Medical Device Playbook is Canada’s largest Medtech event for entrepreneurial companies and medical device professionals. Medical Device Playbook Toronto 2022 returns to the MaRS Discovery District on October 6, 2022.
Medical device commercialization information and inspiration for medtech entrepreneurs, start-ups, and entrepreneurial organizations.
Industry speakers and panels from across North America will discuss, network and learn 2022 trends, opportunities, and Efficient Medtech Start-Up strategies. Presentations include entrepreneur case studies, success stories, deal making, financing and clinical/regulatory advice from industry veterans.
Event includes Lunch, Breaks, and Networking Reception. Medical Device Playbook Toronto 2022 is presented by StarFish Medical and co-hosted with MaRS, and OBIO.
NEW! Two sessions will be livestreamed free for those who are unable to travel to Toronto. Registration is now open for both sessions.
Toronto Speakers
Lishan Aklog, MD - Chairman & CEO of PAVmed
Entrepreneur and businessperson who founded PAVmed, Inc., Pavilion Medical Innovations LLC and Pavilion Holdings Group LLC and headed 8 different companies
Dr. Lishan Aklog is Chairman & CEO of PAVmed (Nasdaq: PAVM), a diversified medical technology company which he co-founded, and its subsidiary Lucid Diagnostics, a cancer prevention company (Nasdaq: LUCD) as well as Executive Chairman of it other subsidiary Veris Health, a cancer care digital health company. He also serves on the board of the leading medtech industry group, AdvaMed, and as an independent public company director. He previously co-founded a medtech holding company which founded four medical device companies and led one of its portfolio companies, which commercialized one of his life-saving inventions, AngioVac®. Dr. Aklog has consulted for leading medtech companies and is an inventor on dozens of patents. Healthcare Technology Report recognized him as a Top Healthcare Technology CEO of 2021 and 2022. Prior to entering the life sciences industry as an entrepreneur and executive, Dr. Aklog had a distinguished career as an innovator in cardiac surgery, serving on the faculty of leading academic medical centers including Harvard Medical School, in professional society leadership positions. and was recognized as an America’s Top Doctor for over a decade. He received his undergraduate degree in Physics, magna cum laude, and MD, cum laude, from Harvard University. He completed his training at Harvard teaching hospitals and leading medical centers in London and Paris. Dr. Aklog, who fled political violence in Ethiopia as a young teenager, has been active in philanthropic organizations, including as a member of the international board of directors of Human Rights Watch.
Lessons and insights from one clinician entrepreneur’s magical journey.
Ali Ardakani - Managing Director Novateur Ventures Inc.
Founder of leading Network of Medtech/LifeSciences Strategy Consultants
Ali Ardakani is a technical and entrepreneurial corporate development and operations biotech executive with over 20 years of experience in managing life science projects and companies. His experience includes managing R&D projects in the areas of oncology, respiratory, infectious disease, CNS therapeutics and medical devices, as well as fundraising, licensing and M&A.
Ali is the Founder & Managing Director of Novateur Ventures. Until recently he was Senior Vice President Device & Business Development for Beyond Air (NASDAQ:XAIR), where he was involved with the company from early stage until Nasdaq public offering and several rounds of financing and licensing. He is the CEO and co-founder of Optigo Biotherapeutics, an ophthalmology R&D company, the Vice Chair of LifeSciences BC, and Entrepreneur in Residence at Innovate Calgary. He is also an Associate at Creative Destruction Labs.
To date, Ali has taken several projects from concept to FDA approval, including several 510(k)s, PMA for medical devices and several FDA INDs. He has also worked on commercialization and pharma partnerships, as well as several global mergers and acquisitions.
"From small medical device startup to NASDAQ listing and FDA PMA approval"
The BeyondAir story
Dr. Christopher J. Ciriello - Founder & CEO, Cyberdontics
Parlayed clinical experience into in robotic dentistry start-up
I’m Chris, the Founder and CEO of Cyberdontics. Cyberdontics is empowering dentists with automated robotics. We are starting with the dental crown - the most frequent and effortful dental procedure.
