Compass Rose Oncology Fund

FACIT’s Compass Rose Fund helps Ontario’s cancer research innovators, arising from both public and private sectors, realize the commercial possibilities of their inventions by supporting early stage development projects. The Compass Rose Fund anchors and scales biotechs and attracts investment to Ontario, supporting the province’s competitive position as a destination for biotechnology.

FACIT’s Compass Rose Fund is designed to address the funding gap between traditional public granting agencies and private investors, supporting cancer-related, early stage commercialization activities. These include: proof-of-concept (POC), validation, standard operating procedures, market analyses, IP protection and acquisition, expert guidance and management. Investments typically range between $1M and $5M, dispersed in tranches based on achieving pre-established milestones during the planned development

“In addition to receiving this critical investment at a pivotal moment in our company’s development, we are fortunate to benefit from continued exposure to FACIT’s extensive network of industry experts and investors.”

Dr. Marc Fiume, CEO, DNAstack (2019)

Compass Rose Fund Profile

Investment per start-up*$1M to $5M, dispersed in tranches based on achieving pre-established milestones
Funding StageSeed & follow-on
Development StageDiscovery to early clinical
Type of InvestmentFACIT will receive consideration in the form of a royalty on commercialization revenues and/or equity in start-up companies
EligibilityIntellectual Property for oncology development based in Ontario
Preferred Investment QualificationsCutting edge technology – transformative not incremental; Significant business opportunity – differentiated, competitive technology; Defined market/technology vertical; Strong IP position – breadth, defensible, blocking ability, freedom to operate; Ability of funding to advance the technology to a value inflection point; Addresses an unmet need for cancer patients and/or cancer clinicians; Economic benefit to Ontario; Suitability of the team executing the work plan;  Regulatory strategy – clarity of the path, territories, time and capital required.
Main Goal of InvestmentAchieve a value inflection point, positioning investees to attract additional funding from a wider investor network
*FACIT expects to make investments at a variety of funding levels and not all projects should or will receive a maximum allowable amount.

    CONTACT US

    For further information about the Compass Rose Investment Fund, please contact us. All investment requests will be reviewed by FACIT as well as appropriate external reviewers selected from academic and/or business communities.

    Projects Recently Funded By The Compass Rose Fund

    We are investing in Ontario’s innovation economy through these breakthrough start-ups.

    SEARCH FILTERS:

    Innovation Type
    Cancer Type
    Current Funding Stage
    FACIT Fund


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    cTRL Therapeutics

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Seed
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Harnessing the power of cTRLs (circulating tumor-reactive lymphocytes) in the blood to unlock the next generation of solid tumor cancer therapies.

    Radiant Biotherapeutics

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    An antibody platform company developing multi-valent, multi-specific therapeutics, called Multabodies, to deliver transformative therapies for patients.

    Xpan Inc

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Seed
    Fund:
    Compass Rose, Falcons’ Fortunes, Prospects
    Xpan’s Universal Trocar System is a minimally invasive surgical innovation – a first of its kind, radially expanding trocar that can be tailored by surgeons during laparoscopic procedures to accommodate various sized instruments.

    Virano Therapeutics

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Developing the next generation of enhanced gene therapies using Vector Potentiators (VEPO)

    DTPx Therapeutics (UHN)

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Other
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Falcons’ Fortunes, Prospects
    DTPx Therapeutics (University Health Network) is aiming to prevent relapse in colorectal cancer patients using a novel cell-based immunotherapy targeting a newly identified group of hibernating and drug tolerant cancer cells.

    Point Surgical Inc.

    Innovation Type:
    Diagnostics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Falcons’ Fortunes, Prospects
    Instant and accurate intra-surgical identification of cancer types or subtypes in under 10 secons through combining laser vaporization and mass spectrometry

    OICR

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Enhanced Target Screening for WD Repeat Platform

    OICR

    Innovation Type:
    Informatics & AI
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    OICR Target Prioritization Platform

    Hyivy Health

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof Of Concept
    Fund:
    Compass Rose, Prospects
    Remote patient monitoring, pelvic rehab system for gynecological and colorectal cancer patients and their clinicians

    HDAX Therapeutics

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Other
    Funding Stage:
    Proof Of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    A blood-brain barrier permeable HDAC6 selective inhibitors for CNS cancers based on proprietary technology that unlocks novel binding mechanism for improved next-gen targeting.

    OICR

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Innovative quantum computing based technology (QuAccel) to screen protein-ligand interactions with higher speed and accuracy for drug discovery projects

    Air Microfluidic Systems Inc.

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Breast
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Falcons’ Fortunes, Prospects
    Air microfluidics-enabled active compression sleeve for treating breast cancer-related lymphedema

    Tenomix

    Innovation Type:
    Diagnostics
    Cancer Type:
    Other
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Compass Rose, Prospects
    The first-ever automated, bench-top robotic scanning device for the detection of lymph nodes in surgically removed colorectal cancer tissue, making this step less labour intensive, less costly, and more reliable resulting in better patient care.

