Medtech is one of the fastest-growing segments of the Atlantic Canadian innovation community, and we’re recognizing it with a special discussion at Entrevestor Live.
A wave of new companies are developing medical devices, and attracting both media buzz and funding grants. Bounce Health Innovation in Newfoundland and Labrador is joining the network of support organizations in the life sciences sector. And investors are backing several companies in this space with rounds of funding ranging from pre-seed to Series B.
Through its three-hour program, Entrevestor Live will feature some of the most successful startups in Atlantic Canada – 10 East Coast companies that collectively have raised about $200 million. One highlight of this program will be our discussion of medtech moderated by Jason Cleaversmith, Executive Director of Innovation at the PEI BioAlliance.
Here are the panel members, whose companies are at varying stages of the entrepreneurial journey:
Christine Goudie
Co-Founder and CEO
St. John’s
With a background in medical device design, Christine Goudie launched Granville Biomedical in 2019 to address the lack of anatomically accurate educational tools within women's health. The team distributes a life-like pelvic health model to practitioners around the world to enhance healthcare training and advance patient education. Recently, Granville has been developing biocompatible medical-grade swabs, including a cervical swab, Covid-19 swab, and oral swab for the Pharmacogenetics industry.
Patti Ryan
Director of Strategy
Moncton
Formerly called Picomole, Breathe BioMedical is developing a medical device that can detect lung cancer or other afflictions from a single breath sample. Following a career in healthcare, Patti Ryan became an entrepreneur in 2013 and joined Breathe BioMedical in 2019 to help plot the company’s growth.
Dr. Bob Abraham
Co-Founder
Halifax
Bob Abraham, a professor of radiology and an Interventional Radiologist at Dalhousie University, cofounded ABK Biomedical in 2012. The company is developing two products. Its Easi-Vue embolic microspheres have recently received U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510k regulatory approval. Easi-Vue are small, inert x-ray-visible glass beads that, once injected into a patient's bloodstream, block blood vessels and starve a tumour of oxygen. The second product, Eye90 microspheres, comprises millions of tiny, highly radioactive, x-ray-visible glass beads that deliver tumoricidal radiation to a liver tumor once injected into the feeding blood vessels. The microspheres can be visualized on CT scans allowing for assessment of adequate tumor targeting with the potential to make adjustments at time of therapy to optimize treatment. The company has raised more than $50 million in its history and is currently conducting a first in human clinical trial for its Eye90 radioactive microspheres. It has plans to commence a US IDE clinical trial early next year to support future US FDA regulatory approval.
Jason Cleaversmith
PEI BioAlliance, Moderator
Charlottetown
Jason Cleaversmith is the Executive Director of the PEI BioAlliance, where his main duty is overseeing Emergence, the Atlantic Canada-based life sciences incubator. He brings decades of experience in life sciences business development to this role, including senior positions in companies and organizations in Canada and the U.K.
Chaired by Propel CEO Kathryn Lockhart and held in partnership with Volta, Entrevestor Live is designed to make the best use of your time and money – a three-hour time commitment, and a price of no more than $80. Whether you want to show up in person at Volta or attend virtually, please click the link to purchase your ticket.
