H2i Ventures in the News: OXcan, Mutuo Health Solutions, CELLECT & NorthMiRs
OXcan Raises US$11M in Series A Funding,
Announces New SVP of R&D
This week, Oxford Cancer Analytics (OXcan) announced the raise of US$11 million in Series A funding, and the appointment of a new senior team member. Founded in 2020, OXcan is developing blood tests for early cancer detection using proteomics and AI. Since their founding, the team has made impressive strides and now have their own patented approach, proteomics lab and liquid biopsy platform. The recent raise, led by We Venture Capital and Cross-Border Impact Ventures, brings their total funding to date to US$16.7 million.
Alongside the funding news, OXcan announced the appointment of Dr. Heinrich Roder, who joins the team as Senior Vice President of Research and Development. OXcan is led by UofT alum Dr. Peter Jianrui Liu (CEO) and Daniel Szulc (CPO), and Dr. Andreas Halner (COO).
Of the news, Brad Wilson, OXcan Chairman and former President Europe of GlaxoSmithKline, reflected that, “I have worked with OXcan’s founders since the company’s seed round of funding and have been impressed by the quality of work done to date. The significant investment I have made in this Series A round is a concrete demonstration of my strong conviction and belief in OXcan, its strategy, and its team.”
HEALWELL Acquires Controlling Interest in Mutuo Health Solutions
At the close of 2024, HEALWELL acquired a majority controlling interest in Mutuo Health Solutions. Mutuo Health’s AutoScribe platform is an advanced AI-powered ambient scribe solution that transcribes clinician-patient interactions into high-quality electronic medical records in real time using natural language processing and machine learning technology. HEALWELL is set to advance Mutuo’s impressive work-to-date using its proprietary AI decision co-pilots to further AutoScribe’s impact on physician efficiency.
Dr. Noah Crampton, CEO of Mutuo Health Solutions, commented, “Our team at Mutuo is thrilled to join forces with HEALWELL to bring AutoScribe to more healthcare providers across Canada and beyond. This partnership allows us to leverage HEALWELL’s expertise and vast network to accelerate our mission of reducing administrative fatigue for doctors while improving the quality of care that patients receive. We are eager to see the positive impact this collaboration will have on the healthcare community.”
CELLECT and NorthMiRs Named by MaRS as
Tech Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2025
MaRS Discovery District has identified eleven Canadian tech entrepreneurs to watch in 2025, and Ibukun Elebute (CELLECT) and Sam McWhirter (NorthMiRs) were among the select group set to make waves in the coming year.
CELLECT co-founder Ibukun Elebute was recognized for her impactful work creating a more inclusive, less invasive alternative to pap smears. While testing is an incredibly important prevention measure for HPV, cervical cancer and other reproductive diseases, the discomfort and invasiveness of pap smears can act as a deterrent to this life-saving testing. The CELLECT team is creating a DNA detection device that tests menstrual products, poised to make a major impact on the health of women, non-binary and trans people.
NorthMiRs co-founder Sam McWhirter was identified for her innovative work using microRNA therapies to improve the treatment of sepsis and its related conditions. NorthMiRs recently won the $250k grand prize at Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research’s ECHO Pitch Competition for their product NM-001 which targets cardiac dysfunction from sepsis. The team is beginning 2025 with significant momentum, exploring manufacturing partnerships and commercialization pathways, and driving on to their NM-001 clinical trials, projected to start in 2027.