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Assunta Krehl

Go to MaRS - Canadian Newcomers Magazine - 0 views

  • nd development of new ideas. It provides not only office and lab space but also free mentoring assistance to new businesses in science, technology and social innovation. While there are probably no chickens hatching at MaRS, it wouldn't be at all surprising to find a company working on, say, a vaccine for bird flu. Approximately 20 incubator companies are currently housed at MaRS, including Clera Inc. - which is developing treatments for schizophrenia and depression; AXS Biomedical Animations Studio - a company that creates 3D medical animation for biomedical research and other applications; and Kanata Chemical Technologies (KCT), which has had great success developing catalysts for the chemical industry (catalysts speed up chemical reactions without being changed or consumed in those reactions
  • All of the above definitions could apply to the wider innovation community connected with the MaRS Centre. Located in the heart of Toronto's Discovery District - a 2.5 sq. kilometre downtown research district, MaRS is a non-profit environment for the birt
  • KCT founder and president Kamal Abdur-Rashid came to Canada in 1997 with a degree from the University of the West Indies
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  • With support from the Mississauga Technology Business Accelerator (MTBA) he started his business, which grew to occupy some state-of-the-art labs at MaRS and is about to take the next step forward by moving its business outside of the protecting and nurturing environment of MaRS. This is the entire purpose of MaRS, which says on its website (www.marsdd.com), "We measure our success through the companies that emerge after receiving help from MaRS." "The resources, the facilities, the training and everything else that MaRS is bringing to the table - we're able to capitalize on that and get off on a very solid footing," says Kamal. Inside the Incubato
  • Whether you're looking for work - or you want to start your own business, MaRS is one of the best places to start your search.
  • Everybody you talk to in the elevator, the hall, the cafeteria - they are all in the science field - so you can network with one another," says Ratheesh. "MaRS does not just provide research space, they are bringing business people, people with money." These are the connections that can turn your idea into a profit-making business that employs many people. This is exactly what MaRS is all about. As they say on their website, "MaRS connects the communities of science, business and capital and fosters collaboration among them." MaRS advisors are able to connect entrepreneurs with private funding opportunities as well as free educational programming and hands-on advisory services. Corporate sponsor CIBC funds an entrepreneurship lecture series, for example. Ratheesh adds, "Patent people are here as well, so if you have patentable technology, you can talk to them." Once you start your business, MaRS offers many supports. "When we had the lab space we had the chemical hood that had to be set up so MaRS came and provided people to set up our hood," explains Ratheesh. "They help us dispose of chemical waste, provide water service, fridge and freezer service - so these are all important. "For smaller companies that have problem buying fridges and freezers, they can use common equipment." MaRS facilities also include lecture theatres, meeting rooms and an auditorium. Growing Cultures Bacteria and tissue cultures aren't the only cultures that thrive in the MaRS environment. It's also a great place for newcomers from every culture to
  • Clera, one of many emerging companies housed in the MaRS incubator.
  • He says, "MaRS is a one-stop shop for job and information seekers. Here we have many companies - so quite a few job opportunities
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    A look at Canadian immigrants who started a business and are incubating at the MaRS Centre. KCT and Clera, MaRS Tenants tell their stories. Jan/Feb 2009
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    A look at Canadian immigrants who started a business and are incubating at the MaRS Centre. KCT and Clera, MaRS Tenants tell their stories.
Cathy Bogaart

How Incubators Speed the Start-up Process - 1 views

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    Seasoned entrepreneurs and investors select a few founders with sound business ideas, provide space to work, hands-on coaching, strategizing and butt-kicking. The incubator companies go on be profitable. It's a recipe for success.
Assunta Krehl

