November 21, 2005 Source: University of Saskatchewan:
http://www.usask.ca/events/news/articles/20051121-1.html U of S Spinoff Adnavance Attracts $3.85 M Investment Organization: University of Saskatchewan Communications
Email: communications@usask.ca
Released: Nov. 21, 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Monday, November 21, 2005 2005-11-18-OTHER U of S Spinoff Adnavance Attracts $3.85 M Investment University of Saskatchewan spinoff company Adnavance Technologies Inc. has
attracted a $3.85 million investment from four venture capital organizations
to develop biosensors for diagnosing disease, novel DNA-based vaccines, and
a new method for producing hydrogen for fuel cells. The deal, coordinated through the U of S Industry Liaison Office (ILO),
includes $1.1 million from the Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund, $1 million
from the Working Opportunity Fund managed by GrowthWorks Capital, $1 million
from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), and $750,000 from B.C.
Medical Innovations. "These strategic investments boost Adnavance's research and development
efforts to produce prototypes for its biosensor and hydrogen generation
applications," says ILO Director Doug Gill. "These prototypes are key to
triggering industry partnerships to help bring these technologies to
market." Previous investors in Adnavance include University Medical Discoveries Inc.
who played a pivotal role in founding Adnavance and provided key funding to
develop the technology at the very earliest stages at the U of S. AgWest Bio
and the University of Saskatchewan itself also contributed with early-stage
investment. The biosensor and vaccine projects are based on M-DNA, a metal-bearing form
of DNA discovered by U of S researchers Jeremy Lee and Palok Aich. The metal
gives M-DNA some interesting properties. In vaccines, for example, M-DNA appears to improve immune response, possibly
because it resists the enzymes that quickly break down regular DNA.
DNA-based vaccines are much easier to make than conventional vaccines so
they can be deployed more quickly and cheaply - attractive traits when
combating emerging diseases. Lee and his research team will collaborate with
researchers at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the U of S
for this project. The M-DNA biosensor project will be based at Paracelsus Technologies Inc., a
wholly-owned Adnavance subsidiary in Vancouver. The aim is to create a
diagnostic tool that will quickly yield information on genetic disease and
bacterial infection, allowing doctors to prescribe appropriate treatment. "We should be able to provide a diagnosis in less than half an hour," Lee
says. "The idea is to provide an answer by the end of the patient's visit."
The third project is hydrogen production using sunlight. The method is
similar to photosynthesis in plants, in that it splits hydrogen from water
and stores it in a chemical form. This project is supported by the National
Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program. Adnavance Technologies Inc. is an early stage company formed in 2002 to
develop technologies that use the electrical conductivity properties of both
normal and novel, metallic, forms of DNA to serve needs in large
biosensor-molecular diagnostics, as well as energy generation and management
markets. The Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund (CMDF) is Canada's largest health
sciences labour-sponsored venture capital fund. Established in 1994, it
manages more than $244 million in venture capital investments, its portfolio
reflecting predominantly Canadian companies using advanced biotechnologies
to develop products and services that fulfill unmet medical needs. GrowthWorks managed funds, including GrowthWorks Canadian Fund, GrowthWorks
Commercialization Fund, GrowthWorks Atlantic Venture Fund, and the Working
Opportunity Fund have combined $750 million in assets and investments,
primarily focused on Canada's most promising sectors: information
technology, life sciences and advanced manufacturing. BDC Venture Capital is a major venture capital investor in Canada, active at
every stage of the company's development cycle, from seed through expansion,
with a focus on technology-based businesses that have high growth potential
and that are positioned to become dominant players in their markets. BDC
Venture Capital has been involved in venture capital since 1975 and has to
date invested in more than 400 different companies. It currently manages
approximately $550 million in venture capital assets invested in the areas
of Life Sciences, Telecommunications, Information Technology, Advanced
Technologies and Funds Investments. B.C. Medical Innovations Fund (BCMIF) is a labour-sponsored investment fund
that focuses exclusively on the burgeoning health science sector in British
Columbia. -30- For more information, contact: Henry Geraedts, CEO
Adnavance Technologies Inc.
(604) 816-6332
geraedts@adnavance.com
www.adnavance.com Rachelle Girard
Industry Liaison Office
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-7338
rachelle.girard@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/research/ilo Michael Robin
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2427
michael.robin@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/research
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