Currently in stealth-mode, Cyberdontics is a rapidly scaling, venture-backed startup at the vanguard of automated robotic surgery revolution -- just closed our Series A round. We are improving access to dental care in underserved populations by combining novel imaging technology with AI and surgical robotics to automate surgery in the $452B dental industry.
We are bringing a new imaging modality to dentistry which can see inside teeth and below the gingiva all without the need for x-rays. AI is used to diagnose decay and plan treatment. Automated robotics reduces the time for surgery down to one minute, reducing patient discomfort and saving time and reducing cost for the dentist.
Chris is YC 2020, Winner of the Forsyth DenTech 2021 CareCaptial award.
Prior to launching Cyberdontics, he built a 60-person Dental Service Organization (DSO) which employs top-performing dentists, is growing, and is run by professional practice managers.
Building robotics to automate crown preparation surgery in a $600B market - from concept to the first $16M raise for this ambitious dental tech venture
Jason Dowd, PhD & MBA, Vice President of Science & Technology
Jason has over 20 years of industry experience in regenerative medicine, research, development, and Good Manufacturing Practices. He has successfully brought several therapeutic products to European, Canadian and U.S. markets. Dedicated to innovation, Jason joined CCRM to advance technology platform translation and build the development pipeline to clinical and commercial manufacturing for cell and gene therapies.
Leading Canadian BioManufacturing Entrepreneurs discuss their journeys launching a successful biomanufacing startups
Gregg Homer, JSD (PhD) - Chairman and Chief Science Officer at Strōma Medical Corporation
Invented instant coffee bags at age 12, patented “subscription on demand”, leader in permanent eye color change
Gregg Homer grew up in Los Angeles, California. He began inventing at age 12, when he put espresso grind coffee in a tea bag for instant steeped coffee and sold the invention to Hills Bros. Coffee in San Francisco for $2,000.
While in high school, Dr. Homer worked as a studio musician (piano and guitar) for Epic Records, as a close-up magician at the Magic Castle, and as an understudy in the LA cast of “Hair.” At 16, two years before graduation, Dr. Homer dropped out of high school to attend Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles. He graduated with a BA in English and spent his final year in the graduate creative writing program. Dr. Homer then attended Stanford Law School, where he graduated at the top of his class and served as a senior editor of the Stanford Law Review.
Dr. Homer practiced entertainment law in Los Angeles for two decades, served as an arbitrator for the Screen Actor’s Guild, and taught the entertainment law curriculum at Stanford Law School for several years. While at Stanford, Dr. Homer completed an interdisciplinary doctorate in evolutionary neurology and economic game theory, writing his dissertation on the co-evolution of the neural system and social order.
Dr. Homer’s time at Stanford also reignited his early passion for invention and innovation. His first patent claimed a method for monitoring internet packets, now known as “deep packet inspection.” His next patent claimed the on-demand distribution of media files over the internet on a subscription basis, now know as “subscription on demand” and reflected in such delivery platforms as Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, Apple Music, and Amazon Prime. Dr. Homer’s third invention was laser eye color change, which has been developed for commercialization by Strōma Medical Corporation. Dr. Homer continues to invent, primarily in the fields of medical devices, media and communications, and enterprise software applications.
"From Entertainment Law to Eye Color Change: What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been”
A psychologist once remarked that people who change careers prefer to build upon the skills of their previous career. The reason, however, is not one of efficiency. It’s that we do not want to feel that we've wasted our time. I ignored this advice and lived to tell about it, and I would like to share my observations.
Sam Ifergan, Founder & Managing Partner at iGan Partners
Founded iGan Partners, now the largest healthcare venture capital investor in Canada
Sam founded iGan Partners, Canada’s most active MedTech VC investor. iGan Partners started as a personal investment vehicle in 2012 and subsequently started its first fund in 2017. Collectively iGan has supported the creation of over 20 successful AI enabled medical device, digital health and tech companies in Canada.
Sam has over 20 years of entrepreneurial, technology and venture capital experience and is actively involved in evaluating, executing and supporting iGan’s investments. He works very closely with portfolio companies and their founders. His passion is developing new technologies in healthcare where they can have a global impact.
