ECHO PITCH 2026
Event Details
What: ECHO PITCH 2026
When: Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Time: 2:30 to 8:00 pm ET
Where: U of T Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus (2nd Floor Auditorium; 108 College St, Toronto, ON M5G 0C6)
What can you expect?
- Watch six health innovators pitch their groundbreaking technologies and ideas.
- Connect with entrepreneurs, scientists, clinicians, business leaders and investors from across the health innovation ecosystem.
- Gain insights from a multi-sectoral panel of judges and an engaging fireside chat.
- Enjoy an afternoon of innovation, networking, food and refreshments.
Join us to learn, network and set your entrepreneurial spirit free! Space is limited, so register early to reserve your spot!
ECHO PITCH is co-hosted by the Temerty Medicine Commercialization & Partnerships Unit and the Translational Biology & Engineering Program (TBEP) at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research.
About ECHO
Entrepreneurship for Commercialization of Health Opportunities (ECHO) is a specialized entrepreneurship training program, led by veteran entrepreneurs and consultants across a variety of sectors, and designed to bridge the translational gap for health innovations.
Ventures participating in this 12-month virtual training program receive entrepreneurship training, mentorship and support to create and grow their high-impact, health-focused startup. They also gain access to partnership and funding opportunities.
Launched in 2018, ECHO has supported over 85 ventures and 220 venture team members, awarding over $1.7 million in funding to help transform cutting-edge health research into real-world solutions. Led by the Temerty Faculty of Medicine's Commercialization & Partnerships Unit at the University of Toronto, ECHO is funded and organized in partnership with the Translational Biology & Engineering Program (TBEP) at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research.
ECHO PITCH 2026 will feature a fireside chat followed by pitch presentations from our six venture finalists. The event will conclude with a reception and award announcement.
| Time | Details |
|---|---|
| 2:30 – 3:00 pm | Registration & Networking |
| 3:00 – 3:10 pm | Opening Remarks |
| 3:10 – 3:55 pm | Fireside Chat |
| 3:55 – 5:15 pm | Pitch Competition: General Health Stream
|
| 5:15 – 5:45 pm | Break |
| 5:45 – 7:00 pm | Pitch Competition: Cardiovascular Stream
|
| 7:00 – 7:45 pm | Dinner & Networking Reception |
| 7:45 – 8:00 pm | Award Presentation & Closing Remarks |
John H. Wong, MD MSc MBA FRCSC
Dr. John H. Wong is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fluid Biomed Inc., a medical device company of 30 people based in Calgary, Canada, developing a bioabsorbable neurovascular stent to treat brain aneurysms. He is an associate professor in the Departments of Clinical Neurosciences and Radiology at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. He serves as Director of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery and maintains an active surgical practice dedicated to treating patients with brain aneurysms and stroke.
Dr. Wong received his medical education and neurosurgical training at the University of Alberta. After fellowship sub-specialization in neurovascular surgery at Yale University and interventional neuroradiology in New York City, he was recruited to Calgary in 2001. Dr. Wong has authored 95 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has served on several grant review panels including for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
He has previously held several leadership roles including Head of Neurosurgery at the University of Calgary, President of the provincial Alberta Neurosurgical Society and President of the Canadian Neurosurgical Society. Dr. Wong completed an MBA at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a double major in Finance and Entrepreneurship & Innovation and was recognized with the Dean’s Leadership Award.
Keith Pardee, PhD
Dr. Keith Pardee is an Associate Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto. He is cross appointed to the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and is a Faculty Affiliate in the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society. In addition, Dr. Pardee is a scientist-entrepreneur and Lead Mentor at the Health Innovation Hub (H2i), where he works with emerging health ventures and their founders.
His training began in the fields of botany (BSc, University of Alberta) and Natural Products Chemistry (MSc, University of British Columbia) and transitioned to protein structure and function during his PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Toronto. His postdoctoral studies at the Wyss Institute (Harvard University) served to translate this fundamental training into his current focus in applied biology.
The Pardee Lab works at the intersection of synthetic biology and human health, developing molecular, hardware, and computational technologies for diagnostics, distributed biomanufacturing, and therapeutic discovery. A central theme of the lab is translating new technologies beyond the academic setting. These efforts have led to the co-founding of three trainee-led ventures: LSK Technologies (acquired by Nicoya Lifesciences), En Carta Diagnostics, and Liberum Biotech.
