Two Halifax-area medtech companies – Spring Loaded Technology and Densitas – have received a slice of an $11 million equity funding exercise anchored by the Montreal-based health technology organization Medteq.

Medteq, which nurtures Canadian health-technology innovators, issued a statement saying that its $14 million investment fund made its first investments, backing eight companies based in Montreal and Halifax. MEDTEQ invested alongside co-investors including: Anges-Quebec, Anges-Quebec Capital, Innovacorp, Real Ventures and others.

The target companies included Spring Loaded, which makes advanced knee braces, and Densitas, which assesses the density of breast tissue during mammograms. Innovacorp, the Nova Scotia government’s early-stage venture capital agency, was already an existing investor in both companies.

“Medteq is seeking to financially support health-technology companies across Canada who share our vision that a collaborative approach de-risks health products and services,” said Jacques Milette, President of Medteq’s Board of Directors. “Starting in Quebec, we’ve branched out and found interesting partners and companies in other provinces. We are looking forward to developing opportunities in British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan in the months to come.”

The statement said the eight companies raised a total of $11 million, though it did not specify how much of that came from Medteq nor provide a breakdown of its investment in each company.

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Based in Dartmouth, Spring Loaded Technology has produced the Levitation brace, which not only stabilizes the knee joint but adds power to it, allowing people with mobility problems to move more freely. The Levitation line includes the world’s first tri-compartment unloader knee brace. It reduces pressure throughout the knee while enhancing strength to alleviate pain and improve mobility for people with knee arthritis and injuries.

Halifax-based Densitas has developed software that provides an automated mechanism for quantifying and recording breast tissue density, a risk factor for breast cancer in women. Dense breasts can mask cancerous cells. Dense breast tissue is also linked to higher chances of cancer.

The other six companies receiving investment, all based in Montreal, are: MIMs (My Intelligent Machines; My01; Optina Diagnostics; Saccade Analytics; Spinologics; and Thorasys. Thorasys, which aims to revolutionize pulmonary medicine by offering portable, easy-to-use devices for lung function screening, diagnostics and monitoring, actually started in Halifax before moving to Montreal.

Medteq said its investment philosophy is based on the belief that robust product validation exercises, completed in collaboration with such stakeholders as doctors, insurance companies, and eventual acquirers, drives fundamental value for health products and companies.

The funds seek out companies with maturing technologies and accelerating innovation. In addition to the investment fund, Medteq supports its clients’ projects by offering non-dilutive funding, helping to find other grants and securing validation partners.