CALGARY, April 7 /CNW/ - University Technologies International (UTI) is
pleased to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the launch of its company
creation division - IGNITE - by announcing the closing of two first-round
financings for two IGNITE companies, Profero Energy Inc. and Circle
Cardiovascular Imaging Inc.
"These financings, in part, validate the success of the IGNITE model,"
says Paul Cataford, President & CEO of UTI. "By combining the innovative work
of researchers and entrepreneurs with our expertise in intellectual property
protection and business strategy we are creating companies that are truly
investment grade."
Profero Energy Inc. (Profero) received a commitment of up to $5 million
in financing over two and half years from the venture capital group, Novotech
Investment located in Newcastle, United Kingdom. Profero's technologies are
designed to recover additional energy assets from existing heavy oil wells
that are no longer economically viable. This process is anticipated to have
less environmental impact than conventional recovery technologies. Investment
proceeds will prepare the company to conduct its first field tests to
determine the level of biodegradation required to stimulate production. The
company's objective is to deploy the technology to be able to produce
commercial amounts of natural gas within a four year timeframe.
"Working with the IGNITE team and capitalizing on their business
knowledge and experience provided our research group the capability to bring a
great idea to the investment community," says Steve Larter, Chief Scientific
Officer for Profero. Larter is also the University of Calgary's Canada
Research Chair in Petroleum Geology and Co-Director for the Alberta Ingenuity
Centre for In Situ Energy.
Circle Cardiovascular Imaging Inc. (Circle) received $1.3 million from
independent capital investors. Circle has developed image processing software
known as cmr42 for the cardiac imaging industry. cmr42's intuitive user
interface and analysis tools have been specifically designed to facilitate
efficient quantitative evaluation of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) studies.
Circle is seeking regulatory approval and is currently engaged in setting up
beta sites with some of the most prestigious cardiovascular hospitals in the
world. Circle brings together an experienced and qualified team including one
of the world's leading CMR physicians, Dr. Matthias Friedrich. Dr. Friedrich
is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of
Calgary and Director of the Stephenson Cardiovascular MR Centre at the Libin
Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta.
"By combining the unique skill set of experienced business leaders and
innovative researchers I believe the IGNITE program addresses an important and
critical need in the success of emerging technology companies in the Calgary
region," says Greg Ogrodnick, UTI Libin Executive-in-Residence (EIR) and the
new CEO for Circle Cardiovascular Imaging.
About UTI
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UTI is the University of Calgary's technology transfer, commercialization
and incubation center servicing the Calgary region. UTI was founded in 1989
and consistently ranks in the top 4 centers of its kind in Canada and is
recognized as an innovation leader in commercializing technology. IGNITE,
launched in early 2007, is a company creation incubator designed at UTI to
develop investment grade companies. IGNITE creates companies where
intellectual property and proprietary technology provides a sustainable,
differentiated, competitive advantage. UTI and IGNITE provide economic
development to the Calgary region through the creation of new jobs, the
sharing of knowledge, the pooling of resources and the opportunity for
investment return.
For further information: Kelly Sansom, Director, Marketing &
Communications, University Technologies International, (403) 270-2431,
sansom@uti.ca, www.uti.ca
