Canada’s Top 10™ on the Road
The hunt for some of Canada’s most investable companies has begun again and I’m heading West to begin my search in earnest. I’ll be meeting with two of our partners, Alberta Enterprise Corporation, and some of the regional representatives of the Industrial Research Assistance Program (or NRC – IRAP) to talk about where these companies might be found in Western Canada.
Since the start of the Canada’s Top 10™ Competition, winners from across ICT, Life Science and Cleantech have raised more than $600 Million in investment to really take their companies to the next level and become global players. Have a look at some past winners like Bel Air Networks, I Love Rewards, Variation Bioscience, Bioniche, and Paradigm Technologies or Menova Energy and you’ll know what I mean. These companies all had similar traits that made them catch the eye of investors, strategic partners, and customers – the Competition, its partners and sponsors, and its jury members including angels, venture capital and private equity investors from around the world, was just the catalyst to help get them in front of the right people at the right time.
What do winners receive for this prestigious honour of being named a winner? I’ve already mentioned that winners are chosen by investors that may have a direct interest in digging deeper into the companies they chose. Even more important than that however are the targeted road shows and events that winners will have a chance to participate in. In addition to a one day dedicated coaching session with partners and sponsors to get them ready to raise capital, other events where we will showcase the Canada’s Top 10™ winners of 2010 will include the Banff Venture Forum, the National Angel Capital Organization Summit, and a host of targeted investment and partnering events in Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, Washington and locations in Europe. All for winners and alumni of the Canada’s Top 10™.
So what are we looking for in this year’s competition? First of all, applicants need to be raising funds in the next 12 months of $1M or more and must fall in to the broad categories of ICT, Life Sciences and Clean Technology. Technologies should be validated and there should be a defined market opportunity and path to market. A sales plan and a strong management team round out the high level categories. Keep in mind that an independent jury of investors makes the final decision based on their collective agreement on investing in an applicant. Think syndication in its simplest form with investors at least agreeing on the best investments.
I am looking forward to the road ahead and to seeing all of the applicants over the next two months. The competition is open now and will remain open until August 20, 2010. Winners will be announced in early September. You can find more information at www.topcanadiancompanies.com
See you on the road.
RESOLUTE Partners Selects BelAir Networks for U.S. Military Wi-Fi Network Deployments
Southington, CT – RESOLUTE Partners, the leading provider of personal public internet access in the U.S. Military market, has selected BelAir Networks market-leading Wi-Fi solutions for RESOLUTE customers around the world. BelAir Networks comprehensive Wi-Fi product line and RESOLUTE’s powerful network OSS, installation, service and support operations deliver a carrier class communications experience to both end-users and network customers.
For more information, go to http://www.belairnetworks.com/news/press_releases/view.cfm?p_id=194
ImmunoVaccine Technologies Partners With Scancell to Advance DNA Vaccine Delivery
August 5, 2009 – Halifax, Nova Scotia – ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. (IVT), a Canadian vaccine development company, has signed an agreement with UK-based Scancell Ltd., the operating company of Scancell Holdings Plc (SCLP.PL), which is developing therapeutic cancer and infectious disease vaccines. This research agreement will explore the potential of using IVT’s DepoVax™ delivery system for Scancell’s novel ImmunoBody® DNA vaccines.
“Scancell is developing an exciting DNA vaccine technology and we are delighted to enter into this collaboration,” remarked Dr. Marc Mansour, vice president of R&D at IVT. “Our DepoVax™ technology has the potential to better deliver DNA vaccines to draining lymph nodes to produce high levels of immune response using conventional immunization techniques.”
http://www.immunovaccine.com/press-releases.php#182
ImmunoVaccine Technologies Secures National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program Funding
July 23, 2009 – Halifax, Nova Scotia – ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. (IVT), a Canadian vaccine development company, has received a non-repayable contribution of up to $260,000 from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). The funding, in addition to both technical and business-oriented advisory services, will support IVT’s development of a pipeline of proprietary therapeutic cancer and infections disease vaccines.
“Using our proprietary DepoVax™ technology, we are developing vaccines that have the potential to stimulate a long-lasting immune response in a single dose,” said Dr. Randal Chase, president and CEO of IVT. “NRC-IRAP has been instrumental in supporting our efforts to leverage the potential of our technology, including strengthening our patent protection along the way.”
http://www.immunovaccine.com/press-releases.php#181
iCo Therapeutics Closes Non-Brokered Private Placement
July 16, 2009 VANCOUVER, Canada— iCo Therapeutics Inc. (TSX-V: ICO) (“iCo” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has completed a non-brokered private placement in the amount of $475,000 through the issuance of 1,187,500 common shares in the capital of the Company at a subscription price of $0.40 per share. The Company intends to use the net proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes.
