Commercialization bodies join forces to further innovation efforts

Toronto and Kingston, ON – Ontario’s Centre for Commercialization of Research (CCR) and PARTEQ Innovations, the technology commercialization office of Queen’s University, have signed an agreement to work together to advance technology innovations across the province.

The partnership formalizes an already successful relationship, says Dr Mario Thomas, CCR’s managing director. “With this collaboration, CCR builds on the successful relationship OCE has had with PARTEQ for some time,” he adds. “Now we have the premier facilitator of early-stage research in Ontario and the leading technology transfer office directing their resources and expertise towards a common goal: making Ontario a leader in Canada’s innovation economy by commercializing breakthrough technologies.”

Last year Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) was awarded nearly $15 million from the federal government to establish CCR along with the Networks of Centres of Excellence of Canada. It provides a focal point for OCE’s commercialization efforts.

The goal of the partnership is to share expertise, resources, and access to opportunities will ensure that the optimal commercialization resources can be dedicated to specific projects.

“No single institution can create a commercialization infrastructure to cover all areas of research,” says John Molloy, PARTEQ’s CEO. “It is only by networking and working together that we can maximize our commercialization success and get these ideas into the marketplace.”

Opportunities on the horizon for CCR and PARTEQ include GreenCentre Canada, a national Centre of Excellence for commercializing green chemistry discoveries; and a newly signed collaboration agreement between PARTEQ Innovations and the People’s Republic of China Innofund, a non-profit government fund focused on supporting the innovation activities of small and medium sized companies in China.

The CCR-PARTEQ collaboration will be led by Randall North, formerly executive in residence and associate director of commercialization at PARTEQ. Mr North is a professional engineer with more than three decades of experience in engineering, product development and marketing of advanced technologies.