Building a Successful Biotech Incubator - 0 views

  • MaRS aggregates the discovery pipelines of its member institutions, which include three universities, 10 academic teaching hospitals, and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.
  • MaRS is another good example. Located in the heart of downtown Toronto, the MaRS facility is less than a mile from five major teaching hospitals, the Ontario legislature, and the University of Toronto. More than two dozen research institutes and Toronto’s financial district are also nearby.
  • Consequently, MaRS is a vertical incubator, with a wide variety of companies and stages of development. That mix helps companies better understand the conditions that foster growth. MaRS is home to more than 65 organizations, including The Hospital for Sick Children, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Merck Frosst Canada, the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Celtic House Venture Partners, AIM Therapeutics, and AstraZeneca Canada.
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  • “Collaboration is the essence of the new economy,” insists Ross Wallace, director of strategic partnerships at MaRS. “There’s a new focus on the power of institutions to generate intellectual property and ideas, and then build around them.”
  • MaRS has a virtual education program dubbed “Entrepreneurship 101.” One February class features budgeting, another agrifood innovation. The classes are available at no cost, and anyone can register. The program also includes blogs and discussion groups such as the drug development and cancer targets groups. So far, MaRS has relied on viral marketing to get the word out.
  • To provide that expertise, MaRS developed the MaRS Venture Group. This team of experienced investors, entrepreneurs, technology experts, and advisors works with companies to help them bridge the gap between entrepreneurial start-up and experienced growth company. The Venture Group provides market intelligence as well  as advisory services such as strategic planning, partnership and alliance building, intellectual property management, marketing and communications, sales strategy, channel development, financing, and human resource development. It works with groups outside the MaRS orbit, too.
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    To have a successful biotech initiative proximity to academic hubs and capital remains a crucial factor in hatching a thriving cluster. MaRS Discovery District is a good example of a vertical incubator and offers many services to help entrepreneurs at different stages.
Assunta Krehl

Made-to-measure road toll system - Canada's Most Trusted Auto Resource - Wheels.ca - 0 views

  • Skymeter Corporation – a high-tech upstart that has perfected "financial-grade" GPS telematics – is being hailed as an innovator that has captured the attention of global giants such as IBM, Cisco and Siemens.
  • Hassan admits while North America may not be ready for road and congestion tolls, governments elsewhere are beating a path to his modest office at the MaRS business incubator at College St and University Ave.
  • While Skymeter is a relative flyweight (the company is estimated to be worth $10 million), it hopes to be the technology provider to large multinationals such as IBM and Siemens in the project tenders.
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  • Skymeter is poised to usher in smart metering and – if the execution holds true to the vision – tolls that directly fund roads that are in demand.
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    Skymeter Corporation - a high-tech upstart that has perfected "financial-grade" GPS telematics - is being hailed as an innovator that has captured the attention of global giants such as IBM, Cisco and Siemens. Mention of MaRS as a business incubator. Feb 14, 2009
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    Skymeter Corporation - a high-tech upstart that has perfected "financial-grade" GPS telematics - is being hailed as an innovator that has captured the attention of global giants such as IBM, Cisco and Siemens. Mention of MaRS as a business incubator.
Assunta Krehl

Ottawa's VC dollars fall 55% in Q1 - Technology - Ottawa Business Journal - 0 views

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    "It has been reported that the amount of venture capital invested in Ottawa is slipping. The Venture Capital & Private Equity Association has been observing more early stage companies receiving help from incubators such as MaRS Discovery District in Toronto."
Assunta Krehl

MaRS makes its first foray into the cleantech spotlight - Cleantech Group - 0 views

