On September 4, its 10th anniversary, MaRS Innovation announced its name change to Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP). TIAP also recently announced its collaboration with Amgen, a global leader in the biotechnology industry.
TIAP specializes in venture-building of early-stage health science technologies.
The organization was created as a non-profit in 2008 by an agreement among 14 academic institutions, including U of T. The goal of this organization is to create a vehicle that could take science-based innovations from research labs into biotech businesses. It has opened the door to a new wave of health science-based entrepreneurs.
TIAP, as the name suggests, creates direct partnerships with future scientists to support the growth of impactful businesses. U of T students have the opportunity to apply to its University of Toronto Early-Stage Technology (UTEST) program, which is a 12-month intensive entrepreneurial education program. Its focus is to support, mentor, and provide business strategy to startup companies based on cutting-edge science technologies.
UTEST has produced companies like NeuroBlot, a personalized neurotechnology aimed to be a diagnostic tool for detecting dementia. NeuroBlot uses machine learning and data analysis from a user’s social media to generate cognitive analysis. Founded in 2016, the company has an ongoing collaboration with The Hospital for Sick Children and U of T.
TIAP’s current portfolio consists of over 60 early-stage companies in sectors such as therapeutics, medical devices, health information technologies, and artificial intelligence. TIAP has enabled its portfolio companies to raise over $400 million and created more than 1,000 STEM jobs across Canada.
