NRC Annual Report 2001-2002

N R C – F R O M D I S C O V E R Y T O I N N O V A T I O N...“MDS Sciex has worked with various institutes of theNational Research Council… for the past 20 yearsand we owe much of our success to that enduringrelationship. We look forward to extending ourcollaborative efforts… to include Ionalytics, and wewill certainly support their continued developmentof the FAIMS technology.”Bill DavidsonV. P. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYMDS- SCIEXVenture capital funding –over $220 million in five yearsThe past two years have seen a downturn in bothinvestment and employment in Canada’s hightechsector. According to a recent report byMacDonald and Associates, the number ofventure capital deals in Canada dropped27 percent and the amount committed dropped15 percent. In contrast, over the same period, thenumber of venture capital deals with NRC spinoffshas almost doubled, and the amount investedhas increased. Even in the last six months, newdeals were signed for over $2 million, with followondeals of over $50 million.28Capital Laser – laser micro-machiningto go commercialCapital Laser is a spin-off firm from NRC-IMTI inLondon, Ontario, created to commercialize NRC’sIP in laser micro-machining technology. The firmis incubating at NRC’s London facility during itsstart-up phase, a term expected to last for 12months. The co-location will be crucial to the newfirm since NRC’s contribution to the company ismainly in the form of trade secrets.NavSim Technology Inc. – helpingships navigate the worldNavSim Technology Inc. (NSTI) is a spin-off firmtaking an integrated navigation system to market.The system includes an advanced and unmatchedversion of AutoPilot that will be useful to ships,both large and small as well as fishing boats. Italso includes an electronic chart and displayinformation system, grounding and collisionavoidance systems, route planning and dynamicposition components. The product will be acompact system designed to integrate availableglobal navigation systems within laptop computers.The company plans to have the first CDavailable for market this year. NSTI started withsix employees.NRC bucking the trendin new venturesThe probability of success of a new venture,whether a spin-off or start-up firm, is low.According to Statistics Canada, 80 percent of newfirms will fail within their first ten years. Of tennew ventures funded by venture capitalists, onlyone is expected to be a true success; the resteither fail or exhibit only slow growth.In contrast to this rather bleak picture, NRCspin-offs since 1995-1996 are thriving. Of the 52created, 49 companies, or nearly 96 percent, havesurvived and most of these are prospering.“Genesys Capital Partners Inc. investsdirectly in research-oriented biotechnologycompanies with a focus on genomicsand proteomics technologies, late-stageclinical products, speciality pharma ande-health. We were on the lookout for newtechnology in the NRC laboratories whenwe came across the FAIMS research teamand decided to invest in this promisingcompany.”Damian LambMANAGING DIRECTORGENESYS CAPITAL PARTNERS INC.Some NRC spin-offs to watch• IatroQuest – spun off in 1998 to commercializetechnology for the virtually instantaneous detectionof chemical and biological toxins, the firmreceived almost $5 million in venture capitalfunding in 2001. The company is developingunique, miniaturized sensing and diagnosticsystems for defence and peacekeeping, medicaldiagnostics and environmental monitoringapplications