Government of Canada Supports Innovation in Kingston

KINGSTON, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 17, 2011) - Businesses in manufacturing, engineering and life sciences will have an opportunity to bring new products to market, expand and create new jobs thanks to a new partnership with Queen's University. Member of Parliament Gord Brown, on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, and Janice Mady, Director, Innovation Park and Industry Partnerships at Queen's University, celebrated the signing of agreements between Queen's University and small- and medium-sized businesses.

"These agreements allow local businesses to work with research teams at Queen's University on developing new ideas and bringing those new products to Canadians, which will be good for the economy in Kingston," said MP Brown. "Our government is committed to supporting the people, communities and businesses of southern Ontario."

Last year, under the Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative, Queen's University was approved for up to $750,000 from FedDev Ontario to partner with small- and medium-sized enterprises on activities such as applied research, engineering design, technology development, product testing, and certification. The support provided will create new economic opportunities and help to grow Canada's businesses to be more innovative and competitive.

"Queen's is proud to be a contributor to economic development in both Kingston and surrounding areas," said Steven Liss, Queen's University, Vice-Principal (Research). "This funding will help us in our endeavors to support small- and medium-sized businesses in our region. It is incredibly rewarding to see these partnerships between excellent Queen's researchers and innovative local businesses come to fruition."

For more information on the Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative and currently approved Queen's University partners, please refer to the backgrounder.

FedDev Ontario was created as part of Canada's Economic Action Plan to support businesses and communities in southern Ontario. Now in its second year of operation, the Agency has launched a number of initiatives to create a Southern Ontario Advantage and place the region in a strong position to compete in the global economy. These initiatives are designed to support businesses and other organizations through partnerships and investments in skills and training; innovation; research and development; and increased productivity. To learn more, please visit www.feddevontario.gc.ca or call 1-866-593-5505.

Backgrounder

Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative

The Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative is designed to bridge the gap between research and commercialization between Ontario's post-secondary academic institutions and small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Through this initiative, Queen's University is collaborating with the following businesses on the following projects.

AB Sciex

AB/Sciex is a global leader in the field of scientific instrumentation with its primary strength in mass spectrometry and its application to life science research. AB/Sciex recognizes the particular research strengths of Queen's in the area of microfluidics. Advancements in this area promise to have particular application in life science research. More information is available at http://www.absciex.com/

Altitudetech

Altitudetech Inc. designs, manufactures and retails altitude simulation equipment for athletes, mountaineers, research facilities, Olympic organizations and equine clients to improve performance and health. Using equipment in over 15 countries in the world, clients have summited Mount Everest, won Olympic gold medals and World Championships and have gained a competitive edge on the competition, right in their own home without having to travel to altitude. This collaboration opportunity with Queen's will initiate and validate Altitudetech's equipment to treat epidemic diseases such as type II diabetes and high blood pressure that are affecting a large population in North America and the world. More information is available at http://www.altitudetech.ca/

Deloro Stellite

Deloro Stellite, part of the Deloro Stellite group of companies with manufacturing presence in North America, Europe and Asia, manufactures components for wear, corrosion, and high temperature applications. At the Belleville facility, there are more than eight distinct metal working processes, namely, investment, sand, centrifugal, and vacuum castings, wrought processing, powder metallurgy, hard-facing, machining, and coatings. The aim of the collaborative work with Queen's, is to develop a high temperature metal powder processing technique tailored to tight alloy chemistries. The work will allow the company to expand its alloy portfolio and open new markets, resulting in more job creation and sustainable growth. More information is available at http://www.stellite.com/

ENDETEC

ENDETEC is the global sensors platform for Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies, and is responsible for developing and commercializing water monitoring technologies. ENDETEC's main market is municipal drinking water operations and current products include an instrument and test kit for detection of E. coli. The collaboration with Queen's will support the test-kit business and include developing new synthesis methods of the substrates to provide 100 gram quantities needed for commercial production of test kits. In this project, ENDETEC will change from synthetic methods commonly used in a research lab to methods appropriate for larger scale production. More information is available at http://www.endetec.com/

Kingston Process Metallurgy

Kingston Process Metallurgy Inc. (KPM) is a Canadian-owned new process development company for the process metallurgy and chemical industry. In addition to client sponsored development projects, KPM also conducts its own research into new methods of reducing costs of metals production. The opportunity to work with Queen's has allowed KPM to gain access to personnel and equipment not available at its facility. More information is available at http://www.kpm.ca/

Lab-2-Clinic

Lab-2-Clinic Solutions Inc. (L-2-C) takes proven laboratory concepts and develops them towards clinical utility be it diagnostic, therapeutic or both. L-2-C lead opportunity is the development of a novel, non-steroidal, topical anti-inflammatory formulation, for use in children with ocular complications from Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Norton Scientific

Norton was established in 2010 to design innovative measurement tools for use by bench scientists working in modern biopolymer/polymer research facilities. Initial target markets for Norton are the biochemical applications and kinetics. Future developments will broaden this base to include drug delivery and wound healing systems, sustainable materials, water quality monitoring, and advanced nano-material research. The company has just been granted a private company listing on the Frankfurt Bourse to finance an exciting R&D program. Small technology start-ups like Norton benefit hugely from interacting with leading academics, sparking innovations that give both the academic and business partners a technological and economic advantage over their competitors. More information is available at http://www.norsci.ca/

OAISYS Inc.

