Tenomix closes $2M all-Canadian seed funding round

Tenomix, a pioneering medical technology company, successfully closed a $2 million all-Canadian seed funding round that will help develop a groundbreaking robotics system designed to improve the accuracy of colon cancer staging.

Accurate determination of colorectal cancer stages is crucial to developing the right treatment plan but is often a delicate balance between art and science. The conventional process of searching for lymph nodes after tumours are removed isn’t reliable or efficient as some cancerous nodes could be missed during the manual search process resulting in improper treatment.

Recognizing this challenge, Tenomix has invented a robot that uses ultrasound and artificial intelligence to automate the current manual lymph node screening process and significantly improves cancer staging accuracy.

Tenomix’s innovative solution has garnered significant interest and support with FACIT, an Ontario-based oncology tech investor, leading the investment round. “Our province’s life science ecosystem is world-renowned for its talent, who continue to push the envelope in developing the next-generation technologies that aid in medical breakthroughs,” said Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “Tenomix’s cutting-edge cancer screening robotics system demonstrates the best of Ontario innovation, and we congratulate them on their continued successes.”

Other contributors to the funding round include $500,000 from the Ontario Centre for Innovation (OCI) through the Life Sciences Innovation Fund (LSIF), a co-investment of $1.5 million from Phoenix Fire (part of the Archangel Network of Funds), individual angel investors, and the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization, which invested through its Women in Health Initiative seed program.

“Tenomix exemplifies the spirit of innovation that Ontario is known for, and their commitment to improving the accuracy of cancer screening through technology aligns with the Ontario Centre of Innovation’s mission to invest in commercialization opportunities that will generate the highest return on innovation,” said Claudia Krywiak, President and CEO of the OCI. 

The company’s benchtop, printer-sized robotics system is currently undergoing validation in hospitals across the U.S. and Canada. Tenomix envisions its technology can be used as a versatile platform with scalable software that supports the pathology process, said Eveline Pasman MD, COO, and co-founder of Tenomix.

“The ecosystem helped us develop an understanding of investors’ framework of thinking so that when we had calls with them, we could be in their shoes and answer properly,” said Michael Lavdas, CTO of Tenomix. “Now we’re in a place where we can build a profitable business and give pathology staff the right tools to give patients better care.”