    Sunnybrook Research Institute

    Innovation Type:
    Diagnostics
    Cancer Type:
    Prostate
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    At-home prostate cancer screening kit

    doctalk

    Innovation Type:
    Informatics & AI
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    A virtual space for physicians to collaborate with each other and organizations

    Bridge7 Oncology

    Innovation Type:
    Informatics & AI
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Falcons’ Fortunes, Prospects
    Scaling clinical expertise with AI to automate and improve the delivery of cancer care

    Replica Analytics (Aetion)

    Innovation Type:
    Informatics & AI
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Exit
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Modeling software to generate synthetic data that protects the individual privacy of data subjects and maintains the statistical properties of real data. This enables easy, fast and effective access to high utility data that is made portable through data simulators

    Multimagnetics Inc.

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Breast
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Hand-held photoacoustic device to detect tumour margins and residual disease in the surgical cavity during breast-conserving surgery

    University of Toronto

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Development of small-molecule inhibitors of mitochondrial RNA polymerase (POLRMT) as an anticancer strategy

    OICR

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    WD Repeat Platform

    Sunnybrook Research Institute

    Innovation Type:
    Diagnostics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Algorithm to predict breast cancer patient response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy

    University of Toronto (Perturba)

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Split Intein-Mediated Protein Ligation (SIMPL): a unique and disruptive system for detecting PPIs in real time

    Polumiros

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Breast
    Funding Stage:
    Seed
    Fund:
    Falcons’ Fortunes, Prospects
    ReFilx, a polymeric soft tissue filler for the permanent restoration of breast tissue defects following lumpectomy

    Talon Pharmaceuticals

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Heme
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Developing a novel series of small molecule drugs to induce apoptosis and impede cancer cell proliferation

    Notch Therapeutics

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Notch Therapeutics has developed best-in-class, off-the-shelf, iPSC-derived synthetic T cells of unprecedented scale and functionality to further the advancement of cellular immunotherapies for patients and their families.

    OICR

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    ADC-Linker Platform

    QurCan Therapeutics (formerly Nanology Labs)

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Seed
    Fund:
    Compass Rose, Prospects
    QurCan Therapeutics is fostering scientific creativity and pioneering a proprietary nanoparticle drug delivery technology called TERP to accelerate ​advanced nanomedicine-based therapeutics.

    16-Bit

    Innovation Type:
    Informatics & AI
    Cancer Type:
    Breast
    Funding Stage:
    Seed
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Automatic analysis of screening mammograms for breast cancer

    DNAstack

    Innovation Type:
    Informatics & AI
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Seed
    Fund:
    Compass Rose, Prospects
    Development of a cloud platform for genomics data management, analysis and sharing

    Dalriada Therapeutics

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Heme
    Funding Stage:
    Seed
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Developing a DT-1 class of small molecules, for the treatment of leukemia, with selective cancer cell-killing activity and reduced toxicity due to a unique cloaking mechanism.

    KA Imaging

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Other
    Funding Stage:
    Seed
    Fund:
    Compass Rose, Prospects
    World’s first and only portable dual-energy detector, enabling bone and soft tissue differentiation in a single, highly sensitive x-ray exposure.

    Radialis Medical

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Breast
    Funding Stage:
    Seed
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Radialis Medical is developing an advanced Positron Emission Mammography (PEM) system for highly sensitive molecular (or functional) imaging of small pre-invasive cancerous breast lesions independent of breast tissue density.

    Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    pancreas
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Falcons’ Fortunes
    Development of a Multi-mechanistic Vaccinia Virus-based Platform for the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer

    OICR

    Innovation Type:
    Diagnostics
    Cancer Type:
    Breast
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Molecular Profiling for Anthracycline Sensitivity in Patients receiving Chemo for Breast Cancer

    Propellon Therapeutics Inc. (Triphase Accelerator)

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Heme
    Funding Stage:
    Exit
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Developing potent and selective small molecule WDR5 inhibitors for the treatment of leukemias and solid tumours

    Pattern Pharma (formerly Realist Pharma)

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Seed
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Evaluation of survival benefit and preclinical proof of concept of a novel ganglioside-based cancer vaccine.

    Queen’s University

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Heme
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Development of Novel CYP26 Inhibitors for the treatment of AML

    Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Exit
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Next-generation radiopharmaceuticals for precision medicine (antibody conjugate for lung cancer), providing a safer approach to targeted radiotherapy by helping the drug clear from normal, healthy tissues and reducing toxicity

    Novera Therapeutics Inc.

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Heme
    Funding Stage:
    Seed
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Development of BCL6 inhibitors for the treatment of hematological cancers

    FocusOnCare

    Innovation Type:
    Informatics & AI
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Falcons’ Fortunes
    ChemoTracker App Development

    Capnostics

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Other
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    CellMate product for esophageal cell sampling. Acquired by PAVmed.

