Johnson & Johnson Innovation Announces 40+ Resident Companies now at JLABS @ Toronto

Life science facility celebrates one year anniversary with a total of 24 new resident companies since May 2016, with focuses across pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer & digital health

TORONTO, May 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC, today announced 24 new companies have become residents of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS @ Toronto since its grand opening exactly a year ago. The 40,000-square-foot life sciences incubator now hosts a total of 40+ companies, and provides these entrepreneurs shared lab space and offices, modular lab suites and access to scientific, industry and capital funding experts, all with no-strings attached. The companies represent a range of sectors including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and consumer health solutions with focus areas such as oncology, vision care, genomics, neuroscience, infectious diseases, immunology and the microbiome.  

"Since opening its doors a year ago, JLABS @ Toronto has successfully attracted a multitude of promising companies from our province's life sciences community, led by academic hospitals, world-class research institutes, top scientists and a strong health start-up network," said the Honourable Reza Moridi, Minister of Research, Innovation and Science. "They have helped our province continue to build up Ontario's vibrant innovation ecosystem, create good jobs, and strengthen our position in the global knowledge economy while also providing access to incredible resources for our life science entrepreneurs."

Johnson & Johnson Innovation seeks to fuel the best science and technology, no matter where it is located, to solve the greatest unmet medical and healthcare needs of our time. In addition to offering emerging life science companies modular lab units, office space, shared core laboratory equipment, business facilities, third-party services and educational events, JLABS links the entrepreneurs of Toronto with the full breadth of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, including opportunities for funding, access to research and development experts from medical technology, consumer healthcare product and the pharmaceutical teams at Janssen Inc. JLABS @ Toronto provides access to scientific, industry and capital funding experts from across the industry, and operates under the JLABS no-strings attached model, which means resident companies can completely retain their intellectual property and there are no first rights of refusal.

"Our goal is to support early stage innovators with the resources and network needed to grow, and as evident by the 40 companies that reside within JLABS @ Toronto, we are already accomplishing what we set out to do in just one year of operation," said Melinda Richter, head of JLABS, Johnson & Johnson Innovation. "The no-strings attached model has been very important to our success in attracting so many quality companies, as it allows entrepreneurs the freedom to operate and do what is best for their company. We are hopeful that providing JLABS to the life sciences ecosystem in Toronto will support continued economic growth and development in the region."

Since opening last year, JLABS @ Toronto has helped boost the Canadian life sciences ecosystem by hosting more than 5,300 attendees at over 50 events. More than 90 experts from a multitude of industries have spoken at these events in the last year. JLABS @ Toronto resident companies are receiving access to expertise from across the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies.

"Through their world-class incubator, Johnson & Johnson Innovation is providing much needed infrastructure and access to funding sources for early-stage innovators to help drive their ideas forward," said the Honourable Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development & Growth. "Ontario welcomes JLABS @ Toronto's innovative and flexible platform, providing a total of 40 companies with access to incredible business resources while allowing researchers to keep the freedom and flexibility they need to be successful."

JLABS @ Toronto has facilitated over 150 meetings of startups with visiting funding experts from throughout North America. Through a unique collaboration, JLABS @ Toronto companies will be considered for funding and mentoring from Spectrum 28, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm.  

The following are the new companies* accepted into JLABS @ Toronto since May 11^th, 2016:

Following the leadership of the government of Ontario's investment in JLABS @ Toronto, the Johnson & Johnson Alberta Health Innovation Partnership (JAHIP), a collaboration that includes Alberta Economic Development and Trade, Janssen Inc. and the University Hospital Foundation in Edmonton recently opened the doors to JLABS POD @ Alberta, a secure video conference system at the University of Alberta. This is the first- of- its- kind in Canada and will provide an access point to the Johnson & Johnson Innovation family, offering Alberta health researchers and entrepreneurs access to: the Johnson & Johnson Innovation broader network of therapeutic area experts in pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer and digital health.

"Since its launch just one year ago, JLABS @ Toronto has attracted some of the region's brightest and freshest talent," said Chris Halyk, President, Janssen Inc. "The JLABS model in Ontario and now the JLABS POD in Alberta, enables us to boost the Canadian innovation and life sciences ecosystem and provide meaningful resources to help drive exciting new science forward. Janssen is proud to be part of such a strong collaboration of partners that helped make JLABS @ Toronto and JLABS POD @ Alberta a reality."

JLABS facilities have incubated more than 207 companies to date and are currently home to over 150 companies advancing biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device, consumer and digital health programs. A total of 35 collaborations have been formed between companies residing at JLABS and the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies.

JLABS @ Toronto is located at MaRS Discovery District and is a collaboration between Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC, the University of Toronto, MaRS, Janssen Inc., MaRS Innovation and the Government of Ontario. It is also supported by the following hospital partners: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Hospital for Sick Children, Sinai Health System, St. Michael's Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and University Health Network.

All JLABS locations are accepting applications from biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device, consumer and digital health companies. To apply, visit www.jnjinnovation.com/jlabs.

About Johnson & Johnson Innovation
Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC focuses on accelerating all stages of innovation worldwide and forming collaborations between entrepreneurs and Johnson & Johnson's global healthcare businesses. Johnson & Johnson Innovation provides scientists, entrepreneurs and emerging companies with one-stop access to science and technology experts who can facilitate collaborations across the pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer companies of Johnson & Johnson. Under the Johnson & Johnson Innovation umbrella of businesses, we connect with innovators through our regional Innovation Centers, JLABS, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. and our Business Development teams to create customized deals and novel collaborations that speed development of innovations to solve unmet needs in patients. For more information please visit: www.jnjinnovation.com.

About Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS
Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS (JLABS) is a global network of open innovation ecosystems, enabling and empowering innovators to create and accelerate the delivery of life-saving, life-enhancing health and wellness solutions to patients around the world. JLABS achieves this by providing the optimal environment for emerging companies to catalyze growth and optimize their research and development by opening them to vital industry connections, delivering entrepreneurial programs and providing a capital-efficient, flexible platform where they can transform the scientific discoveries of today into the breakthrough healthcare solutions of tomorrow.  At JLABS we value great ideas and are passionate about removing obstacles to success to help innovators unleash the potential of their early scientific discoveries.  JLABS is a no-strings-attached model, which means entrepreneurs are free to develop their science while holding on to their intellectual property.  JLABS is open to entrepreneurs across a broad healthcare spectrum including pharmaceutical, medical device, consumer and digital health sectors.

JLABS currently has nine locations in innovation hot spots across North America and produces entrepreneurial programs and campaigns to seek out the best science, like the QuickFire Challenges around the globe. The JLABS flagship opened in 2012 in San Diego at Janssen's West Coast Research Center, and since then, has established two locations in San Francisco - one through a collaboration with the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) and a second standalone facility in South San Francisco.  JLABS is also located in Boston through a collaboration with LabCentral, in Lowell, Massachusetts through a collaboration with UMass, in Houston through a collaboration with the Texas Medical Center (TMC), in Toronto through a collaboration with the Ontario Government and the University of Toronto and a new JLABS @ NYC (in collaboration with the New York Genome Center (opening in 2018)).  For more information about JLABS, please visit www.jlabs.jnjinnovation.com.

SOURCE Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC

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