Currently, Sam is a Director in 6 companies including Chairman of MolecuLight, RNA Diagnostics and eSight.
Prior to founding iGan, Sam co-founded Visualsonics along with Dr Stuart Foster. Visualsonics grew to become the leading imaging tool for mice and pre-clinical mice models. Visualsonics was sold to Sonosite (subsequently purchased by Fuji Medical) and its products are still being used worldwide.
Further, Sam previously founded Brighter Minds Media, a digital media company for children, to develop interactive learning materials for children. Its products were sold in over thirty countries and translated into over 12 languages.
Sam also previously founded Tri-Link Technologies which brought to market one of the world’s first IP-PBX products. This leading-edge technology is now being used on internet phone networks worldwide.
Sam holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from McGill University and an MBA from the John Molson School of Business.
Bryce Klontz, President and CEO of New View Surgical
Covidien international executive, Tufts University Entrepreneurship and StrategyLecturer, and start-up CEO
Bryce Klontz is the President and CEO of New View Surgical, an emerging medical device company developing proprietary imaging and access technologies for minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Bryce is an accomplished med tech executive, having built and led commercial teams in the US, Europe and Asia. Before joining New View Surgical, he was the Vice President of Commercial Strategy, Emerging Markets at Covidien, PLC where he led efforts to build commercial capabilities within the $1.5B+ Asia, Latin America, Emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa geographies. Bryce spent 14 years at Covidien in various leadership roles including Marketing Director in both the US and Europe, as well as 3 years as Vice President, Surgical Devices Business Unit, in Asia. He also served as the global post-M&A integration lead for two of Covidien's most impactful acquisitions. Bryce is currently a Lecturer at Tufts University, teaching Entrepreneurship and Strategy in the department of Biomedical Engineering. Earlier in his career, Bryce played a pivotal role in the global launch of The CO2 Heart Laser System. He received his MBA in marketing and finance from Carroll School of Management at Boston College and a Bachelor's degree from Northwestern University.
A hired CEO’s journey from concept to commercial launch.
Imants Lauks - Executive Chairman of Questat Inc.
Founder of two companies that created microfluidics POC diagnostics
Imants Lauks is currently Executive Chairman of Questat Inc. Ottawa Canada. He obtained a B.Sc. in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering both from Imperial College, London England. He came to the United States in 1977 as a post doc at the University of Pennsylvania, where he later joined the faculty of the Moore School of Electrical Engineering gaining tenure in 1983. His work at Penn involved the development of silicon-based biosensors. In 1984 Dr Lauks founded i-STAT Corporation. As Chief Technology Officer he led a team that commercialized his silicon-based biochip technology and developed hand-held blood analyzers for use at the point of care. The i-STAT system was launched in 1989, and the Company was ultimately acquired by Abbott Laboratories. In 2001 Dr Lauks founded Epocal Inc. as Chief Executive Officer he led the commercialization of a new generation of point of care blood analysers based on smart-card technology. The EPOC analyzer was launched in 2007, and the Company was ultimately acquired by Alere, with ownership transferred to Siemens in 2017. In 2021 Dr Lauks founded Questat to commercialize a third-generation acute care point of care technology.
“My history in the Point of Care Blood Testing Industry”
Lessons learned over 40 years
A. Vikram Pandit, Co-Founder and CEO of Phycus Biotechnologies.
Sustainable chemical manufacturing through fermentation
Vik is the co-inventor of Phycus Biotechnologies' technology platform to create
Purolic Acid™, a
formaldehyde free, 100% biobased glycolic acid for cosmetics.
The starting feedstock is of plant based origin.
The platform was developed at the University of Toronto in Prof. Krivik
shna Mahadevan's lab.
