Page 14 - Synapse Life Sciences Consortium

eye3 Concepts:

‘Takes a Village’

eye3 has developed a rugged, handheld
detection device to test for THC and alcohol.
It requires a single saliva sample and
results come in less than a minute.

“This technology fills a large gap in a
growing market,” said Kate Riley, CEO and
Director of eye3. The drug screening market
is worth USD $4 billion and growing by 17
per cent a year. It’s estimated it will be a
USD $13.5 billion market in 2027.
“Existing solutions take a long time to
process and in some cases, can’t detect
the low thresholds that some jurisdictions
want,” says Riley.
A place of partnerships
The company is growing rapidly, doubling
the size of its research team, along with Hamilton is a national leader in post-secondary
product development and regulatory teams. partnerships with industry. mcmaster University and
Company founder David Wilson found the mohawk College are consistently among Canada’s best
research institutions and its two world-class research
mentors, connections, facilities, talent and hospitals – Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph’s
service providers he needed in Hamilton. Healthcare Hamilton.

All research is taking place at McMaster the university, led by the expertise of the mcmaster
and a search is underway for local office Industry Liaison Office, is a long-time powerhouse when
space. it comes to commercialization of research, including
through licensing and royalties, patents issues and
“There is a real opportunity in Hamilton start-ups created.
and there is momentum in an ecosystem in September 2021, the university launched the
that speaks to each other. Everyone was mcmaster Seed Fund, an early-stage investment vehicle
willing to pick up the phone and rally the that will offer up to $500,000 to innovative start-up
resources for him. He got access to the companies that are spinning out from mcmaster’s
channels he needed to grow,” said Riley. research. these start-ups have the potential for
significant economic or societal impact in the Hamilton
“It’s always said it takes a village to raise region and beyond.
a child. But it also takes a village to grow
a company and we’ve found that village in “While many of our researchers have enjoyed great
success with start-ups, they all would agree that the
Hamilton.” most daunting task is securing the initial funding,” said
Karen mossman, mcmaster’s Vice-President, research.

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