  • Five cleantech companies receive support at the Cleantech Forum in Boston from Canadian incubation and innovation center MaRS.
  • Alternative Fuels was just one of a lineup of early-stage startups being supported by MaRS, a nonprofit innovation center in Toronto’s downtown Discovery District that connects entrepreneurs with business skills, networks and capital to stimulate innovation and grow Canadian companies.
  • This week’s forum marked the organization’s first foray into the cleantech sector, said MaRS Venture Group Associate Kevin Downing. Downing said he wanted to connect cleantech-related companies in the MaRS portfolio that were “investment ready” with the forum’s audience. “I don’t have a motive to push any one client over any other because they’re not paying me,” Downing said. Of the 1,300 MaRS portfolio companies, he said the cleantech sector has been its fastest growing segment and an expanding sector in country as well (see Canadian cleantech looks to the future and IPO drought? Cleantech companies flood Canadian markets). Since 2006, cleantech and environmental technology companies have made up 9 percent of MaRS' portfolio. MaRS currently has 350 active clients. The center isn’t government funded, but does receive some government support, he said. It has been funded through donations from the public and private sector. MaRS has the ability to provide some funding, around $40,000, to startups on a competitive basis. Other companies showcased at the forum through MaRS included NIMtech, Real Tech, Vicicog and Skymeter.
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  • This week’s forum marked the organization’s first foray into the cleantech sector, said MaRS Venture Group Associate Kevin Downing. Downing said he wanted to connect cleantech-related companies in the MaRS portfolio that were “investment ready” with the forum’s audience. “I don’t have a motive to push any one client over any other because they’re not paying me,” Downing said. Of the 1,300 MaRS portfolio companies, he said the cleantech sector has been its fastest growing segment and an expanding sector in country as well (see Canadian cleantech looks to the future and IPO drought? Cleantech companies flood Canadian markets). Since 2006, cleantech and environmental technology companies have made up 9 percent of MaRS' portfolio. MaRS currently has 350 active clients. The center isn’t government funded, but does receive some government support, he said. It has been funded through donations from the public and private sector, as well as revenue from its mixed-use facility. MaRS has the ability to provide some funding, around $40,000, to startups on a competitive basis. Other companies showcased at the forum through MaRS included NIMtech, Real Tech, Vicicog and Skymeter.
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    Five cleantech companies received support at the Cleantech Forum in Boston from Canadian incubation and innovation center MaRS. Some of the companies showcased at the forum through MaRS included NIMtech, Real Tech, Vicicog and Skymeter. Sept 10, 2009
Assunta Krehl

The Long Game | Xconomy - 0 views

  • Closer to home, Toronto recognized a few years ago that it was losing ground in the sciences, so it deleted two-square kilometers of its downtown and replaced it with the Mars Discovery District, a vast collection of intertwined university research facilities, commercial research space, and the best biotech incubator space I’ve ever seen—and I’m an incubator guy.
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    MaRS is held up as an example of what an "old" city can do if they're ambitious and just decide to do something. Like when Toronto decided that it wanted to gain ground in the science knowledge economy. Nevermind that AGAIN MaRS is misrepresented as a biotech incubator -- I suppose there are worse things to be called. But still part of an ambitious, big-thinking plan to improve the science, tech and social outcomes of the economy. Amen.
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    Tim Rowe's blog takes a look at exploring what its future might look like by building "a showcase for future living. Mention of MaRS having the best biotech space.
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    Tim Rowe's blog takes a look at exploring what its future might look like by building "a showcase for future living. Mention of MaRS having the best biotech space.
Cathy Bogaart

www.newbiologyventures.com - New Biology Ventures - 0 views

  • New Biology Ventures is a life-sciences focused venture capital incubator.   We invest in early stage opportunities through the creation and maturation of start-up companies that focus on the development and commercialization of therapeutic biopharmaceuticals. We change the economics of drug development through our unique combination of expertise in finance and structuring companies along with the capability to efficiently and effectively commercialize drugs.  
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    New Biology Ventures is a life-sciences focused venture capital incubator. They invest in early stage opportunities through the creation and maturation of start-up companies that focus on the development and commercialization of therapeutic biopharmaceuticals. They change the economics of drug development through their unique combination of expertise in finance and structuring companies along with the capability to efficiently and effectively commercialize drugs.
Assunta Krehl

University of Toronto launches new centre to support commercialization of research - Un... - 0 views