Leading Canadian BioManufacturing Entrepreneurs discuss their journeys launching a successful biomanufacing startups
Yoav Raiter, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Scryb and Cybeats
Developer of innovative software and medical device products
Yoav is the current Chief Executive Officer of Scryb and Cybeats, which is a position he has held for the last two years. Prior to that, he held the position of Director of Product Development. His career has focused on developing innovative software and medical device products mainly for start-ups and fast-growing companies. He has developed processes to ensure delivery against clients needs at a high-quality standard, has improved operations, and business strategy. Prior to joining Scryb, he was project manager for strategic accounts at StarFish Medical and director of project management and business development at Kangaroo Group. He has also held several prominent positions managing large scale ERP product development and implementation projects for broadcasters in Canada and the US for Pilat Media and SintecMedia. Yoav was the co-founder and Co-CEO of Panta-Rhei, a software development and consulting firm. He received an MBA, specialized in High Tech Innovation Strategy, from Haifa University in Israel in 1997 and a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering in 1993.
"SBOM are Critical to Managing Medial Device Software Supply Chain"
Modern medical device code is not so much written, but assembled
Molly S Shoichet, PhD, O.C., O. Ont., FRS, co-Founder and CSO of AmacaThera, University Professor and Michael E. Charles Chair in Chemical Engineering, Associate Chair, Graduate Studies Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry Donnelly Centre University of Toronto
Co-founded four spin-off companies
Professor Molly Shoichet is University Professor, a distinction held by less than 2% of the faculty at the University of Toronto and Michael E Charles Professor of Chemical Engineering. Dr. Shoichet served as Ontario’s first (and only) Chief Scientist in 2018 where she worked to enhance the culture of science.
Dr. Shoichet has published over 650 papers, patents and abstracts and has given over 420 lectures worldwide. She currently leads a laboratory of 30 and has graduated 220 researchers. Her research is multi-disciplinary and highly collaborative, specifically focused on drug and cell delivery strategies in the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, retina) and 3D hydrogel culture systems to model cancer.
Dr. Shoichet co-founded four spin-off companies, is actively engaged in translational research and science outreach, including co-Founding AmacaThera and Research2Reality.
Dr. Shoichet is the recipient of many prestigious distinctions and the only person to be inducted into all three of Canada’s National Academies of Science of the Royal Society of Canada, Canadian Academy of Engineering and Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Professor Shoichet is an Officer of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario. Dr. Shoichet is the L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Laureate for North America, elected Foreign Member of the US National Academy of Engineering, won the Killam Prize in Engineering and elected to the Royal Society (UK). Dr. Shoichet was awarded the NSERC Herzberg Gold Medal – Canada’s top prize in science and engineering - and won the Margolese National Brain Disorders Prize.
Helen Simons, Senior QA Manager at StarFish Medical
Helen Simons has over 15 years experience
in product development. She has worked
on a wide range of Medical Device and IVD
products, from inhalers and injection devices
to phototherapy devices and ventilators.
Her experience includes project managing
product developments and providing
quality and regulatory guidance to both
internal teams and clients for the US, EU
and Canadian markets. Providing detailed
insight into the regulatory requirements for
those markets, Helen’s expertise includes
business improvements and building
effective and efficient quality systems. Prior
to joining StarFish Medical, Helen worked at
companies including Sagentia, Cambridge
Design Partnership, and GHD. She holds
a Master’s Degree in Engineering from
Durham University, Durham, England.
New requirements and their impact on medical device developments
Jordan Thomson (PhD,), Associate Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Resource Development at Ontario Genomics
Jordan Thomson (PhD, Chemistry) brings over 14 years’ experience working in industry, non-profit and academic sectors. He possesses deep technical and business knowledge in the chemical and biotechnology industries coupled with experience in strategy, startup and business support, and R&D funding. He is currently the Associate Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Resource Development at Ontario Genomics where he builds strategic plans and partnership opportunities to advance the genomics & engineering biology ecosystem in Ontario and Canada, driving application of these technologies across key sectors of the economy. He also serves as a Board Member at GreenCentre Canada, a non-profit that accelerates the development of chemical and materials innovation, as well as a mentor with the Creative Destruction Lab.
Prior to joining Ontario Genomics, Jordan worked for DuPont as a Research Scientist leading projects in chemical process development and scale-up. He received his Bachelor’s degree in the Arts and Science programme at McMaster University and completed his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Toronto where he studied nanotechnology and synthetic chemistry.
