The Business Development team focuses on increasing the economic impact of genomics research by connecting academia and industry to bring about the commercialization of genomics discovery.

Investing in the Future
Through its Pre-Commercialization Business Development Fund, OGI made two investments of $100,000 in proof-of-principle companies over the last year.
The first being ArcticDX Inc. which is developing a genetic test called Macula Risk® to determine one's inherited risk of developing age-related macular degene-
ration. The second investment was in InDanio, an early-stage drug discovery and development company with a novel screening system for the complete human nuclear hormone receptor family.

Creating the Doorway to Genomics in Ontario
This year, a new, refreshed, improved Genomics Sector Innovation Network – g-sin.com – was unveiled. Showcasing Ontario's research, resources, companies, services and Intellectual Property, g-sin.com is a central portal to all things genomics in the province, as well as a means through which collaborations between researchers, industry and investors is fostered.

Showcasing Ontario on an International Stage
The Business Development team attended BIO 2010 in Chicago this past year where they showcased some of the leading research taking place in the province.
The projects highlighted included DNA barcoding and associated databases, the Database of Genomic Varients, Dynemo – a software application that provides prognoses for cancer, and CyTOF™ mass-cytometer that is used for disease detection and characterization of cancer cells.

Bringing Academia and Industry Together
This year, OGI ran one of its Science with Industry Workshops. The topic of the workshop was molecular diagnoses. Titled Dx2010 Markers to Market, the workshop brought together leading international researchers, regulatory representatives and entrepreneurs from the diagnostics sector to examine regulatory
hurdles and commercialization challenges on the path from biomarker discovery to market for molecular diagnostics and prognostics.

Bringing the Latest Technology to the Attention of Researchers
Over the last year, OGI ran three Technology Days, which are designed to educate and inform Ontario researchers about the latest and leading technology,
all of which was developed in the province. Technology featured included iRefWeb, the Reactome database and a training session on bioinformatics.