As an entrepreneur and cardiovascular researcher, Dr. Soror Sharifpoor recognized the need to enhance the commercialization of cardiovascular research. Since graduating from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, she noticed a surprising lack of related startup companies despite the cutting-edge research being conducted. Determined to fill this gap, she founded The Entrepreneurship for Cardiovascular Health Opportunities (ECHO) Program in 2018.
Funded and organized by the Translational Biology and Engineering Program (TBEP) at the University of Toronto and the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, in partnership with the Health Innovation Hub (H2i), ECHO aims to bridge the gap between groundbreaking cardiovascular research and its commercialization, empowering innovators to turn their ideas into life-saving products.
“Cardiovascular disease is a major epidemic and the second leading cause of death in Canada. Despite Canada’s status as a global hub for cardiovascular research, many innovations never reach the clinic to impact patients.” said Dr. Sharifpoor, now Director of Strategy and Translation at TBEP.
We want to help innovators across Canada mitigate the challenges associated with cardiovascular research commercialization and to ensure that more research innovations are turned into products that can be used by patients and their doctors.
Dr. Soror Sharifpoor
(Director of Strategy and Translation at TBEP)
Dr. Sharifpoor’s journey from scientist to entrepreneur was driven by her background in engineering, which naturally focuses on designing solutions for real-world problems. Her entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to improving patient outcomes through innovation are the driving forces behind ECHO.
A large component of ECHO is to enable entrepreneurship training and mentorship, designed to accelerate the translation of cardiovascular innovations from the lab to the clinic. From developing a viable business model to understanding regulatory requirements, ECHO ensures that innovators are well-prepared to bring their technologies to market.
“ECHO was designed with four key goals: to provide comprehensive entrepreneurship education, offer mentorship from a diverse network of experts, facilitate strategic collaborations, and grant financial support to de-risk promising technologies.” Said Dr. Sharifpoor, “The 12-month program includes workshops, webinars, networking, and mentorship activities, culminating in a public pitch competition where ventures can win $250,000 in startup funding.”
Since its inception, the ECHO program has enrolled six cohorts, comprising 56 start-up ventures and 144 team members in the cardiovascular space. The program has attracted a diverse group of trainees, including graduate students, clinical and postdoctoral fellows, faculty, research scientists, and clinicians from across Canada. Following its expansion to a national program in fall 2020, ECHO has also drawn participants from outside Toronto and internationally.
Over the past six years, ECHO has built an exceptional network of over 130 mentors from various sectors, including consulting, investment, medtech/biotech, not-for-profit, government, universities, hospitals, and accelerators/incubators. These mentors are the backbone of the program.
Paradox Immunotherapeutics, a pre-clinical stage biopharmaceutical company founded by Drs. Natalie Galant and Yulong Sun, has significantly benefited from its participation in the ECHO program. As the 2019 winner of the inaugural ECHO PITCH competition, Paradox gained early recognition and support, which helped propel their development of antibody therapies for AL cardiac amyloidosis. Following their ECHO Pitch win, they successfully closed a >$1M USD angel round in 2021 and have been expanding their patent portfolio ever since. Leveraging the resources and mentorship from ECHO, Paradox has made substantial progress and is now in the process of raising their first institutional round of financing to accelerate their candidates toward clinical trials and bring their innovations to patients faster.
ECHO was a game-changer for us. The funding, guidance and invaluable support provided the perfect launchpad, allowing us to transform our early-stage ideas into the biotech we are today.”
Natalie Galant
(CEO & Co-Founder at Paradox Immunotherapeutics)
“Looking ahead, at ECHO, we aim to continue to expand our network of mentors and optimize our training program in order to help build knowledge, expertise and capacity within our teams, bridge the translational gap for cardiovascular innovations across Canada and accelerate the translation of life changing treatments, diagnostics, tools and technologies from the bench to the bedside.” Said Dr. Sharifpoor.
Applications for the 2024-2025 cohort are now open. If you are a Canadian-based researcher, clinician, student, or entrepreneur developing cardiovascular technologies and innovations, ECHO offers a unique opportunity to gain invaluable training, mentorship, and funding to accelerate your venture.
Visit http://tedrogersresearch.ca/ECHO for more information and to apply. The application deadline is August 11, 2024, with interviews commencing in September 2024. The program begins in October 2024.
For more information, please contact Dr. Soror Sharifpoor at soror.sharifpoor@utoronto.ca.