The Drive to Commercialization

The deliberate linking of science for the benefit of everyday life and the realization that industry and the creation of industry is part of the equation must be a fundamental and integrated strategy of any thriving research program today. The Santerre lab believes that conducting fundamental research can lead to a commercializable idea, and that students have the ability to take these ideas and turn them into products that can improve healthcare in Canada and worldwide, either by working with industry partners or through entrepreneurship, where students can lead new start-ups that not only generate valuable healthcare products, but also produce job opportunities for new graduates.

The Santerre lab is ideally positioned to achieve these goals within Toronto’s Discovery District (www.torontodiscoverydistrict.ca), featuring world-class research facilities, hospitals, and MaRS, which aims to commercialize publicly funded medical research, creating successful businesses from Canada’s scientific discoveries and innovations. Dr. Santerre is the author on >60 patents (38 awarded). More importantly, these patentable ideas have been used to generate new start-ups, such as Interface Biologics Inc., a new company that emerged from research conducted in Paul Santerre’s lab, which developed within the ecosystem provided by MaRS and the University of Toronto, and currently employs 20 people.

For students or post-docs interested in a career in entrepreneurship, numerous resources are provided by MaRS, the University of Toronto, and other facilities, including MaRS Entrepreneurship 101 (www.marsdd.com/entrepreneurship-101/) and the numerous campus-linked accelerators (CLAs) whose goal is to help students realize the commercial potential of their ideas (www.entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca).