Seven projects in PEI share over $12M in federal funding

Charlottetown, PEI – Seven R&D projects in Prince Edward Island are receiving a total of $12.3 million in federal funding support under Round VII of the Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF).

The projects include:

Nature’s Crops International Limited (Kensington) Project: Products derived from commercial oilseed crop co- products Nature’s Crops International, in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the National Research Centre of Canada and the University of Prince Edward Island, will explore the commercial potential of bioactive compounds that are derived from the waste products of seed oil crops. Preliminary results show that the derivative products offer a combination of antioxidant and anti- inflammatory properties. This project, with total estimated costs of $4.1 million, will receive approximately $2.7 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a four-year period.

Chemaphor (Charlottetown) Project: Natural, Non-Antibiotic Products Enhancing Food- Animal Products Chemaphor has developed OxBC, a natural carotenoid oxidation product with the demonstrated ability to enhance the immune system of animals. In this project, Chemaphor will evaluate OxBC as a natural means of improving livestock immune systems, in turn reducing the need for antibiotics, a major concern within the global agricultural industry. This project, with total estimated costs of $3.8 million, will receive approximately $2 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a three-year period.

University of Prince Edward Island – Atlantic Veterinary College (Charlottetown) Project: Biomedical Infrared Technologies This project will create a series of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) – a software-based infrared test to detect immunoglobulin (antibodies) in animals. This new FTIR technology is highly cost-effective and able to generate extremely sensitive, specific and accurate test results in a matter of minutes, rather than hours. The technology developed through the project represents novel research discoveries and emerging advancement in animal health diagnostics. This project, with total estimated costs of $3.5 million, will receive approximately $1.9 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a three-year period.

LISI Therapeutics (Charlottetown) Project: Development of an Innovative, Advanced Cancer Drug Therapy LISI Therapeutics has established LISI Atlantic Development in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. With this project, the company will bring Verotoxin (VT1), a protein-based anti-cancer drug that naturally targets and kills cancerous cells, to the market, as well as a drug for treating inoperable brain cancers, drug resistant cancers and metastatic tumors. This project, with total estimated costs of $3.2 million, will receive approximately $1.9 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a three-year period.

Timeless Technologies (2007) (Charlottetown) Project: Decision Support & Learning Systems for Veterinary Medicine Timeless Technologies (2007) will design, develop, test and market a series of online/browser-based applications to assist veterinarians with their daily diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic decisions. The innovative decision-making tool will provide more efficient and effective ways to condense and analyze information related to diseases, testing and treatments. This project, with total estimated costs of $2.3 million, will receive approximately $1.4 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a three-year period.

University of Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown) Project: Discovery Space Through Discovery Space, the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) will continue to transform the way R&D information is managed and used. The project will provide both public and corporate R&D groups with a web-based means of creating and managing the storage, transformation, discovery and distribution of core data. This project, with total estimated costs of $2.4 million, will receive approximately $1.4 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a two-year period.

University of Prince Edward Island – Atlantic Veterinary College (Charlottetown) Project: Veterinary Laboratory Quality Assurance Program Expansion Through this project, the AVC will develop software and systems for the web-based delivery of an impartial, objective, verification program for veterinary labs to verify and assure diagnosis. As a result, the AVC will be able to provide subscribing labs with identical quality assurance evaluations, while eliminating issues surrounding the shipment of biological materials across the border. This project, with total estimated costs of $1.9 million, will receive approximately $1 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a three-year period.