Tanz Centre startup receives incubator space and support with innovator award

Neuropeutics Inc., a brain health company based on discovery science done at the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, is the inaugural winner of the AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award.

The company will receive lab space through the University of Toronto Mississauga’s wet lab incubator, SpinUp, and mentorship and support from AbbVie’s executives, a global biopharma company.

“We are delighted to have this opportunity to collaborate with a global biopharmaceutical company such as AbbVie, and U of T’s SpinUp, to advance Neuropeutics’ therapeutic research and development across multiple neurodegenerative diseases,” said Neuropeutics’ CEO Marc Shenouda.

Shenouda and Professor Janice Robertson received the award last week at an event marking one year of SpinUp, U of T’s first wet lab incubator, in a daylong showcase that also highlighted the continuation of SpinUp’s collaboration with Merck to support promising Canadian ventures.

Neuropeutics will receive a year of free lab space, and mentorship from AbbVie’s scientific and business leaders, along with access to SpinUp’s advanced equipment, research community and entrepreneurial programming.

Selected from a national pool of applicants, Neuropeutics is the latest venture to join SpinUp’s growing community of startups working to translate promising research into real-world solutions.

Co-founded by Temerty Faculty of Medicine researchers Shenouda and Robertson, Neuropeutics is developing small-molecule drugs that prevent and reverse the buildup of toxic proteins in the brain — a process linked to conditions such as ALS, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

“At Neuropeutics, we are committed to developing targeted therapies to extend neurodegenerative disease patients’ survival and improve their quality of life,” said Shenouda. “This award allows us to pursue that mission with greater momentum.”

Neuropeutics’ lead compound, JRMS-22, targets TDP-43, a protein that becomes toxic when it misfolds and clumps in the brain. The company’s approach aims to prevent and even reverse this aggregation, offering a potential new pathway for treatment for several neurodegenerative diseases. 

The research underpinning this work was conducted at U of T’s Tanz Centre, where Robertson is a senior researcher and Shenouda is a postdoctoral fellow. Robertson is also a professor of laboratory medicine and pathobiology at Temerty Medicine.

SpinUp will soon grow its ecosystem of biotech innovators with the return of the Blue Ticket competition, offered in partnership with Merck.

The program, which provides lab space, mentorship, and entrepreneurial support, was awarded last year to Atorvia, a woman-led startup focused on metabolic health. Applications for this year’s competition are open until July 14.

Raquel De Souza, UTM’s director of partnerships and innovation, says partners like AbbVie and Merck are essential to SpinUp’s mission to turn scientific innovation into investor-ready ventures.

“While Canada is a global leader in life sciences research, more specialized lab infrastructure and related entrepreneurial supports are urgently needed to help scientists turn their discoveries into impactful commercial innovations,” she said. 

“SpinUp is helping address these challenges by providing affordable access to a brand new, state-of-the-art research facility, robust entrepreneurship programming and world-leading research talent at the university.”