Leading Health and Life Sciences in Nova Scotia

Sona Nanotech Inc. Announces Collaboration with Anteo Technologies

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Innovative companies combine technologies to speed up lateral flow assay development time

Halifax, Nova Scotia–(Newsfile Corp. – January 16, 2019) – Sona Nanotech Inc. (CSE: SONA) today announced a collaboration with Australia-based nanotech company Anteo Technologies Pty Ltd to speed up the development of lateral flow immunoassays. Under the terms of the agreement Sona will supply its unique, proprietary gold nanorod technology to Anteo, which will combine it with its own proprietary AnteoBind ™ technology and various biomarkers including, but not limited to, cardic (cTnI), sepsis (CRP) markers and HCG, the well-known fertility marker used in pregnancy tests. Anteo will supply Sona with these solutions for assessment in a lateral flow assay format as well as conducting its own in-house assessment. Because lateral flow assays are relatively cheap and easy to produce, more than 2 billion are manufactured every year, including more than 400 million each for malaria and HIV tests (1). The lateral flow market was worth an estimated US$6 billion (C$7.9 bn) in 2018 (2). Sona Nanotech CEO Darren Rowles said: “The project aims to co-develop sets of reagents that can benefit all lateral flow assay developers worldwide, by providing them with products that can reduce a key production process timeframe, while increasing performance of tests and the benefits of multiplexing. By integrating Sona’s gold nanorod technology with Anteo’s surface chemistry technology we have the potential to create innovative new products for the market. We are excited to be working with Anteo and look forward to a productive collaboration.” Anteo Technologies Pty Ltd is a fully-owned subsidiary of Anteo Diagnostics Ltd, an ASX listed company (ASX:ADO). The company, which has its head office in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, develops and commercialises products in the life sciences research, in-vitro diagnostics, energy and medical devices markets. Charlie Huang, Anteo’s head of research and development, said: “We have been impressed by Sona’s unique gold nanorods and their impact in the lateral flow market. We believe that our combined technologies have great potential. We are excited about the new opportunities this could bring for both companies.” (1) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324096920_Improving_Lateral_Flow_Assay_Performance_Using_Computational_Modeling (2) https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-lateral-flow-assay-market-is-projected-to-reach-usd-8-7-billion-by-2023-from-usd-6-0-billion-in-2018-growing-at-a-cagr-of-7-7-from-2018-to-2023–300754197.html About Sona Nanotech Inc. Sona Nanotech Inc. is a nanotechnology life sciences firm that has developed two proprietary methods for the manufacture of rod-shaped gold nanoparticles. The principal business carried out and intended to be continued by Sona is the development and application of its proprietary technology for use in multiplex diagnostic testing platforms that will improve performance over existing tests in the market. Sona’s gold nanorod particles are CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium) free, eliminating the toxicity risks associated with the use of other gold nanorod technologies in medical applications. It is expected that Sona’s gold nanotechnologies may be adapted for use in applications, as a safe and effective delivery system for multiple medical treatments, pending the approval of various regulatory boards including Health Canada and the FDA. Sona is a publicly listed company on the Canadian Securities Exchange existing under the laws of Nova Scotia, with its operations in Nova Scotia. About Anteo Group – Anteo Diagnostics Limited (ADO: ASX) & Subsidiaries (Anteo Technologies Pty Ltd is a fully-owned subsidiary of Anteo Diagnostics Ltd.) Anteo Group is a surface chemistry company with Intellectual Property (“IP”) in its core technology product groups: AnteoCoat™, AnteoBind™ and AnteoRelease™. The Company’s purpose is to create shareholder value by identifying and solving important global industry problems and providing unique value-add solutions for its customers. Anteo’s customers operate in the Life Sciences, Diagnostics, Energy and Medical Devices markets. For more information, please visit www.anteotech.com For More Information For more information about Sona, please contact: Darren Rowles President and Chief Executive Officer Telephone: (902) 442-7192 Email: Darren Rowles [email protected] FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION This press release contains forward-looking statements and information that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company’s current expectations. When used in this press release, the words “estimate”, “project”, “belief”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “plan”, “predict”, “may” or “should” and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. The forward-looking statements and information in this press release includes information relating to the Amalgamation (including the structure of the Amalgamation), the Amalgamation (including shareholder approval, shareholder support, and other terms), the Private Placement (including its completion and the use of proceeds from the Private Placement), the directors and management of the resulting issuer upon completion of the Amalgamation, and the implementation of Sona’s business plan. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company with respect to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following risks: risks associated with the completion of the Amalgamation and matters relating thereto; and risks associated with the marketing and sale of securities, the need for additional financing, reliance on key personnel, the potential for conflicts of interest among certain officers or directors, and the volatility of the Company’s common share price and volume. Forward-looking statements are made based on management’s beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements and information. Such factors include, among others, risks related to Sona’s proposed business, such as failure of the business strategy and government regulation; risks related to Sona’s operations, such as additional financing requirements and access to capital, reliance on key and qualified personnel, insurance, competition, intellectual property and reliable supply chains; risks related to Sona and its business generally, such as infringement of intellectual property rights and conflicts of interest. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on the Company’s forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company has assumed a certain progression, which may not be realized. It has also assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time. THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES]]>

