- Following a national competition, AbbVie and SpinUp – the
University of Toronto's lab-based, life
sciences accelerator – announce Neuropeutics Inc as recipient of
first AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award
- Neuropeutics Inc receives a year of laboratory space and
equipment at no cost, as well as access to support and
mentorship
TORONTO, May 22, 2025
/CNW/ - AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) in partnership with the University of Toronto's SpinUp, are pleased to
announce Neuropeutics Inc as the recipient of the AbbVie Biotech
Innovators Award, a national prize to help foster innovation and
support growth in Canada's life
sciences sector. Following a competitive selection process, the
award, funded by AbbVie, has been granted to Neuropeutics Inc for
developing small molecules preventing and reversing protein
aggregation as therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases.
"We are delighted to have this opportunity to collaborate with a
global biopharmaceutical company such as AbbVie, and the
University of Toronto's SpinUp, to
advance Neuropeutics' therapeutic research and development across
multiple neurodegenerative diseases. At Neuropeutics, we are
committed to developing targeted therapies to extend
neurodegenerative disease patients' survival and improve their
quality of life. This award allows us to pursue that mission with
greater momentum," said Dr. Marc
Shenouda, CEO & Co-Founder of Neuropeutics Inc.
Neuropeutics Inc's scientific entrepreneurial spirit directly
aligns with the mandate of the AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award to
foster research, innovation and growth within Canada's life sciences sector. A hallmark of
neurodegenerative diseases is protein aggregation. One such protein
is TDP-43, a normally nuclear DNA/RNA binding protein, which in
disease conditions becomes mislocalized and forms cytoplasmic
aggregates causing neuronal toxicity. Neuropeutics Inc has
developed a novel strategy to address diseases such as: Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's
disease, Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease.
"It was impressive and motivating to see the variety of entries
and the calibre of early-stage biotech companies who applied for
the Award. We thank all who participated in this life science
competition," said Rami Fayed, Vice President and General Manager
of AbbVie Canada. "After a rigorous evaluation process, it is with
great pleasure that we are announcing that Neuropeutics has been
named the recipient of the AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award for its
pioneering work in neurodegenerative diseases. We look forward to
supporting the journey of Neuropeutics, in collaboration with
SpinUp, to accelerate their efforts to deliver life-changing
innovation to patients."
"Congratulations to Neuropeutics on being the first AbbVie
Biotech Innovators Award recipient, and welcome to SpinUp – the
University of Toronto's wet lab
incubator," said France Gagnon,
Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation at the University of Toronto Mississauga. "This is the
place where the potential of Neuropeutics' work in
neurodegenerative diseases can be realized and the impact on life
sciences can be game changing. We are pleased to collaborate with
AbbVie, a global leader in the biopharmaceutical industry, to offer
this unique opportunity to this competitively chosen startup."
The AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award was launched in 2024 in
collaboration with SpinUp, a purpose-built laboratory for chemistry
and biological work – or wet lab – incubator at
the University of Toronto. The Award is
to support early-stage Canadian biotechnology startup companies
with the potential to generate transformational therapies in areas
that align with AbbVie's therapeutic areas of focus: immunology,
oncology, neuroscience, and eye care. Neuropeutics Inc will receive
a year of laboratory space at no cost, in addition to access to
SpinUp's core equipment, services, entrepreneurship programming,
and research talent community at the University of Toronto. Neuropeutics Inc will also
benefit from mentorship by AbbVie's scientific and business
executives.
For more information on the AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award,
please visit:
https://spinup.utm.utoronto.ca/biotech-innovators-award/.
About AbbVie
AbbVie's mission is to discover and
deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious
health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow.
We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across
several key therapeutic areas – immunology, oncology, neuroscience,
and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics
portfolio.
For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at
www.abbvie.ca. Follow AbbVie Canada on Instagram or find us on
LinkedIn.
About SpinUp
SpinUp is the first wet lab startup
incubator at the University of Toronto,
Canada's leading centre for
learning and discovery and one of the world's top-two universities
for health science productivity. SpinUp is purpose built to drive
life science innovation. It offers early-stage start-ups access to
outstanding and highly subsidized wet lab space, equipment,
entrepreneurship programming and expertise at a brand new,
state-of-the-art research facility at U of T's Mississauga campus. Visit our website at
spinup.utm.utoronto.ca and connect with us on Instagram and
LinkedIn.
SpinUp is proudly part of U of T Entrepreneurship, a network of
12 accelerators across three campuses. Over the past 10 years, this
network has supported more than 1,200 capital-backed companies,
which have created 17,000 jobs and raised $12 billion in external investment. U of T now
launches more research-based start-ups than any university in
North America outside of
MIT. The AbbVie Biotech Innovators
Award is part of U of T Mississauga's Blue Ticket program at
SpinUp, which provides a one-year SpinUp membership.
About Neuropeutics Inc
Neuropeutics is a for-profit Canadian pharmaceutical company
developing targeted therapies to extend neurodegenerative disease
patients' survival and improve their quality of life. To learn
more, please visit us at www.neuropeutics.ca, contact us
at info@neuropeutics.ca, and connect with us on LinkedIn.
SOURCE AbbVie Canada