Leading Canadian BioManufacturing Entrepreneurs discuss their journeys launching a successful biomanufacing startups
Bibaswan Ghoshal - Director, Market Acceleration at OBIO®
Brings innovations to the Canadian health systems and scientific discoveries in healthcare to the market; Non-Profit Co-Founder & President
Bibaswan Ghoshal leads the OBIO Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN) program to help Canadian health technology companies get adopted in the health systems across the country. Bibaswan comes with a background of informatics and digital health and has been involved in the development and commercialization of health technologies.
"Supporting Canadian companies with a pathway to product adoption in the healthcare system"
OBIO's Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN) program
Amol Deshpande MD, MBA, MaRS Discovery District Senior Director Health Sciences, Ecosystem and Capital, Venture Services
Co-chair of HaloHealth.ca (a physician angel group), Venture Partner at AIoT Health and founder/host of Reboothealth.io, a podcast dedicated to great health innovators trying to change the health system for the better
Amol Deshpande MD, MBA exemplifies the Steve Jobs’s’ quote “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.”
Currently the Senior Director of Health Sciences, Ecosystem and Capital, Venture Services at MaRS DD, Amol’s journey was a tortuous one. Past “lives” include an academic clinician in chronic non-cancer pain management for over two decades with research in cannabis in chronic pain, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, and stints in the start-up world, occupational health, cardiac assisting, emergency medicine, travel insurance, workplace insurance and many more clinical areas. He has always been fascinated with innovation and over the last several years has decided to ‘double down’ on his passion. In addition to the MaRS DD role, he is co-chair of HaloHealth.ca (a physician angel group), Venture Partner at AIoT Health and founder/host of Reboothealth.io, a podcast dedicated to great health innovators trying to change the health system for the better.
He is continually learning from those around him. As has been said by those much wiser than he “…the destination pales in comparison to the journey we take.”
Scott Phillips - CEO and Founder of StarFish Medical
Serial Entrepreneur who created Medical Device Playbook to Inspire and Inform Medtech Entrepreneurship
Scott Phillips is CEO and Founder of StarFish Medical. Scott holds a degree in Engineering Physics from the University of British Columbia. Prior to starting StarFish, he worked in diverse areas such as lithium battery development and manufacturing, UV spectroscopy instrumentation and hi-fi audio speakers. Under his leadership StarFish has grown into a diverse professional organization with clients around the world and 100% focus on medical devices. Scott is a Fellow of The Canadian Academy of Engineering, winner of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2017 Pacific Awards Technology category, 2017 recipient of the VIATEC Technology Champion award, member of the LifeSciences British Columbia board, and volunteers with Junior Achievement, Entrepreneurs Organization, and University of British Columbia.
Observations from a quarter century of medical device innovation projects
Nick Allan, Bio Services Manager at StarFish Medical
Designed, Facilitated and Executed more than 500 Unique Research Protocols and Medical Device 510(k) Antimicrobial Support packages
Nick has over 19 years of regulatory and product development experience in the field of microbiology and assay development. Over his career, Nick has provided innovative solutions to issues ranging from proof-of-concept studies for rapid detection point of care assays, to full scale regulatory submission studies. At StarFish Medical, he applies this skill set to product development and currently manages the Bio Services division, formed in 2015 to support novel infectious disease detection platforms and gene and cell therapy products. Through the Bio Services department, Nick oversees advanced equipment, BSL2 facilities and personnel with advanced degrees and training in Bio Serivces focus areas.
Leading Canadian BioManufacturing Entrepreneurs discuss their journeys launching a successful biomanufacing startups
David Bell - Partner and Account Executive at MegaLab Group Inc.
EMC Veteran and Expert
David Bell is a partner and Account Executive at MegaLab Group Inc. To get medical electrical equipment to market, manufacturers must get through the IEC 60601 series of tests. With a 40,000 square foot test lab in Aurora Ont that includes a 10 meter EMC chamber, product safety, environmental, shock / vibration and packaging testing, MegaLab Group is a local one stop for certification and testing of medical devices and can guide clients through the maze of requirements.