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    The University of Toronto today launched the Banting and Best Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a new pre-incubation hub for discovery, innovation and commercialization which is located across the innovation centre, MaRS Discovery District.
Assunta Krehl

Calgary plugs into Silicon Valley VCs - Financial Post - June 2, 2012 - 0 views

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    Christine Dobby, Financial Post reporter states "Plug and Play Tech Center in Silicon Valley and Calgary-based Boast Capital announced the launch of Startup Camp Canada, which will offer technology startups US$25,000 in funding plus 10 weeks of incubation time in the Valley and a further stint north of the border in the fall."
Assunta Krehl

Who's the most influential Canadian in small business? - IT Business - July 31, 2012 - 0 views

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    Wave Accounting co-founder and chief technology officer James Lochrie, and the MaRS Discovery District incubator in Toronto are the Canadian nominees for the 2012 Small Business Influencer Awards.
Assunta Krehl

Wanted: President and COO for MaRS Discovery District - IT Business.ca - July 18, 2012 - 0 views

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    MaRS Discovery District, one of Canada's largest tech incubators' is looking to hire a President and COO.
Cathy Bogaart

VeloCity - 0 views

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    VeloCity in Waterloo is looking for ambitious, creative students who are interested in business, technology and/or media. They'll give them the tools, mentors, location to help kick-start their business in an intense incubation period. Think bootcamp for young entrepreneurs.
Miguel Amante

Toronto Ontario easy and accessible destination for meetings and incentives for U.S. me... - 0 views

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    The MaRS Centre is part of a medical and technology business incubator located near the University of Toronto. The modern spaces include boardrooms, lecture spaces, meeting and event spaces, and it is designed for technology-focused and more intimate corporate meetings.
Cathy Bogaart

Go to MaRS - 0 views

  • We measure our success through the companies that emerge after receiving help from MaRS
  • MaRS does not just provide research space, they are bringing business people, people with money
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    Newcomer Magazine writes about MaRS as a business incubator -- a place for newcomers to make connections, find a job, or start a business. They highlight tenants Kanata Chemical Technologies, AXS Biomedical Animations Studio and Clera Inc.
Sarah Hickman

MaRS Discovery District - Recommended Resources - Entrepreneurship Resources - The Foun... - 0 views

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    The Founder Syndrome - Part I Why it's still a big messy issue and why attitudes have to change... It has been debated for years yet remains a small-talk favorite around the water coolers of the venture capital industry. It is "The Founder Syndrome" and it goes something like this… founders innovate, incubate and invigorate. The Founder Syndrome - Part II Avoiding the Deadly Trap Part II looks more closely at the early life-stages of entrepreneurial organizations and the painful transitions associated with the founder syndrome. It argues that by understanding the nature of these transitions, and learning to anticipate, prepare and adapt to them, founders can exert far greater control over their fates while also benefiting the firms they so cherish.
Assunta Krehl

Canadian Incubation Center Brings Five Cleantech Startups To Boston Forum - CleanTechBrief - 0 views

  • MaRS, a Toronto-based, not-for-profit incubation center, is leading a delegation of five cleantech ventures at this week’s Cleantech Forum XXIII in Boston. The companies – all clients of MaRS advisory services – will showcase their products for the cleantech CEOs, investors, scientists and policy makers attending the east coast forum. “While cleantech is a relatively new sector for MaRS advisory services, it is fast catching up with our other core strengths in information technologies and life sciences,” said Tom Rand, a cleantech entrepreneur, author and investor who leads MaRS’ cleantech practice. “MaRS is establishing itself as a major deal-flow engine in the cleantech sector, with an emphasis on early-stage companies.”
  • Alternative Fuels
  • Nimtech
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  • Real Tech
  • Skymeter
  • Vicicog
  • MaRS Discovery District is a large scale, mission-driven innovation center focused on building Canada’s next generation of technology companies.
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    MaRS is leading a delegation of five cleantech ventures at this week's (Sept 8 o 10) Cleantech Forum XXIII in Boston. The presenting companies from MaRS are: Alternative Fuels (deriving energy from waste), Nimtech (eco-friendly chemical process control), Real Tech (organic water testing), Skymeter (pay-as-you-drive GPS metering) and Vicicog (efficient wind turbine transmission systems). Sept 11, 2009
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    MaRS is leading a delegation of five cleantech ventures at this week's (Sept 8 o 10) Cleantech Forum XXIII in Boston. The presenting companies from MaRS are: Alternative Fuels (deriving energy from waste), Nimtech (eco-friendly chemical process control), Real Tech (organic water testing), Skymeter (pay-as-you-drive GPS metering) and Vicicog (efficient wind turbine transmission systems). Sept 11, 2009
Assunta Krehl

