Welcome to the LDFP Commercialization Opportunity Index. The University of Toronto and local commercialization community offer multiple programs, competitions, resources, and services to help LDFP researchers and trainees translate their discoveries into commercial ventures. Please contact a member of the LDFP research office for more information (Mike Folinas, Sam D’Alfonso, or Lia Cardarelli).
Commercialization Resources
- University of Toronto Innovations and Partnerships Office (IPO)
- IPO’s "Guide to Technology Transfer"
- IPO's "Researcher’s Guide to Industry Partnerships"
- University of Toronto Libraries Entrepreneurship Support
- PRiME Entrepreneur Resources
- University of Toronto Startup Guidebook
Commercialization Opportunities
- AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award
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AbbVie is excited to launch the 2024 AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award in collaboration with SpinUp, the University of Toronto’s purpose-built wet lab incubator supporting early-stage biotechnology startups.
This demonstrates AbbVie’s commitment to investing in Canada’s world class life sciences sector and accelerating the delivery of life-changing innovations to patients.
The Biotech Innovators Award provides one year of free-lab space at SpinUp, funded by AbbVie Canada, and access to core facilities and services, including membership to the SpinUp community of scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs.
One Biotech Innovators Award will be granted to an early-stage Canadian life science biotech company in May 2025.
The award is intended for early-stage Canadian biotech companies that fit the following criteria:
Focused on science / technology with potential to generate transformational therapies in areas that align strategically with AbbVie’s therapeutic areas of interest (listed below) Developing therapeutic platform technologies, including gene therapy, novel cell therapy, gene editing, novel drug-discovery or platform technologies Exclusions: Diagnostics, Devices, Research Tools, and Healthcare Services/IT
Competition Dates:
To apply for the SpinUp x AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award, please complete this form by January 17th, 2025 (11:59pm EST) using only non-confidential information.
- Applications open: September 26th 2024
- Applications close: January 17th 2025
- Semi-finalists notified: March 2025
- Pitch event to select a winner: May 2025
The winning startup will become a SpinUp member, and will be offered scientific and business mentorship by AbbVie.
For more details, see the website.
- IN-PART: Industry Partnership Opportunities
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IN-PART is an online service connecting academics with industry and their research challenges.
Collaborative research projects currently available can be found on the IN-PART website. Applications can be as short as 200-300 words and should not contain confidential information. Please review all project criteria carefully and limit your submissions to opportunities of particular relevance.
Please contact Rohan Alvares in the Innovations and Partnerships Office for assistance with the application process and who can apply to the opportunity on your behalf.
Active campaigns will be updated here as they are posted.
Opportunity
Deadline
(usually 10:59 pm GMT)
- Intellectual Property Education Program
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UofT’s IP Education Program introduces the different types of IP, how to protect it, and how to get the most value from it.
The online program was built by UofT Entrepreneurship (UTE) and the Innovations & Partnerships Office (IPO) with input from legal professionals and entrepreneurs.
Divided into two complimentary levels, IP Foundations and IP Strategy and Application, the program is integrated with Quercus (U of T’s online learning portal), allowing for inclusion into assignments, workshops, or classroom settings. In addition, U of T students who complete a module can have it recognized on their Co-curricular Record (CCR).
Program overview:
- Intro to patents, trademarks, copyright, industrial design, and trade secrets.
- Requires no prior knowledge and can be completed in ~2 hours.
- Endorsed by the Province of Ontario’s IP Action Plan.
Level 2: IP Strategy and Application
- IP strategy and commercialization, including best practices for inventors and entrepreneurs.
- Learners must complete Level 1 before advancing to Level 2.
- Intellectual Property: Protect, License and Fund with IPO
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The Innovations & Partnerships Office (IPO) is your first stop for research commercialization at U of T. IPO helps turn innovations into patents, licenses, and startups, building successful relationships between researchers, industry, and investors.
What you need to know:
- It starts with a disclosure: If a new technology, method, or product was created using U of T facilities or funding administered by U of T, a Confidential Invention Disclosure is your first step toward commercializing your research.
- Ownership: U of T has a modern, flexible invention policy that is ‘Inventor’s Choice’ – in absence of pre-existing IP rights, inventors may choose to take personal ownership, or have U of T lead commercialization.
- Intellectual property (IP) and patents: While there are many types of IP, patents may be affected by presenting and publishing. It is best to involve IPO early to help review, file, and protect your invention.
- Funding: IPO can help maximize budgets by licensing technologies and leveraging internal, public, and private funding opportunities for research and startups.
- Network: Access U of T’s growing international network of industry, mentors, and VCs to support technology validation, product development, and go-to-market.
In 2021, U of T inventors made over 180 invention disclosures, with IPO managing 74 priority patent applications, more than 39 licensing and option agreements, and 290 ongoing commercialization projects. In the last 5 years, companies based on U of T Research have secured more than $1.5 billion in investment and capital.
- Introduction to Raising
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SpinUp has partnered with TIAP and speaker Ido Kaminsky for a webinar "Introduction to Raising".
In this session, we will discuss the basics of fundraising in the life-sciences space. We’ll consider the different types of investors and how they approach the diligence and investment process, the classes of investment vehicles, best practices and pitfalls in investor outreach and interaction, typical diligence processes, guidelines for successfully negotiating term-sheets, and managing relationships with academic founders pre and post-investment.
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ESTVirtually via Zoom.
