TMU research partner joins global incubator network JLABS, Toronto
YYZ’s President and COO Mike Badeau (left) and TMU’s Faculty of Science professor John Marshall.
A key commercialization partner and spin-out of a Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) biochemistry lab has been accepted as a resident company of Johnson & Johnson's global incubator network, JLABS, Toronto.
YYZ Pharmatech Inc. (YYZ) is a deep tech company endeavouring to profoundly progress new medicine for patients by revealing the plasma proteome. This residency grants access to JLABS’ global network of innovation ecosystems. JLABS is the largest global network of open innovation ecosystems, enabling and empowering emerging companies with the knowledge, experience, partnerships, and venture connections across a broad health-care spectrum, including pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors.
“TMU has been an important long-term partner to YYZ, and we are thrilled to celebrate this milestone together,” said Mike Badeau, President and COO of YYZ.
Professor John G. Marshall, head of TMU’s Research Analytical Biochemistry Lab (RABL), has collaborated with YYZ for over 20 years, pioneering plasma proteomics research – the study of proteins in blood plasma.
Harnessing plasma proteins for disease diagnosis and treatment
Their advances enable early disease diagnosis, predicting disease risk and identifying new therapeutic targets. Plasma proteins serve as biomarkers and potential drug targets for many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurodegenerative conditions. They also play key roles in immune response, blood clotting and transporting hormones and nutrients.
“As key regulators of human health, plasma ligands and their cell surface receptors are crucial targets of therapeutic treatments and current medical research,” said professor Marshall. “Since 2004, our research at TMU has focused on developing advanced tools that integrate biochemistry, mass spectrometry and computational analysis with laboratory techniques to drive new discoveries in this field.”
“Congratulations to professor Marshall and YYZ Pharmatech for this exciting opportunity to join JLABS and a global innovation ecosystem,” said Steven N. Liss, vice-president, research and innovation at TMU. “This is an important step to accelerate the trajectory of this exciting and promising work to deliver impactful, novel health-care innovations.”
Research by The Marshall Team at TMU is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Learn more about The Marshall Team’s Research Analytical Biochemistry Lab (RABL) at TMU.
Learn more about YYZ Pharmatech Inc. (external link, opens in new window)
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