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Phil Halloran knows first-hand that there’s no easy way to get technology from the lab to market. Luckily, he hasn’t faced that challenge alone.

Halloran, director of the Alberta Transplant Applied Genomics Centre in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and co-founder of Transcriptome Science Inc., has partnered with

TEC Edmonton to grow the spinoff company into a viable business.

Halloran says that he has always had thoughts of commercialization.

“As a researcher, I look for ways to change the conventional system, to improve it, and commercialization is part of that,” Halloran said. “We owe it to the taxpayer to give back somehow.”

His company is developing a microarray-based chip that can be used to identify diseases that cause organ dysfunction measuring how disturbed organ tissue is, what the cause of the disturbance is and whether the organ is at risk for progressive failure. This technology is significant because current methods of assessing organ biopsies by microscopic assessment are inaccurate, which can lead to inappropriate treatment.

As recognition and interest grew for Halloran’s research in technology, he looked for ways to bring his discoveries to market.

“We created a company, with the help of TEC Edmonton, to be the interface for our commercial relationships,” Halloran said.

With solid commercial potential, TEC Edmonton executive-in-residence, Randy Yatscoff, a former academic and biotech CEO, used his veteran business expertise to get Halloran’s company off the ground.

“Working with Phil, we implemented an innovative funding model for the university environment that put TSI in a position to capitalize on funding sources,” Yatscoff said.

Because Halloran doesn’t have the time or the business expertise to manage the company alone, Dean Zaragoza, a TEC Edmonton market analyst, took on an additional role as its business manager. 

“By partnering with TEC Edmonton, the company is moving forward,” Zaragoza said. “TEC connects TSI with a variety of commercial funding opportunities as well as with people with the expertise to help in the further development and validation of the technology.”