Following a national competition, AbbVie and SpinUp – the University of Toronto's lab-based, life sciences accelerator – announce Neuropeutics Inc as recipient of first AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award
Neuropeutics Inc receives a year of laboratory space and equipment at no cost, as well as access to support and mentorship
TORONTO, May 22, 2025 /CNW/ - AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) in partnership with the University of Toronto's SpinUp, are pleased to announce Neuropeutics Inc as the recipient of the AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award, a national prize to help foster innovation and support growth in Canada's life sciences sector. Following a competitive selection process, the award, funded by AbbVie, has been granted to Neuropeutics Inc for developing small molecules preventing and reversing protein aggregation as therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases.
"We are delighted to have this opportunity to collaborate with a global biopharmaceutical company such as AbbVie, and the University of Toronto's SpinUp, to advance Neuropeutics' therapeutic research and development across multiple neurodegenerative diseases. At Neuropeutics, we are committed to developing targeted therapies to extend neurodegenerative disease patients' survival and improve their quality of life. This award allows us to pursue that mission with greater momentum," said Dr. Marc Shenouda, CEO & Co-Founder of Neuropeutics Inc.
Neuropeutics Inc's scientific entrepreneurial spirit directly aligns with the mandate of the AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award to foster research, innovation and growth within Canada's life sciences sector. A hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases is protein aggregation. One such protein is TDP-43, a normally nuclear DNA/RNA binding protein, which in disease conditions becomes mislocalized and forms cytoplasmic aggregates causing neuronal toxicity. Neuropeutics Inc has developed a novel strategy to address diseases such as: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease.
"It was impressive and motivating to see the variety of entries and the calibre of early-stage biotech companies who applied for the Award. We thank all who participated in this life science competition," said Rami Fayed, Vice President and General Manager of AbbVie Canada. "After a rigorous evaluation process, it is with great pleasure that we are announcing that Neuropeutics has been named the recipient of the AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award for its pioneering work in neurodegenerative diseases. We look forward to supporting the journey of Neuropeutics, in collaboration with SpinUp, to accelerate their efforts to deliver life-changing innovation to patients."
"Congratulations to Neuropeutics on being the first AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award recipient, and welcome to SpinUp – the University of Toronto's wet lab incubator," said France Gagnon, Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation at the University of Toronto Mississauga. "This is the place where the potential of Neuropeutics' work in neurodegenerative diseases can be realized and the impact on life sciences can be game changing. We are pleased to collaborate with AbbVie, a global leader in the biopharmaceutical industry, to offer this unique opportunity to this competitively chosen startup."
The AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award was launched in 2024 in collaboration with SpinUp, a purpose-built laboratory for chemistry and biological work – or wet lab – incubator at the University of Toronto. The Award is to support early-stage Canadian biotechnology startup companies with the potential to generate transformational therapies in areas that align with AbbVie's therapeutic areas of focus: immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care. Neuropeutics Inc will receive a year of laboratory space at no cost, in addition to access to SpinUp's core equipment, services, entrepreneurship programming, and research talent community at the University of Toronto. Neuropeutics Inc will also benefit from mentorship by AbbVie's scientific and business executives.
About AbbVie AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio.
For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.ca. Follow AbbVie Canada on Instagram or find us on LinkedIn.
About SpinUp SpinUp is the first wet lab startup incubator at the University of Toronto, Canada's leading centre for learning and discovery and one of the world's top-two universities for health science productivity. SpinUp is purpose built to drive life science innovation. It offers early-stage start-ups access to outstanding and highly subsidized wet lab space, equipment, entrepreneurship programming and expertise at a brand new, state-of-the-art research facility at U of T's Mississauga campus. Visit our website at spinup.utm.utoronto.ca and connect with us on Instagram and LinkedIn.
SpinUp is proudly part of U of T Entrepreneurship, a network of 12 accelerators across three campuses. Over the past 10 years, this network has supported more than 1,200 capital-backed companies, which have created 17,000 jobs and raised $12 billion in external investment. U of T now launches more research-based start-ups than any university in North America outside of MIT. The AbbVie Biotech Innovators Award is part of U of T Mississauga's Blue Ticket program at SpinUp, which provides a one-year SpinUp membership.
About Neuropeutics Inc Neuropeutics is a for-profit Canadian pharmaceutical company developing targeted therapies to extend neurodegenerative disease patients' survival and improve their quality of life. To learn more, please visit us at www.neuropeutics.ca, contact us at info@neuropeutics.ca, and connect with us on LinkedIn.
Neuropeutics Inc CSO & co-founder Dr. Janice Robertson (left) and Dr. Marc Shenouda, CEO & Co-Founder. (CNW Group/AbbVie Canada)