A2O
A2O is developing a first-in-class astrocyte reprogramming therapy that generates new oligodendrocytes to promote remyelination, restore function and prevent progression in demyelinating diseases.
ECHO - General Health Stream
Neuropeutics is developing first-in-class, disease-modifying small molecules targeting the root causes of neurodegenerative diseases, beginning with ALS, with the potential to halt disease progression, extend survival and improve quality of life.
ECHO - General Health Stream
Aortico
Aortico transforms routine aortic imaging into a personalized assessment of aortic dissection risk, giving clinicians a better way to triage growing patient populations. By identifying high-risk patients missed by current assessment, Aortico supports earlier life-saving intervention, more confident clinical decisions and more efficient use of hospital resources.
ECHO - Cardiovascular Health Stream
Every 4 seconds, someone has a stroke. The speed and effectiveness of treatment can determine whether a patient recovers. Today’s thrombectomy devices struggle to balance rapid access to the clot with efficient removal. Sensible Vascular is developing a next-generation thrombectomy system designed to overcome these limitations, helping physicians restore blood flow faster and give patients the best chance at recovery.
ECHO - Cardiovascular Health Stream
For patients diagnosed with prion disease, or those who carry a familial mutation that predisposes them to these disorders, Heprion—short for Harnessing evolution for the treatment of prion diseases—is developing a first-in-class intravenously delivered gene therapy that leverages a biological phenomenon refined through evolution to target the root cause of neurodegenerative diseases, including prion diseases. This approach is designed to halt disease progression by blocking pathological protein aggregation and holds the potential to be therapeutic for other neurodegenerative diseases.
ECHO - General Health Stream
ArteraNova’s NanoSmooth is a next-generation vascular healing platform that directly addresses the core biological and safety limitations of today’s drug-coated balloons and drug-eluting stents. Unlike paclitaxel and sirolimus, their non-cytotoxic, smooth muscle-selective therapeutic peptide, conjugated with a nanoparticle, selectively arrests migrating smooth muscle cells without hindering endothelial recovery. Delivered by an angioplasty balloon, NanoSmooth provides targeted therapy to prevent restenosis while reducing toxicity, thrombosis, repeat interventions and reliance on blood thinners—supporting safer procedures and better outcomes in peripheral and coronary artery disease.
ECHO - Cardiovascular Health Stream
John H. Wong, MD MSc MBA FRCSC
Co-Founder & CEO, Fluid Biomed
Associate Professor, Departments of Clinical Neurosciences and Radiology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
Director of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery, Division of Neurosurgery, Alberta Health Services
Dr. John H. Wong is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fluid Biomed Inc., a medical device company of 30 people based in Calgary, Canada, developing a bioabsorbable neurovascular stent to treat brain aneurysms. He is an associate professor in the Departments of Clinical Neurosciences and Radiology at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. He serves as Director of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery and maintains an active surgical practice dedicated to treating patients with brain aneurysms and stroke. Dr. Wong received his medical education and neurosurgical training at the University of Alberta. After fellowship sub-specialization in neurovascular surgery at Yale University and interventional neuroradiology in New York City, he was recruited to Calgary in 2001. Dr. Wong has authored 95 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has served on several grant review panels including for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the U.S. National Institutes of Health. He has previously held several leadership roles including Head of Neurosurgery at the University of Calgary, President of the provincial Alberta Neurosurgical Society, and President of the Canadian Neurosurgical Society. Dr. Wong completed an MBA at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a double major in Finance and Entrepreneurship & Innovation and was recognized with the Dean’s Leadership Award.
Sarah Farr, PhD
Principal, Genesys Capital
Dr. Sarah Farr joined the Genesys investment team in 2020, bringing to the team eight years of experience at the bench in laboratory research and discovery. She is responsible for sourcing opportunities and leading biotech and medtech investments from both Genesys Ventures IV and the Genesys University Seed Fund. She serves on the Board of Directors of Antegrade Medical Inc. and is a board observer for Giiant Pharma Inc. and Questat Inc. Past board affiliations include Adapsyn Bioscience, Inc. and EBT Medical, Inc.
Before Genesys, Dr. Farr worked as a Business Development Officer in the Industry Partnerships & Commercialization office at the Hospital for Sick Children, where she managed IP, industry partnerships, and start-up opportunities. She received her PhD from the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, where she studied the effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. She also has a Bachelor of Health Science (Honours) with a minor in Biochemistry from McMaster University.
