16/01/2009
(Edmonton, Alberta) TEC Edmonton’s portfolio company, Exciton Technologies Inc., has received a $500,000 grant from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.
AHFMR today announced Exciton Technologies Inc. was awarded a ForeFront Program Phase 3 grant for its commercial introduction of an advanced wound care dressings coated with a unique class of silver compounds using a proprietary chemical deposition technique.
“The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research has as its mandate to support the application of knowledge to improve the lives and wellbeing of Albertans”, says Dr. Jacques Magnan, the Foundation’s Interim President and CEO. “Our investment in the development of a technology that has the potential to improve care in so many settings is of great benefit to Albertans and people around the world.”
With this support from AHFMR, Exciton will proceed with its testing of their wound care product at the University of Alberta, as well as set up pilot manufacturing capabilities within the laboratories at the TEC Centre which includes hiring a process engineer.
“The biggest challenge for start-up companies is financing. Through TEC Edmonton’s business services, companies like Exciton are able to tap into our grant expertise and not only source a funding opportunity but capitalize on it as well,” says Dr. David Cox, CEO of TEC Edmonton.
Working with TEC Edmonton has been instrumental in helping Exciton access the financing and corporate expertise needed to grow the start-up. Over the past year, an additional $2 million in financing has been raised by angel investors.
“The benefits from partnering with TEC Edmonton have been exponential,” says Rod Precht, President and CEO of Exciton Technologies Inc. “The support we received from AHFMR provides timely funding and validates Exciton’s plan to commercialize products with medical and economic advantages.”
Contacts
Nadia Andersen
Communications and Marketing Manager, TEC Edmonton
(780) 492-1865
Nadia.Andersen@TECedmonton.com
Rod Precht, P.Eng.,
President & CEO
Exciton Technologies Inc.
(780) 248-5868
rod@excitontech.com
Karen Thomas
Media Specialist
AHFMR
(877) 423-5727 x225
Karen.Thomas@ahfmr.ab.ca
Background
TEC Edmonton helps inventors, entrepreneurs and investors transform high-tech discoveries into viable corporations. Through our business services, TEC Edmonton helps navigate the commercialization process providing assistance with technology evaluation, intellectual property protection, business plan development, marketing research, corporate management and funding preparation. A unique not-for-profit enterprise, TEC Edmonton is a joint venture between the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation (EEDC) and the University of Alberta.
Exciton Technologies Inc. is an Alberta advanced materials research and development company focused on the creation of technologies for preventing and controlling infection. Currently our valuable portfolio of patentable platform technologies is based on the antimicrobial properties of silver. The company’s technologies offer next-generation, less expensive and environmentally friendly products, enabling the company to participate in many industries, including the wound care and disinfectant markets.
Created by the Alberta Government in 1980, AHFMR has committed more than $1 billion to researchers at the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, and the University of Lethbridge. A leader of health research in Alberta’s innovation system, AHFMR was highly commended for its achievements by an International Board of Review in June 2004. In 2005 the Alberta Government committed an additional $500 million to the Foundation's endowment. The AHFMR Endowment supports more than 250 researchers and approximately 400 students in the province’s three health research intensive universities and affiliated hospitals.