Pharmafocus.com - 0 views

  • Canada has always had to fight hard to attract talent and investment
  • MaRS Vital to Toronto's life sciences vision is MaRS (derived from Medical and Related Sciences) a non-profit organisation and business centre located in the heart of the city. Its core function is as a biotech incubator and business park, known as MaRS Discovery District. The venture was first established in 2000 to help foster and accelerate the growth of successful Canadian businesses and, after some uncertain times, it is now gathering momentum. A separate technology transfer office, MaRS Innovation, has also been established that, it is hoped, can be a world beater in its own right (see Turning good ideas into world beaters below). The location of the MaRS building in central Toronto is important, as it is just a stone's throw away from an existing cluster of universities and academic hospitals. MaRS has many links with other research-based organisations, including collaborations with three local universities, 10 academic teaching hospitals and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. MaRS occupies the Old Toronto general hospital, where insulin was first discovered by Best and Banting in 1921 and then developed for use in human trials. The 21st Century organisation can build on this heritage in patient-focused discovery and development. Formerly the head of venture capital firm Primaxis, Ilse Treurnicht is chief executive of MaRS Discovery District. She acknowledges the crisis in venture capital funding, and says Canada's sector has always had less access funds through this route than other countries. This is one of the drivers behind the search for a new approach. Treurnicht says the old models of building biotech and life sciences businesses have to be discarded, as they have failed to build companies with critical mass. She says MaRS' new 'Convergence Innovation' strategy of bringing science, capital and business together will pay off.
  • "We call our strategy 'Convergence Innovation' and what we are trying to do is move away from the old linear model of academics struggling in their spare time to build companies or entrepreneurs doing this in a very incremental way."It takes time and it has many risk points along the way. So using this Convergence centre model to create a much more dynamic organisation which can help accelerate good ideas towards the commercialisation." But she says Canada's geography and demographics are always going to be a challenge. "This is a very large country with a small population. If you think in terms of clusters and hub regions, Canada's business hubs are separated geographically, and there is not much in between in terms of people."That means we can't try to be a little United States, because we just won't show up on the radar. We have to take a different approach. We have to think about collaboration as our potential competitive advantage - that means using networks and associations to solve problems and build businesses."So as new opportunities emerge, we can take them to market faster and hopefully with a higher success rate." The centre currently accommodates numerous start up companies, as well as those providing legal and financial services to them. AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline also have offices on site. In all, MaRS provides mentoring for over 200 different companies across Ontario, and runs courses on entrepreneurship and preparing products for market.
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  • Transition Therapeutics is one of the companies based at MaRS, and is an example of a biopharmaceutical company that is taking a new approach to the science and business of drug development.
  • Now Toronto's MaRS Innovation (MI) has been launched to try to guide and accelerate these promising ideas out of the wilderness and onto the market. MI is a not-for-profit technology transfer company that will channel all the best ideas to come out of Toronto's renowned academic centres. In the Toronto and Ontario area there were between 14-16 different technology transfer offices in the different institutions, and MaRS Innovation resolved to bring these interests together into a single entity after industry partners told them it was an inefficient way to do business. Bringing together the different institutions under one umbrella organisation has been an arduous task for MaRS, but the reward could be considerable for all parties. MI now oversees probably the largest intellectual property pipeline of its kind, representing about $1 billion in annual research spending. This means MI will be a unified route for all of Toronto's academics and their institutions when they want to develop and commercialise a bright idea. Most importantly, investors from industry who are looking to collaborate will now be able to deal with just organisation and one IP process. MI will cover patentable ideas across a broad range of areas, and not just life sciences - the discovery pipeline in physical sciences, information and communication technology, and green technology ('cleantech') will all be funnelled through MI. MI now represents three universities, 10 academic teaching hospitals and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. MaRS Innovation, with support from MaRS and BioDiscovery Toronto, will advance commercialisation through industry partnerships, licensing and company creation.
