MaRS places Israeli biotech veteran at helm

TORONTO – MaRS Innovation names Dr. Raphael Hofstein (pictured) as president and CEO. Dr. Hofstein comes to MaRS Innovation by way of Israel, where he was president and CEO of tech transfer company Hadasit Ltd.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Hofstein,” says Mary Jo Haddad, chair of MaRS Innovation, which is a subset of the Queen’s Park-sponsored innovation hub MaRS Discovery District.

Ground-breaking research by three Grade 12 students from St. Elizabeth Catholic High School has earned the first place prize in the 2009 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge (SABC) in the Greater Toronto region.

Regional competition sponsors: - University of Toronto, - York University, - Ryerson University, - Seneca College, - The Biotechnology Initiative - MaRS

The report points to successful partnerships such as Montreal's biotech / pharmaceutical cluster and the MaRS District in Toronto.

Canada has the research expertise to develop drugs and vaccines to address pressing medical needs, but delivering on the promise will require new models of collaboration between scientists, biotechnology, the pharmaceutical industry, business and policy makers according to speakers at an upcoming symposium hosted by The Gairdner Foundation and York University. The symposium, Entrepreneurship & Commercialization in Biomedical Science, on Thursday, May 14, marks the 50th anniversary of both York University and The Gairdner Foundation.

The Gairdner Foundation recognizes the world's leading medical research scientists through its prestigious annual awards program for biomedical science. The symposium, which is hosted by York’s Faculty of Science & Engineering and Schulich School of Business, will bring together scientist entrepreneurs, Canadian venture capital firms, the biomedical industry and policy-makers.

He will be followed by Smith, founder and former president & CEO of RBC Ventures and a member of the board of Toronto's MaRS innovation centre. Smith will speak about how Canada has made strong progress in positioning itself as a potential leader in biotech and medical research and in its commercialization efforts but faces two clear threats – the global financial calamity together with the lack of clear federal government support for research.