Page 16 - Synapse Life Sciences Consortium

mariner Endosurgery:
Finding Local
Champions

Mariner Endosurgery specializes in soft
tissue surgical navigation for general
abdominal and gynecological laparoscopic
surgery.
Its platform LaparoGuard achieved FDA
approval in 2018 and it is now in operating
rooms at Hamilton General Hospital,
Buffalo, NY and northern Europe.
A place of assets
The platform uses cameras and trackers
embedded in the instruments that calibrate Hamilton’s innovation infrastructure and intangible assets
the exact position of the tools and provide
crucial information to the surgeon on a are a key differentiator as a place to do business.
screen. It sounds audio and video alarms
when a safe buffer zone in encroached. Hamilton is ideally located at the heart of a globally
renowned health innovation corridor that stretches from
Mariner emerged out of the vision of toronto to Buffalo, serving as a gateway to the north
Hamilton surgeon Dr. David Langois. The american market. Hamilton has ontario’s largest port, the
company was incubated inside The Forge
and Innovation Factory, took second place busiest overnight express cargo airport in Canada, sits
in the Synapse Life Science Competition at the fulcrum of Canada’s rail network, and is connected
in 2016, and was able to secure a round to an enviable network of highways. the city has 11.8
of early financing through the Angel One million square feet of life science infrastructure, including
Network. 1.38 million square feet of laboratory capacity dedicated
to research, teaching and clinical work.
The start-up also received investment from
the Bay Area Health Trust, and has worked Hamilton is also blessed by the legacy of generous
closely with research and surgeons at
Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph’s philanthropists who have supported health and life
Healthcare to develop and refine its product. sciences in the city, including Charles and margaret
Juravinski, michael DeGroote, michael lee Chin, David
“All of that help and support was critical. Braley, marnix Heersink and the ron Joyce.
A lot of people took a risk to back us and
champion us. And the Hamilton Health the Juravinski’s created a $100 million endowment
Science Foundation was our first customer,”
said Mitch Wilson, CEO. in 2019 that supports collaborative research across
HHS, SJHH and mcmaster. one of Canada’s largest-ever
When a delegation from Norway hosted by planned legacy gifts established the Juravinski research
the Synapse Consortium came to Hamilton, institute to improve treatment of age-related diseases,
the team at Mariner Endosurgery met a cancer, lung and respiratory care, and mental health.
surgeon from Oslo University Hospital who is
now using LaparoGuard. “Hamilton has all the necessary pieces, from fundamental
“We wouldn’t have made it without all research to clinical trials, and from business development
the players in the Hamilton ecosystem. to angel investors, to commercialize ideas,” says David
We would have died on the vine without Carter, Executive Director at innovation Factory. “the
Innovation Factory, The Forge and Synapse. effort in developing and pulling together this ecosystem
They validated our technology, our market has paid off and is now poised to attract large, domestic
and they validated our business.” and international players who need what Hamilton has to
offer.”

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