“Rimon Therapeutics has been built on the strength of its partnerships…the grants, programs and people at the Ontario Centres of Excellence have made the relationship between Rimon and OCE a model for the commercialization of academic research”

From a single serendipitous observation of blood vessels growing around a medical implant, emerged a new paradigm in biotechnology. Today, that observation has developed into a growing company at the leading edge of medical polymer technology.

Spun from research being done at the University of Toronto, Rimon Therapeutics received its initial funding from the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) when Co-founder Michael May became the second recipient of the Martin Walmsley Fellowship for Technological Entrepreneurship. “The Fellowship is a great model for company creation because it targets the right champion for the earliest stage of a company”, said Michael May.  “The Fellowship enabled me to take the time to recruit early supporters, create a business plan and find seed financing, while still being able to help support my family” 

The exclusive development of TheramersÔ - Therapeutic Polymers – lies at the heart of Rimon’s robust product pipeline. Classified as devices, these technologies combine bioactivity with a broad range of mechanical and physical properties to deliver localized therapeutic benefit without any systemic consequences. Michael May highlighted Rimon’s value proposition, “TheramersÔ enable us to develop products with drug-like activity, and thus higher value, but within medical device (as opposed to drug) timelines; in addition, we can exploit the versatility of polymer chemistry to apply our technologies for a broad set of applications. So, the TheramerÔ advantage is drug-like margins, device timelines, versatile polymer chemistry”.

The OCE is one of a few publicly funded institutions that provides assistance to early-stage companies for the purpose of moving research from the laboratory to the marketplace. “The OCE is good for bridging the gap between academia and the industry”, said Michael Sefton, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Rimon. Throughout its development, Rimon has maintained its close ties with the OCE, in a relationship that has evolved along with the Company. As an integral part of Ontario’s growing Biotechnology community, the OCE has provided more than just initial funding. “It brings together people from both sides of the street. It is an instrument for the furtherance of the Biotech sector”, said Michael Sefton. Michael May is more specific when he adds, “In addition to the (Martin Walmsley) Fellowship, OCE helped support early-stage research and development of our founding technology, connected us with world-class researchers, supported the hiring of new graduates at Rimon and gave us access to technologies that we are considering for in-licensing”.

“Biotech is a multi-disciplinary industry”, says Michael May. “OCE in some form or another addresses most or all of these disciplines, and thus will be a significant resource for this industry as it grows in Ontario”.

Recognized for its achievements and leadership, Rimon was one of two companies awarded “Most Promising Early Stage Biotechnology Company” by BIOTECanada. Rimon has expanded its technology portfolio to five novel polymers underlying applications as diverse as wound healing, medical device-related infection, heart disease and osteoarthritis. The Company has commenced its first clinical trial of an advanced wound dressing for chronic wounds (e.g., diabetic ulcers and bedsores) and hopes to bring its product to market soon through a partnership with an established wound care company.

“Rimon is getting noticed across the board by industry observers to clinicians to large medical device companies”, added Michael May. The team at Rimon is particularly excited that their hard work has made it to the clinic. They are now motivated by the prospect of getting a first product on the market.