[news 2005 - 2006]

PARTEQ, University of Toronto announce strategic alliance to commercialize research discoveries

For immediate release

Monday, Nov. 20, 2006

KINGSTON, ON -- Queen’s University’s PARTEQ Innovations and University of Toronto’s Innovations at U of T (IUT) are pleased to announce a strategic alliance directed at commercializing discoveries generated by university research.

The new alliance, which will initially involve the respective technology transfer offices of Queen’s University and  University of Toronto, will work jointly towards a shared goal of enhancing Ontario’s overall research commercialization capacity.

The focus will be on finding, funding and developing research discoveries with commercial potential, with the partners providing complementary expertise and resources.

Leading the alliance are Mr. John Molloy, President and CEO of PARTEQ and Dr. Tim McTiernan, Assistant Vice-President, Research, and Executive Director of Innovations at University of Toronto. They made the announcement at the annual meeting of the Alliance for the Commercialization of Canadian Technology (ACCT), the national organization of technology transfer professionals at Canada’s universities and research institutions.

“Essentially, this alliance is recognition that when it comes to commercializing research, none of us can do it all,” says Mr. Molloy. “It’s acknowledgment that by calling on one another’s strengths as opportunities and needs arise, we all become more effective.”

“This is a tremendous opportunity to connect key commercialization centres and is a natural extension of IUT’s collaborations in Toronto with MaRS and BioDiscovery Toronto,” says Dr. McTiernan. “By agreeing to pool our resources, expertise, and commercialization opportunities, our alliance can make the most of the promising discoveries arising from leading research at our respective universities. This agreement marks the next stage in the evolution of Ontario’s innovation and commercialization pipeline.”

While each of the institutions brings distinctive strengths to the growing field of research commercialization, leveraging one another’s resources and technology specializations will greatly enhance the volume and quality of the province’s overall innovation pipeline, the partners say.

They describe their approach as an extension of the Ontario Commercialization Network, recently established by the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation.

“This model puts into tangible form the ministry’s desire for greater collaboration and capacity-building among the province’s many players in the innovation commercialization field,” Dr. McTiernan says. “It’s about breaking down the barriers to collaboration and building a seamless network of players who can help to bring forward-looking technologies to market.”

“This is an important step in enhancing the potential of publicly funded research,” says Mr. Molloy. “This kind of sharing and collaboration is essential, because ultimately our goals are the same: to ensure that the innovative technologies generated by university research reach the market, benefiting our society and our economy.”


Contact:
Dr. Tim McTiernan
Executive Director

Innovations at U of T
416. 946. 7342

Mr. John Molloy,
President & CEO
PARTEQ Innovations
613. 533. 2322

About Innovations at U of T:

Innovations at U of T (IUT) is the research commercialization arm of the University of Toronto. As a department of the Office of the Vice-President, Research & Associate Provost, IUT works with U of T faculty and our healthcare partners in bringing their research to the marketplace. IUT (formerly known as the University of Toronto Innovations Foundation) has evaluated thousands of ideas in the Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and Information Technology and has taken the best to many of the biggest names in the business world in the fields of drug development, biodiesel fuel, agriculture, finance, mining, and many others.
http://innovations.utoronto.ca

About PARTEQ Innovations:

PARTEQ Innovations is the not-for-profit technology transfer arm of Queen’s University. PARTEQ works with Queen’s researchers and the business and venture capital communities to bring early stage technologies to market. Since 1987 PARTEQ has been instrumental in the establishment of nearly 40 companies developing a variety of products, from potential drugs for Alzheimer’s, cancer and heart disease to automated bacteria detection for water systems, solar-powered appliances, and advanced materials used in the plastics, automotive, aerospace and household appliance industries.
www.parteqinnovations.com