Naheed Kurji
Co-Founder, President & CEO, Cyclica
Six years ago, Cyclica had a big decision to make: move to Silicon Valley or stay local. Frankly, it would have been easier to raise money to move, but we elected to stay local. In our opinion, the epicentre of research, invention, and innovation at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and life sciences is here in Canada. Just look at the number of renowned institutions on the beltway between the University of Waterloo and McGill University. That’s why we proudly stayed in the heart of it at all — in Toronto — and will continue to invest in our local talent pool.
We believe that the future of drug discovery is in the hands of innovative research institutions and emerging biotech companies. Our vision is to decentralize the discovery of better medicines by partnering with these hyper-innovative biotech companies.
With a rapidly-growing portfolio of more than 30 active and advancing drug discovery programs, we’ll continue to spark innovation through a combination of venture creation and partnerships with early-stage and emerging biotech companies and top tier research institutions, both locally and globally. In Canada, this includes joint ventures with Toronto-based Mannin Research and NeuroTheryX, partnerships with Phoenox Pharma and Tieös Pharmaceuticals, and the creation of two companies that will be announced within the next few months. By executing at scale on this innovative business model on the back of our discovery platform, we’re creating the biotech pipeline of the future.
