Genome BC and BC Tech Association Announce Inaugural HyperGrowth:Life Cohort

Vancouver, BC (July 14, 2016) – Genome British Columbia (Genome BC) and the BC Tech Association (BC Tech) kicked off the new HyperGrowth:Life program today with the announcement of its inaugural cohort, featuring HeadCheck Health, Navigate Surgical Technologies and ViewsIQ.

The cohort companies, selected from seven finalists during a live pitch event, represent the future of healthtech in BC.

HeadCheck Health has developed a concussion assessment app that runs baseline and post-injury assessments to track athletes’ overall concussion health, and provide instant comparisons to past test performances. Based on the gold standard Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 3 (SCAT3), HeadCheck Health measures a number of key identifiers of a concussion – including symptoms, neurocognitive function, and balance – allowing athletic trainers and doctors to make informed sideline decisions, reducing the mismanagement of serious head injuries. www.headcheckhealth.com

Navigate Surgical Technologies Inc. (NST) is developing the world’s most innovative motion tracking technology. Their first product, Inliant Clinical^TM, is a Dynamic Surgical Guidance system that allows dentists to see the position of their drill tip within patient anatomy with submillimeter accuracy during dental implant surgery. The Inliant Clinical system integrates seamlessly into existing dental operatories and uses industry standard handpieces upon which NST’s proprietary visual markers are engraved. As a result, Inliant delivers superior workflows and ergonomics while providing dentists with peace of mind. www.navigatesurgical.com

ViewsIQ has developed Panoptiq^TM, a personalized imaging solution that digitizes pathology samples (blood, urine, tissue, cells, etc) from patients and integrates seamlessly into existing laboratory workflows. Panoptiq works with the existing microscopes, allowing users the ability to offer expert diagnostic care to patients virtually anywhere without the necessity of additional costly equipment purchases. www.viewsiq.com

“We were very impressed with the caliber of companies applying to the program,” said Dr. Pascal Spothelfer, President and CEO of Genome BC. “The selection process was not easy, but the quality of the applications and the strength of the cohort exemplify the future of BC’s bioeconomy. We couldn’t be more excited to work with these companies, and continue to build our partnership with BC Tech as we support the growth of BC-based leading edge life sciences companies.”

“We are proud of the way the industry has come together in support of growth-stage tech companies,” said Bill Tam, president and CEO of the BC Tech Association. “Our strong startup ecosystem has helped to build a foundation for these companies, but they still need support in order to achieve scaleable, sustainable growth. HyperGrowth:Life harnesses the power of our partners, volunteers, and community-at-large to help growth-stage companies achieve these outcomes at an accelerated rate. Not only are we able to help tech companies grow, we’re able to do it four times faster than without our HyperGrowth support.”

The 12-month program includes workshops, mentorship, and advisory support from industry leaders and practicing executives at some of Vancouver’s top companies. Cohort companies will also be able to access resources and support from the program’s Supporting Organizations: Accel-Rx, the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), entrepreneurship@UBC, InterfaceHealth, SFU Innovates, TELUS Health and Wavefront.

“Hypergrowth:Life is a program built with the brightest minds in the BC life science industry,” said Herman Lo, CEO of ViewsIQ, “I am honoured to be a part of it.”

“NST is honoured to have been chosen for the first Hypergrowth:Life cohort,” added Udi Daon, CEO of Navigate Surgical Technologies, “and [we] look forward to leveraging the connections and expertise made available via the program to build a world class medical device company.”

“HyperGrowth:Life couldn’t have come at a better time” Kerry Costello, Co-Founder and COO of HeadCheck Health concurred. “We have a product that our customers tell us they love and we are now setting the company up for growth. We are looking forward to taking advantage of the education and support from this program to accelerate.”

About Genome British Columbia:
Genome British Columbia leads genomics innovation on Canada’s West Coast and facilitates the integration of genomics into society. A recognized catalyst for government and industry, Genome BC invests in research, entrepreneurship and commercialization in life sciences to address challenges in key sectors such as health, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, agri-food, energy, mining and environment. Genome BC partners with many national and international public and private funding organizations to drive BC’s bioeconomy. In addition to research, entrepreneurship and commercialization programs, Genome BC is committed to fostering an understanding and appreciation of the life sciences among teachers, students and the general public. www.genomebc.ca

Genome BC Media Contact: 

Jennifer Boon
Communications Manager, Sectors
Genome BC
778-327-8374
jboon@genomebc.ca
#genomebc @genomebc

About BC Tech Association

The BC Tech Association (BC Tech) is guided by our vision to make BC the best place to grow a tech company. For more than 20 years, BC Tech has helped to grow our province’s tech cluster to more than 9,700 companies that employ over 90,000 people, and outpaces the resource industry in terms of economic contribution to the province.

Our mission is to help tech companies grow, and it is supported by our core values: Be of Service, Succeed Together, and Pay it Forward. www.wearebctech.com

BC Tech Association Media Contact:

Cristina Pagnucco
Marketing Manager
BC Tech Association
604.657.6661
cpagnucco@wearebctech.com
@wearebctech