Seema Mital, MD, FACC, FAHA, FRCPC
Staff Cardiologist, Heart Failure & Transplant, The Hospital for Sick Children
Senior Scientist, SickKids Research Institute
Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada & Robert M Freedom Chair of Cardiovascular Science
Scientific Co-Lead, Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research
Professor of Pediatrics, University of Toronto
Dr. Seema Mital leads the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research Cardiac Precision Medicine program at SickKids that leverages genome sequencing, stem cells, AI and digital technology to model disease, test therapies, and implement precision-focused decision support tools. Dr. Mital established the SickKids Heart Centre Biobank, a multi-centre biorepository for childhood onset heart disease with over 10,000 participants. She leads the ERAPerMed/CIHR funded PROCEED network for Personalized Genomics in congenital heart disease, the multi-centre international Precision Medicine in Cardiomyopathy (PRIMaCY) network, the CIHR-funded multi-centre INSERT-HCM study, co-leads the CIHR-funded Precision Medicine for Heart Failure in the Young (PRIORITY) project of the Canadian Heart Function Alliance, and is a PI on two NIH grants. She is Academic Project Lead for the Genome Canada funded SickKids Precision Child Health Sequencing project that will sequence 10,000 childhood genomes. She discovered novel genetic causes of childhood onset heart disease that have been incorporated into clinical genetic tests, discovered precision therapies for pediatric hypertrophic cardiomyopathy using patient iPS cells that led to a successful clinical trial of myosin inhibitors in this population, and launched the first electronic health record integrated point of care digital tool for predicting sudden cardiac death in pediatric hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Before Genesys, Dr. Farr worked as a Business Development Officer in the Industry Partnerships & Commercialization office at the Hospital for Sick Children, where she managed IP, industry partnerships, and start-up opportunities. She received her PhD from the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, where she studied the effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. She also has a Bachelor of Health Science (Honours) with a minor in Biochemistry from McMaster University.
Sohaib Siddiqui, MD
Director, Technology & Venture Development, Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP)
Managing Partner, Kettlebeck Ventures
Venture Partner, Amplify Capital
Dr. Sohaib Siddiqui has built a diverse career in healthcare as a physician, clinical researcher, and venture investor. Shifting from patient care, he now provides medical, scientific, and business support to early-stage startups in TIAP’s ecosystem. He works alongside TIAP’s academic and institutional partners to identify promising medical technologies in digital health and medical devices. He works closely with companies to provide subject matter expertise, develop impactful technologies, structure investments and provide board governance. He currently sits on the boards of 7 healthcare companies and organizations providing strategic insight and ensuring long-term impact. Dr. Siddiqui is also a Managing Partner at Kettlebeck Ventures, a family-office backed healthcare fund where he manages their healthcare strategy, and a Venture Partner at Amplify Capital.
He also trained as a medical doctor and pediatric clinical researcher. His area of research focused on improving the access and quality of care for pediatric patients in rural and developing countries while improving the operational efficiency of the delivery of healthcare. He previously had academic appointments at Women’s College Hospital and the Temerty Faculty of Medicine as an EiR to support early-stage entrepreneurs. He holds a B.ScH from Queen’s University, degrees in Medicine, Surgery & Obstetrics from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and Executive Education Certification in Digital Health from Harvard Medical School.
Stephane Angers, PhD
Charles H. Best Chair of Medical Research
Professor & Director, Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research
Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
Dr. Stephane Angers is the Director of the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He is also a member of the Departments of Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and holds the Charles H. Best Chair of Medical Research.
He obtained his PhD from the Université de Montréal and then completed his postdoctoral studies at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2006, Dr. Angers established his independent research program at the University of Toronto, focused on understanding the signalling mechanisms underlying the Wnt family of growth factors and their signalling mechanisms in development, adult tissue homeostasis, and in human diseases. His pioneer work led to the development of novel antibody molecules blocking and activating the Wnt pathway for the treatment of cancers and regenerative medicine applications.
Dr. Angers is the scientific co-founder of AntlerA Therapeutics, which was acquired by Roche in 2024. His work also led to the development of Remigromig (MK-3000, formerly Restoret), which came from a molecule developed by AntlerA Therapeutics and was licensed to EyeBio (acquired by Merck in 2024). Remigromig, a tri-specific antibody that turns on Wnt signalling to repair the blood-retinal barrier, recently met its primary endpoint in the pivotal Phase 2b/3 BRUNELLO clinical trial for the treatment of Diabetes Macular Edema.