Atlantic Canadian biotech entrepreneurs have to look beyond the region to exploit the benefits of other ecosystems, two leading East Coast life sciences CEOs said Monday.

Kevin Sullivan, CEO of Appili Theraputics, an anti-infective drug discovery company, and Mohamed Abdolell, the CEO of Densitas Inc, a medical software company, spoke at Get the Scoop: JLABS Canada. Their discussion at the Innovacorp Enterprise Centre in Halifax followed a presentation by Johnson & Johnson Innovation on JLABS.

The discussion, moderated by Innovacorp CEO Malcolm Fraser, contextualized the region’s role within the life sciences sector and focused on the differences between the Canadian and American ecosystems.

“There are certain advantages to American culture in that they’re extremely direct,” said Abdolell, reflecting on his time at the Canada-Chicago Mentoring Program. “They’ll tell you, ‘It’s crap,’ and it’s really good to hear that. People being nice over time is a killer.”

The blunt, risk-taking culture is popular in the U.S. because Americans have access to higher investment opportunities. The panelists said Atlantic Canada has the resources to help entrepreneurs raise their initial seed rounds but can’t offer them follow-on cash like they do in the U.S.  

“The runway is longer for medical software companies, like Densitas, to get to market,” said Abdolell, “There isn’t that kind of pool of money here as there is in the U.S.”

Densitas is best known for its product DM-Density, which enhances breast screening by assessing breast density. Breast density is a key determinant in a patient’s risk of contracting breast cancer, so Densitas helps doctors understand a patient’s risk profile.

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The panelists stressed the importance of leaving the region since the market and expertise for med-tech innovation are highly concentrated in the States and parts of southern Ontario. Traveling outside of the region is a must for Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs.

“There is a good ecosystem here for that early first million or half-million,” said Sullivan, referring to equity funding. “But, you have to understand, as an entrepreneur you’re going to have to leave and look elsewhere once you get that [second] million.” 

Appili is working on two drug candidates: a compound designed to mask the bitter taste in Metronidazole, a drug used to treat infections among children; and a compound to battle gram-negative bacteria, which have two protective cellular walls making them resistant to existing antibiotics.

Both CEOs agreed networks like JLABS made growing their companies outside of the region much easier and affordable. They offer other avenues to accessing larger investments, said the CEOs.

Appili and Densitas both rent space at the Toronto location of JLABS, a network of incubators for the life science sector. JLABS provides office space and laboratories, stocked with top-of-the-line equipment and tools to build products.

Densitas currently rents office space from JLABS while Appili, which took advantage of JLABS’ laboratory space, will “graduate” from the space to its new office in Mississauga.