    Sunnybrook Research Institute

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Breast
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    External Clinical Validation Study of a Quantitative Ultrasound Spectral Analysis Platform For Monitoring Tumor Response In Women Receiving Neoadjuvent Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Breast Cancer

    OICR

    Innovation Type:
    Diagnostics
    Cancer Type:
    Breast
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Ring Study to Evaluate the PRedicTive brEast Cancer Test (PRoTECT)

    Sunnybrook Research Institute

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Breast
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Evaluation of immune responses engendered in CEA transgenic mice by a vaccine formulation composed of a recombinant CEA N domain antigen and GSK AS15 adjuvant

    Ziliomics

    Innovation Type:
    Informatics & AI
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Compass Rose, Prospects
    Development of heliotrope bioinformatics software platform

    Sunnybrook Research Institute

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Falcons’ Fortunes
    Ultra-Low Dose Microbubbles for Cancer

    OICR

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Prospects
    Fully synthetic, self-adjuvanting vaccines incorporating tumor-associated antigenic epitopes for cancer immunotherapy

    Turnstone Biologics Inc

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Series A,B,C
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Developing next-generation tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) therapies by selecting the most potent and tumor-reactive T cells for potential treatment across multiple solid tumors

    Fluorinov Pharma (Trillium)

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Heme
    Funding Stage:
    Exit
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Breakthrough medicinal chemistry technology enabling fluorine atoms linked to drug candidates to improve therapeutic potency, stability and safety. The lead candidate, FV162, is an oral proteasome inhibitor for the treatment of blood cancers.

    OICR (Cellax)

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Cellax is a self-assembling nanoparticle drug-polymer conjugate that selectively targets tumour cells for enhanced cancer treatment with fewer side effects.

    XLV Diagnostics

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Breast
    Funding Stage:
    Series A,B,C
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    X-ray light valve (XLV) for low-cost digital mammography

    Privacy Analytics (IQVIA)

    Innovation Type:
    Informatics & AI
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Exit
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Software unlocking the vast potential of medical data without compromising individual privacy or causing unacceptable distortion of the data

    Arrayus Technologies (formerly Harmonic Medical)

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Liver
    Funding Stage:
    Series A,B,C
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    A system using ultrasound to both detect and treat tumours in bone and liver for the relief of pain without surgery and without expensive imaging equipment

    McMaster University

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Development of Radiolabeled Insulin Probe

    Triphase Accelerator Corporation

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Series A,B,C
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Triphase Accelerator is dedicated to advancing novel compounds from pre-IND through Phase 2 clinical proof-of-concept studies using a unique, science-based model that is faster and more cost-effective than traditional pharmaceutical industry approaches.

    Kapplex

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Exit
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    A Digital Microfluidics Platform for High-Throughput Apoptosis Screening

    Xagenic

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Exit
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Point-of-care platform for decentralized, rapid molecular diagnostic testing including GenEplex platform for clinically accepted leukemia biomarkers.

    DLVR Therapeutics

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Liver
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Novel nanoparticle delivery technology

    University of Toronto (Receptor-OncoTek)

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Other
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Preclinical development of PoLi-PTX, Intraperitoneal Ovarian Cancer Therapy

    DVS Sciences (Fluidigm/Standard BioTools)

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Multiple
    Funding Stage:
    Exit
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Flow cytometer-mass spectrometer for multi-parametric cell and bead analysis

    UHN (TorCell Therapeutics)

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Heme
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Novel T-cell Immunotherapy (autologous cellular therapy)

    UHN

    Innovation Type:
    Therapeutics
    Cancer Type:
    Heme
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Development of novel chemical proteosome inhibitors

    Sunnybrook Research Institute

    Innovation Type:
    Diagnostics
    Cancer Type:
    Liver
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Glypican-3: a novel marker for the early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

    UHN

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Liver
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Novel Radio Frequency Ablation Technology for Treatment of Solid Tumours

    ArcticDx

    Innovation Type:
    Diagnostics
    Cancer Type:
    Other
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    Development of a colon cancer risk prediction diagnostic tool

    Robarts Research Institute

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Prostate
    Funding Stage:
    Proof of Concept
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    3D ultrasound-guided intraoperative and dynamic minimally invasive trans-perineal prostate therapy and biopsy platform

    Profound Medical

    Innovation Type:
    Medical Technologies
    Cancer Type:
    Prostate
    Funding Stage:
    Exit
    Fund:
    Compass Rose
    MRI-guided transurethral ultrasound therapy for localized prostate cancer

    “FACIT’s leadership in financing is helping us de-risk our technology and progress discussions with venture partners for an anticipated Series A financing.”

    Dr. Mohammad Ali Amini, Co-Founder and CEO of Nanology Labs. (2021)