During the three-year agreement, MaRS and J&J COSAT will commit a defined capital pool to co-fund high potential projects that will be selected by a joint management committee.
The goal of the partnership is translation of technologies to preliminary proof of concept within 12 to 24 months. Leveraging financial and product development resources through this relationship will provide an effective mechanism for commercialization of MI member technologies through licensing or company creation.
Parimal Nathwani, VP of commercialization at MaRS Innovation, said: “This co-managed fund represents a unique public-private partnership that is strategic for MI as it provides a complementary mechanism to address the commercialization gap for Toronto and Canada. This partnership will help our members’ innovative therapeutics and medical devices take their first major step toward the national and global marketplace.
“By providing additional funding mechanisms and obtaining engaging and valuable industry feedback to drive market ‘pull’ strategies rather than market ‘push’ strategies, MI will facilitate successful commercialization of early stage technologies.
“MI will continue to treat all disclosures received from its member institutions, nearly 300 in totally so far, as high priorities for assessment under the MI model. We are committed to the development of innovative deals for all technology sectors including Physical Sciences and Information Technology, akin to the one with Johnson & Johnson in the health sciences sector, that match the caliber of the innovations we consistently see.”
MaRS Innovation, a non-profit organization, provides an integrated commercialization platform that harnesses the economic potential of the exceptional discovery pipeline of 14 Toronto academic institutions.