A finder’s fee of 7% will be payable to certain arm’s length third parties with respect to a portion of the private placement. All securities issued in the private placement are subject to a four month hold period. The private placement is subject to regulatory approval, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Kane Biotech Granted United States Patent for Oral Care Technology
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (July 15, 2009) – Kane Biotech Inc. (TSX-V:KNE), a biotechnology company engaged in the development of products that prevent and disperse microbial biofilms is pleased to announce the issuance of Patent No. 7,556,807 entitled “Signal peptides, nucleic acid molecules and methods for treatment of caries” by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This is the second patent to issue protecting Kane Biotech’s CSP (Competence Stimulating Peptide) technology.
The ‘807 patent discloses and claims a method of inhibiting dental plaque and treating plaque- associated conditions such as dental caries and periodontal disease using analogues of CSP peptide in oral care formulations. Dr. Dennis Cvitkovitch (Dental Research Institute, University of Toronto), discoverer of CSP in Streptococcus mutans demonstrated the ability of CSP analogue peptides to inhibit streptococcal biofilm (dental plaque) formation.
http://www.kanebiotech.com/press_releases/press_release071509.htm
ImmunoVaccine Technologies Licenses Immunotope’s Breast, Ovarian and Prostate Cancer Antigens
July 14, 2009 – Halifax, Nova Scotia – ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. (IVT), a vaccine development company, has entered into an agreement to exclusively license seven cancer antigens from Immunotope Inc., an antigen discovery company. These proprietary antigens specifically target breast, ovarian and prostate cancers. IVT will combine the proprietary antigens with its DepoVax™ delivery platform to develop DPX-0907, a therapeutic cancer vaccine. Within the next six months the company will fast-track DPX-0907 into Phase 1 clinical trials.
“Advanced-stage breast, ovarian and prostate cancers remain devastating and challenging diseases that urgently need treatment options, and we are excited to use Immunotope’s antigens in our platform” said Dr. Randal Chase, president & CEO of IVT. “This licensing agreement significantly advances our cancer immunotherapy capabilities and represents our continued commitment to developing our DepoVax™ technology within a robust clinical trial program.”
http://www.immunovaccine.com/press-releases.php#177
Redknee Secures Contract with Leading Asia Pacific Operator
Redknee’s Service Bureau to Provide Wholesale Billing and Content Settlement for Tier-1 Wireless Operator
TORONTO– July 7, 2009 – Redknee (TSX: RKN), a leading provider of business-critical billing and charging software and solutions for communications service providers, announced that a leading Tier-1 operator from the Asia Pacific (APAC) region has selected Redknee’s InBill solution to manage its wholesale billing with its Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) partners through Redknee’s service bureau operations. The operator joins an extensive line-up of service providers who leverage Redknee’s wholesale billing expertise to maximize the value of their networks by effectively and efficiently managing multi-party settlements.
http://www.redknee.com/news_events/news_releases/298
IPeak Networks Secures Series A
Ottawa CANADA, 7 July 2009 – IPeak Networks announced today that Miralta Capital (www.miralta.com), one of Canada’s oldest private equity investment firms, has invested in the company. The Series A round of financing was closed on June 30 2009 to build on success made possible with the earlier financial support of the Ottawa Angel Alliance (OAA, ottawaangelalliance.angelgroups.net) and the Province of Ontario’s Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF, ) administered by Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE, www.oce-ontario.org).
Martin Horne, chief executive officer of IPeak Networks, characterized Miralta’s decision to get involved as a significant vote of confidence in a generally down market for such investments. “We have always known that IPeak Networks’ technology is a game-changer in the Internet-based networking market,” said Horne. “The rapid succession of investments by parties as seasoned as OAA, IAF, and now Miralta shows that our attitude is justified. We are pleased and proud to have such world class partners in our camp.”
http://ipeaknetworks.com/press/ipeak-networks-secures-series-a-financing/
Redknee Secures Multi-Million Dollar License Expansion With Tier-1 EMEA Operator
Redknee’s Next Generation Rating & Charging Solution Enables Aggressive Data Growth at a Leading Tier-1 Operator
TORONTO – July 2, 2009 – REDKNEE (TSX: RKN), a leading global provider of business-critical software and solutions for communications service providers, announced today that a leading Tier-1 operator in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East & Africa) has signed a multi-million dollar license expansion agreement for Redknee’s Next Generation Rating and Charging (NGRC) solution. This solution provides advanced rating and charging capabilities which facilitates the increased adoption and consumption of the operator’s quickly growing data services. It is anticipated that the majority of the revenue from this contract win will be recognized in fiscal 2009.
http://www.redknee.com/news_events/news_releases/297