ENTREVESTOR: PhotoDynamic Eyes 2020 Launch

Read full article here After receiving surprisingly strong results from its first clinical trials, Halifax-based PhotoDynamic has altered its business strategy to build up more value in the company before contemplating an exit. PhotoDynamic is developing a device that uses natural extracts from a wild Nova Scotia plant to erase heavy plaque buildup on teeth. Last spring, it took the device through a two-week clinical trial with 20 patients at Boston’s Forsyth Institute, which specializes in dental sciences. Those trials showed that, in just two weeks, the PhotoDynamic device made noticeable improvements in patients’ conditions.  With that in mind, the company is aiming to raise a $1.35 million round of equity funding so that by late 2020 it can be selling the product to Canadian brace-wearers through orthodontists. …continued at the link above]]>

Modernizing EQUITY TAX CREDITS in Atlantic Canada and Stimulating Innovative Companies

BioNova advocates on behalf of the sector for initiatives that are important to attract investment to the province. learn more about the recommendations we’re presenting to Government on modernizing Equity Tax Credits for Atlantic Canada by clicking on the image below.
To add your signature of support for these recommendations CONTACT US


Update: Province Announces Innovation Equity Tax Credit
highlights: The new tax credit applies to investments up to $250,000 in eligible businesses, which is $200,000 more than the current Equity Tax Credit. Nova Scotian investors will receive a tax incentive of 35 per cent, or 45 per cent in priority sectors of oceans technology and life sciences.


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ENTREVESTOR: Momentum for Tax Credit Revamp

The investment tax credit discussion in Atlantic Canada has been intensifying lately, and now Senator Colin Deacon is taking up the cause. These provincial taxation measures give private investors a tax break if they invest in approved companies. All four Atlantic provinces now offer these credits, as do most Canadian provinces and American states. Players in the startup community have been pushing for improvements for ages – a position I’ve advocated for in this column several times over the years. Those calls are now intensifying. In June, a group headed by Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency exec James Curry issued a discussion paper recommending these credits be harmonized and be offered to investors outside a company’s home province. And now Deacon, a serial entrepreneur named to the Senate last summer, is pushing for similar changes. “A good startup ecosystem needs a good angel group,” said Deacon in an interview last week. “Equity tax credits are a great way for governments to leverage their investment in startups . . . through private investments.” He argues that equity tax credits (the name of the Nova Scotian program; each province has its own name for them) help to generate recurring waves of new companies year after year. That ensures the startup community keeps growing. The main problem is that each province grants the credit only to taxpayers who live in that province. This means the credits can attract only a small pool of investors – exceptionally small in dollar terms given that there is less wealth in Atlantic Canada than in other parts of the continent. Traditional Businesses are Linking up with Startups, to their Mutual Advantage Curry’s paper – co-written by BioNova head Scott Moffitt, Ogden Pond CEO Sean Sears, and Grant Thornton tax partner Keith MacIntyre – recommends that Atlantic Canada “regionalize” investment tax credits. That means the rules would be uniform across the region. (New Brunswick currently has the most generous tax credit by a long shot.) And it would mean investors in one province could receive a credit for funding a company in another province. Deacon and the paper’s authors even want the credits to reward investors who live outside the region. Some American states such as Arkansas and Minnesota already allow external investors to benefit from their tax credits. The thinking is that it’s more important to get money into growing companies than be concerned about where the investor is based. So far, the talk about enhanced credits is just that – talk. But there is more talk than a few years ago. (BioNova and Grant Thornton will continue the discussion with an information session in Halifax on Wednesday at noon at the Innovacorp Enterprise Centre on Summer Street.) Deacon says the discussion is intensifying because the region’s startup community has proven it can generate wealth, exports and jobs, and policy makers are looking for ways to perpetuate that success. Click here to continue reading

ENTREVESTOR: One To Watch in ‘19: McCain Foods

See the full article here We reported a few weeks ago that McCain has now taken over the management of Halifax-based TruLeaf Sustainable Agriculture. Last spring, McCain made its second investment in Fredericton-based Resson as part of a $14 million equity funding round. McCain Foods also works with Fiddlehead Technology of Moncton and Eigen Innovations of Fredericton. East Coast Startups Tapping Into Accelerators Beyond our Borders.  TruLeaf specializes in vertical farming, and will soon open its $16 million plant in Guelph, Ont., which will use data analytics and artificial intelligence to maximize its vegetables’ output and nutritional value. TruLeaf aims to become the North American leader in vertical farming – an ambition that will require so much capital and management expertise that it couldn’t be achieved without the help of a company like McCain Foods.]]>