News

Lumiio Receives $1.3 Million in Funding from Prairies Economic Development Canada

KASTx Ventures is excited to announce today our digital health venture Lumiio is receiving $1.3 million in funding from Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan).  The funds will help the company continue building out its digital health projects and expand into wearable technologies to better collect real-world health data. This generous contribution will go a long way for Lumiio as the team works to expand their offerings and grow their projects globally.   “We are celebrating the hard Read more…

By KASTx Ventures, ago

Raft Digital Therapeutics and Biogen Canada Launch Therapeutic Game Demo for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

KASTx Ventures is excited to announce our portfolio company Raft Digital Therapeutics and founding partner Biogen Canada have launched a therapeutic game for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) called Cloud Bazaar. The game is equipped with motion capture technology, designed to track players’ movements as they progress through progressively difficult level, designed to make therapeutic exercise more fun and engaging for young people with SMA. It is now available for free public download from the Cloud Read more…

By KASTx Ventures, ago

How KASTx Founding Partner Gord Anderson is Working to Change the Financial Landscape for Indigenous Communities

In honour of National Truth and Reconciliation Day, we wanted to highlight the work one of our Founding Partners, Gord Anderson, is doing with Indigenous communities across Canada. Anderson is a leader beyond KASTx Ventures and his passion and expertise informs our work in health communities and our portfolio companies.  As an expert with over 30 years of experience in finance and over 15 years working with Indigenous communities, Anderson’s career has spanned many different Read more…

By KASTx Ventures, ago

KASTx Ventures Scientist Receives BioAlberta’s Scientific Achievement and Innovation Award

KASTx Ventures celebrates the announcement today that Dr. Toshifumi Yokota has been selected for BioAlberta’s Scientific Achievement and Innovation Award. The award celebrates teams or individuals responsible for breakthrough innovations with commercial applications, and Dr. Yokota was one of two winners.   Dr. Yokota was selected based on his seminal discoveries in antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) and gapmer therapies for muscular dystrophies like Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). KASTx founding partner Dr. Lawrence Read more…

By KASTx Ventures, ago

The Calgary Herald’s David Parker: Meet the people behind KASTx Ventures

A Calgary-based firm is partnering with start-up companies with a shared vision to have a positive and sustainable impact globally, focused today in the areas of health, technology and environmental sustainability. Mark Starratt, co-founder and managing partner of KASTx Ventures, says there are many brilliant scientists, passionate about bettering the lives of humanity worldwide, who do not have the experience, marketing know-how and contacts to commercialize their products. Click here to read the full article Read more…

By KASTx Ventures, ago

Two KASTx Ventures Portfolio Companies Join Plug and Play Alberta’s First Accelerator Program

Two of KASTx Ventures’ portfolio companies have been selected to join global tech investor Plug and Play Alberta’s prestigious digital health accelerator program, the first of its kind at the newly built Alberta offices. Lumiio, a company specializing in developing digital health programs for the purposes of improving health outcomes for communities around the world, was one of the companies chosen for the 12-week program. Raft Digital Therapeutics, the second KASTx portfolio company chosen, is Read more…

By KASTx Ventures, ago

Lumiio and MitoCanada Launch Patient Registry for Mitochondrial Diseases

Lumiio recently announced in partnership with MitoCanada, the launch of a new patient registry for mitochondrial diseases. The registry will allow for centralized data collection from patients and their families. Providing this data to health communities and their stakeholders will allow for expedited drug discovery, faster diagnoses and ultimately deeper insights to help improve quality of life for patients.   There are over 300 known diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, with an estimated 1 in 4,000 people worldwide are affected. None of these diseases presently have a cure, so Read more…

By KASTx Ventures, ago