  • ts chief executive is Dr Rafi Hofstein. Hofstein has been headhunted from Israel where he was chief executive of Hadasit, the technology transfer company of the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem and chair of the publicly-traded company Hadasit BioHolding. He brings this considerable experience in technology transfer to what he thinks is a groundbreaking enterprise."MaRS Innovation is a unique global initiative, and I must commend the institutional leaders in Toronto for pulling this innovation powerhouse together to strengthen commercialisation output." He adds: "I believe this is going to modernise the whole notion of tech transfer." He says the scale and diversity of MaRS Innovation's remit puts it into a league of its own. Other research clusters elsewhere in the world have attempted similar projects before, but have been thwarted by the difficulty in bringing parties together. MaRS Innovation will also help launch and grow new spin-off companies and incubate them for 2-3 years to ensure a strong commercial footing. Hofstein says MI will also fund proof of concept trials which will persuade major pharma companies to invest in their development.
  • MI has just announced its first two commercialisation deals with academic partners in the city. The first is with the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital to develop stem cell from umbilical cords to treat cardiovascular disease, diabetes and neurological disorders. "With the Toronto area identified as a world-leading cluster in stem cell research, we are extremely excited to have identified this technology as our first commercialisation opportunity," said Dr Hofstein.
  • "Our partnership with MaRS Innovation on developing methods for using stem cells for diseases such as diabetes will allow us to work towards advancing care for these critical conditions."
  • The second collaboration is between MI and The University of Toronto (U of T) and involves a novel sustained release formulation of nitric oxide (NO) for applications in wound healing, including diabetic ulcers. "There are 300 million diabetics worldwide, of which some 15% develop troublesome foot ulcers. This wound healing technology is extremely exciting, making it an early commercialisation opportunity that MaRS Innovation has identified as being a potential win for some 45 million diabetics globally," said Dr Hofstein.
  • "This is one of many new commercialisation ventures that will be initiated by MaRS Innovation, our partner in commercialisation of research with 13 other academic institutions across the Greater Toronto Area," said Paul Young, U of T's vice-president, Research. "We at U of T are delighted that this innovation from Dr Lee will be taken to the marketplace to the benefit of society and the economy of Ontario and Canada." By aggregating the leading edge science of its institutional members and being a one-stop commercialisation centre for industry, entrepreneurs and investors, MI could really help put Toronto and Canada on the map."MaRS Innovation is deeply committed to facilitating strategic research collaborations with industry partners, strengthening the innovation capacity of Canadian industry through adoption of new technologies, and launching a new generation of robust, high-growth Canadian companies that will become global market leaders," added Dr Hofstein. "We look forward to working closely with all of our institutional members and to continue to jointly announce exciting commercial opportunities."
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    Canada has always had to fight hard to attract talent and investment. As stated in Pharmafocus.com, "MaRS Discovery District helps to foster and accelerate the growth of successful Canadian businesses." MaRS Innovation has also been launched to accelerate ideas onto the market.
Assunta Krehl

Emerging Biotechnology Clusters - 0 views

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    GEN identifies some of the most promising emerging biotech clusters. MaRS Centre incubates companies that are within radius of hospitals, universities, government and the financial district.
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