OAISYS Inc. is a leading medical device and image analysis company specializing in standardized imaging of plain X-rays. OAISYS has teamed up with an orthopedic surgery group at Queen's as part of a clinical project for the development of a web-based Knee Surgery Triage Tool. The project is a novel approach to improve health care delivery and lower costs by enabling family doctors, other health care workers, and surgeons, locally or remotely, to accurately quantify the level of disability and radiographic joint damage in an arthritic knee. The tool will help prioritize surgical referrals by defining the optimal timing for surgery or other care and collect accurate information on disease progression and outcome of treatment over time. More information is available at http://www.oaisysmedical.com

Research Casting International

Research Casting International has been a world leader in the fabrication of museum exhibits throughout the world for the last 25 years. The company has a rich background in paleontology and has been entrusted with assembling dinosaur skeletons for many of the largest museums in the world. 3D scanning and prototyping is one of many new services and products added to their repertoire over time.

The 3D scanning service began as a tool that could be used to mirror image or replace missing elements of fossil skeletons. The company is currently setting up a 3DLibrary of data from their own collections and from other researchers around the world. One of the problems being encountered is the ability to transfer large amounts of data over the internet efficiently. This collaboration with Queen's will go a long way to develop a method of reducing large data files without losing any of the information. Once complete, this will allow Research Casting International to continue to be a world leader and finish developing its online library. More information is available at http://www.rescast.com/

SanEcoTec

SanEcoTec is a Canadian Clean Tech company, charged with the development Huwa San Peroxide Technology (HSP) in North America. SanEcoTec contributes to a more sustainable water treatment and disinfection culture through innovation and new succesful applications of HSP's excellent properties. Huwa-San Peroxide is completely eco-friendly and forms no harmful disinfection by products, breaking down into oxygen and water. It is the first, and currently the only, NSF certified peroxide that is allowed to be residual in drinking water. This collaboration will solidify and prove in the laboratory the unique properties of HSP. It will enable SanEcoTec to develop operations, sales, exports and eventually manufacturing, creating new sustainable opportunities for the Canadian economy. More information is available at http://www.sanecotec.com/

Therma Vault Systems Inc.

Therma Vault's current products are 100% solid powder thermal spray coatings, thermal spray coating systems, and technical support for clients in the advanced material industrial field. Thermal spray polymer coating requires extremely tight control of flow and thermal parameters in order to provide high quality, repeatable coatings. It must also accommodate these parameters to different polymer materials. Current gun head technology leaves little room for adjustment. Therma Vault's project with Queen's will involve re-designing and thoroughly testing new spray gun head technology. The new design will be based on current experimental analysis and computational modeling of the existing gun head flow field, particle trajectory patterns, thermal and chemical flow characteristics. A new prototype will be manufactured and tested. More information is available at http://www.thermavault.com/

Transformix

Transformix supplies custom industrial automation solutions to its international clients and is currently developing a series of automation solutions to Brazilian processors of sugar cane to produce ethanol. The machinery that Transformix is developing will fully automate the processing of sugar cane, which will increase yields and efficiencies, and reduce costs. The current automation solution uses a 2D computer vision - a more attractive alternative is the use of 3D computer vision technologies. This project will expand on an early prototype of this 3D technology, developed and demonstrated at Queen's and will be proven on a large sample of sugar cane in an industrial environment. More information is available at http://www.transformix.com/

W.R. Davis

W. R. Davis Engineering Limited is a mechanical engineering company located in Ottawa, with expertise in the design and manufacture of aerothermal systems. W.R.Davis is collaborating with Queen's to develop a prototype gas turbine heat-electric generator for the home market. More information is available at http://www.davis-eng.com/

YM Biosciences

YM BioSciences is a development-stage biotechnology company. Its lead small molecule compound is CYT387, a novel JAK kinase inhibitor for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), a subset of hematological neoplasms for which there is currently no effective treatment. Better understanding of the drug/disease interaction could aid YM Biosciences in determining the effect of the novel JAK kinase inhibitor in treatment of these disorders.

To bring this product to market, successful clinical trials must be completed and regulatory clearance obtained for commercialization. YM Biosciences is working with Queen's to conduct this trial in their laboratories using OLA-compliant procedures. Performance of this assay in such a lab would ensure that the results would be of a high standard and acceptable to the various regulatory authorities (Health Canada, FDA, etc). More information is available at http://www.ymbiosciences.com/