Please see their website for registration.
* Please note this webinar series is open to members of the University of Toronto, University of Toronto Entrepreneurship (UTE), and IDEA Mississauga communities only.
- Introduction to Raising: Fireside Chat
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SpinUp brings another installment to their webinar series "Introduction to Raising: Fireside Chat".
In the life science ecosystem, raising seed capital is frequently the rate-limiting step for early-stage startup companies as they grow, and is crucial for future scaling and long-term success. Join seasoned life science entrepreneurs and investment experts for a virtual fireside chat where our panelists will share their experiences raising seed capital. The audience will learn what early-stage life science founders should be keeping in mind when approaching investors, and hear about mistakes to avoid and things our guest speakers wished they knew when raising for the first time.
Moderated by Sam Tarantino, Head at BioScript Logistics, our panel features:
- Brian Bloom, co-Founder, Chairman & CEO of Bloom Burton & Co.
- Stephany Lapierre, Founder & CEO of Tealbook
- Drew Taylor, co-Founder & CEO of Acorn Biolabs
- Vishar Yaghoubian, co-Founder & CEO of Toothpod
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ESTVirtually via Zoom
Please see their website for registration.
* Please note this webinar series is open to members of the University of Toronto, University of Toronto Entrepreneurship (UTE), and IDEA Mississauga communities only.
- MassBioDrive
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MassBioDrive is an accelerator program designed to advance breakthrough science while providing opportunities to innovators from all parts of the life sciences ecosystem. Twice a year, we support a small group of groundbreaking scientists by connecting them with business fundamental curriculum, mentorship, industry connections, and equity-free prizes.
MassBioDrive's Spring 2025 Biotech accelerator will run from March 17 through May 9. This program is intended for scientific founders and/or emerging companies working in therapeutics or therapeutic platforms; the application for MassBioDrive’s inaugural AI/TechBio cohort will open in mid-May 2025.
Deadline to apply
January 17, 2025, at 5:00PM EST
- OCI Life Sciences Innovation Fund
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Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) Life Sciences Innovation Fund is an early-stage co-investment fund that supports companies in Life Sciences and Healthcare Technologies sectors related to human health. The fund is aimed at addressing the unique challenges faced by life sciences entrepreneurs moving innovative and capital-intensive investments from a conceptual stage through to commercialization. Through the fund, OCI co-invests with angel and other investors to help de-risk the opportunity, assisting start-ups in becoming investor and customer ready and allowing them to attract follow-on investment.
ABOUT THE FUND
Eligible companies will receive up to $500,000 in early stage risk capital to scale their made-in-Ontario health solution both at home and in global markets. This will further grow the sector and strengthen its competitiveness in key areas such as cancer treatment, regenerative medicine, neuroscience and medical technologies.
BEST SUITED FOR LIFE SCIENCES AND HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGIES COMPANIES RELATED TO HUMAN HEALTH THAT:
- Are Ontario or Canadian incorporated for-profit companies headquartered in Ontario
- Currently raising a pre-seed or seed investments (total round sizes ranging from $1 million to $5 million)
- Have raised less than $3 million in third-party capital
- ONRamp: call to join
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Looking for a community and workspace to build your business? Welcome to ONRamp@UTE! Located at the Banting Institute in the heart of downtown Toronto, ONRamp is a 15,000 square foot collaboration and co-working space for the U of T entrepreneurship community.
ONRamp connects innovative students, their startups and U of T Accelerators across U of T’s tri-campus.
Through access to facilities, events, and the business community in downtown Toronto, ONRamp helps to accelerate venture creation, learning and impact.
Members of ONRamp have access to three floors of co-working space, meeting rooms, event space, and amenities – located steps from the intersection of College and University.
- Reception desk
- Networking lounge
- Business centre
- RBC Hub event space
- Access to two kitchens, 14 meeting rooms, 80 workstations, 4 phone booths
- 24/7 member access
- Summer by Design 2025
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This eight-day program from June 2 to 11, 2025 hosted by Medicine By Design will feature expert-led, interactive sessions including lectures, group work and case studies. PhD students and post-doctoral fellows from Canadian and international universities can:
- Explore Toronto’s dynamic life sciences hub by meeting with clinical and industry leaders in the field of regenerative medicine
- Make connections with other Summer by Design participants to strengthen their networks of international peers
- Learn from experts across various aspects of the technology translation continuum and be introduced to important topics including:
- Conducting technology assessments (market opportunity, competitive landscaping)
- Product conceptualization
- Pivotal experiments
- Technology strategy and intellectual property (IP)
- Scale-up and biomanufacturing
- Regulatory affairs and reimbursement
- Marketing
- Strategic communications and pitching including one-on-one coaching to develop presentation and pitch skills.
Selection criteria
Summer by Design participants are selected in a competitive process with consideration of both the video submission and short answer questions. Applicants will be evaluated based on the following selection criteria:
- Applicants must be PhD candidates or post-doctoral fellows in engineering, life science or medicine whose research is focused on regenerative medicine.
- Applicants should have a strong interest and/or experience in clinical translation or commercialization.
- Applicants demonstrate enthusiasm for working as part a team or group, an interest in international collaboration, and enthusiasm for sharing their expertise, research and insights from their home institution with the larger group.
Applications
Please use this application form.
Your completed application form and supporting documents (CV, letter of support, video submission) are due by Dec. 20, 2024.
Please see their website for more details.
