And the 2019 top teams are:
Winner of the Hakim Family Innovation Prize
RE3 THERAPEUTICS
Therapy for ovarian cancer, the "silent killer”, is 80 per cent effective, but the five-year survival rate is 9 per cent due to late diagnosis and recurrent disease. Early diagnosis—absent to date—would offer greater opportunity for curative therapy. Re3 Therapeutics has developed a simple blood-test for quantitative detection of ovarian cancer tumor markers that is diagnostic of 95 per cent early stage ovarian cancer and is absent in normal or non-cancer pathologies; this tumour marker may also detect early recurrence.
H. Uri Saragovi, Professor, Pharmacology, McGill University
Winner of the Marika Zelenka Roy Innovation Prize
BETASENSE
BetaSense allows a high performing, invasive nuclear medicine imaging technique to be performed non-invasively in a greater number of clinics. Their product is a non-invasive detector that is placed over a patient’s wrist during a positron emission tomography scan that can collect the same information normally collected by a highly invasive blood sampling procedure. This will allow smaller clinics to take advantage of this powerful technique and give many patients access to personalized medicine.
Liam Carroll, Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology, McGill University
Shirin Enger, PhD, Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology, McGill University
Gustavo Kertzscher, PhD
Winner of the MI4 Innovation Prize
ANTIBIOTIC SENTINEL
Choosing the right antibiotic to treat a life-threatening bacterial infection is essential to patient care. Antibiotic sentinel is a web-based application that provides up-to-the-minute information to help doctors select the best antibiotic to maximize the chance of curing an infection while minimizing harmful side effects. This novel tool will immediately aid the care of patients presenting with serious bacterial infections and eventually learn to predict them.
Todd C. Lee, MD, MPH, FACP, Associate Professor of Medicine, MUHC
Emily G. McDonald, MDCM, MSc, FRCPC, Assistant Professor of Medicine, MUHC
Louis Mullie, MDCM, MSE, Resident Physician, General Internal Medicine, CHUM
Jonathan Hershon, Developer
Christophe Marois, Developer
Winner of the Steinberg Centre Simnovation Prize
FEMTHERAPEUTICS
FemTherapeutics is a leading innovator in medical diagnostics and treatment methods in women's health. We have developed a solution to treat Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) a condition that 1 in every 10 women is diagnosed with. POP involves the abnormal descent of the pelvic organs beyond the vaginal walls leading to vaginal discomfort, urine leakage, and bowel problems. The currently available solution is an intravaginal device called a pessary which causes bleeding and open sores due to its geometric shape and does not fit the female anatomy. With FemTherapeutics non-invasive proprietary technology, POP patients can obtain their own customized pessary, decreasing pessary failure rates and side effects.
Ketki Jangid, M.D. Master’s Candidate, Department of Experimental Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University
Lydia Aguirre Perales, Ph. D. MBA Candidate, John Molson School of Business, Concordia University
Fereshteh Jahangard, M.D. Master’s Candidate, Department of Experimental Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University
Hanan Zahed, Master’s Candidate, Department of Experimental Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University
Roseline Olory Agomma, M.Sc. Ph.D. Candidate, ETS
Negin Ashouri, Eng. Master’s Candidate, Concordia University
Inara Lalani, Bachelor’s Candidate, Faculty of Management, McGill University
Congratulations also to our finalists:
DENOVOGEN
Finalist for the Steinberg Centre Simnovation Prize
Denovogen is a medical technology company focused on the design and commercialization of an augmented reality system for minimally invasive procedures. They aim to improve teaching, communication and efficiency in the surgical theater.
Radu Alexandru Paun, Project Lead, McGill Experimental Surgery
Ebram Salama, Operations Lead, McGill Department of Surgery
Michael Homsy, Medical Lead, McGill Experimental Surgery
NXTSENS MICROSYSTEMS INC.
Finalist for the Hakim Family Innovation Prize and the Marika Zelenka Roy Innovation Prize
NXTSENS Microsystems is on a mission to empower healthcare professionals with the ability to pre-empt severe medical conditions, improving patient outcomes. This rapidly growing team specializes in next generation cloud-enabled Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. Their first product, MY01, is entering a targeted commercialization phase with a clear clinical study pipeline involving leading trauma centres across North America.
Ed Harvey, MDCM, Leader of Injury Repair and Recovery Program, RI-MUHC
Charles Allan, Chief Executive Officer
Abdelkrim Temzi, Medical Science Liaison
Simon Sanscartier, Chief Financial Officer
Cooper Jefferson, Associate
STOP MALARIA
Finalist for the Hakim Family Innovation Prize, the Marika Zelenka Roy Innovation Prize and the MI4 Innovation Prize
Cerebral malaria is a severe complication Plasmodium parasite infection, causing over 400,000 deaths yearly. This major threat is exacerbated by the lack of an efficacious vaccine and emergence of drug resistance. The Stop Malaria team has recently demonstrated that rocaglates, a group of plant-derived products, are highly efficient to block Plasmodium replication and are protective against cerebral malaria. This dual activity of rocaglates should prove extremely valuable for therapeutic intervention in human cases of cerebral malaria.
David Langlais, PhD, Assistant Professor, Human Genetics, McGill University; Microbiology and Immunology, McGill Research Centre on Complex Traits
Philippe Gros, PhD, James McGill Professor, Biochemistry, McGill University; Human Genetics, McGill Research Centre on Complex Traits
Jerry Pelletier, PhD, James McGill Professor, Biochemistry, McGill University; Oncology, Goodman Cancer Research Centre
Regina Cencic, PhD, Research Associate, Biochemistry, McGill University
SWIFT MEDICAL INC.
Finalist for the Hakim Family Innovation Prize and the Marika Zelenka Roy Innovation Prize
Chronic wounds are a hidden epidemic. Annually, 6,265 cases of diabetic foot ulcers in Quebec cause 1,260 amputations, many of which could be avoided if healing progression was accurately tracked. Current practice is to measure wounds using a ruler and paper documentation, meaning visual information is lost. Swift Medical addresses these challenges with an app to photograph, measure and document wounds. Current and historical information is then immediately available to clinicians allowing for better clinical decision-making and better outcomes.
Sheila Wang, MD, PhD, Dermatology Resident of the MUHC, and Chief Medical Officer / Co-Founder of Swift Medical
Yunghan Au, PhD, MBA, VP Medical Affairs of Swift Medical
For a complete list of 2019 McGill CLIC entrant and project descriptions, please click here.