SpinUp welcomes six new early-stage startups for incubation
Mississauga, ON — MAY 2025
On the eve of SpinUp’s first anniversary, we are welcoming six new teams to join our growing community of biotech, chemistry, and clean tech startups! Founded by U of T faculty, students and alumni, as well as founders supported by our external partner programs, these early-stage companies will soon move into the state-of-the-art New Science Building here at the University of Toronto Mississauga for incubation.
They’ll benefit from the infrastructure, equipment, and entrepreneurship programming they need to prepare for their next stages of growth and will have the opportunity to work with students and establish research partnerships with UTM faculty — all within a strong entrepreneurship ecosystem offered by the City of Mississauga and the University of Toronto.
Read on to learn about SpinUp’s newest startups, who are doing exciting work on everything from developing handheld devices that screen for cardiovascular disease to re-engineering food waste into biodegradable fabrics, creating eco-friendly alternatives to traditional biomaterials, and more.
ALT TEX
ALT TEX engineers biodegradable and recyclable alternatives to synthetic textiles, engineered from the world’s largest landfill contributor – food waste. The patent-pending ALT TEX fermentation technology creates a polyester alternative that works with the existing infrastructure to supply a sustainable, high performance and cost competitive polyester replacement to fashion brands, at scale.
Meet the team: Myra Arshad, Co-founder & CEO; Avneet Ghotra: Co-founder & CTO; Oliver Wang, Senior Polymer Chemist; Alexandra Ly, Polymer Chemist; Shreya Nagavalli, Bioprocess Engineer; Saddman Rahman, Material Scientist
Carboform
Carboform is a bio-based chemicals and materials company dedicated to decarbonizing the production of aromatic chemicals and harnessing the potential of bio-aromatics. Our innovative technology converts plant-based waste into high-value specialty chemicals, reducing waste and environmental impact. We help industries like fragrance and flavours, personal care, cosmetics, and protective coatings adopt greener solutions and lower their carbon footprint, driving a more sustainable future for all.
Meet the team: Sneha Shanbhag, CEO & Co-founder; Jumiati Wu, Co-founder
Launch Bioindustries
Launch Bioindustries develops sustainable biomaterials by leveraging advanced fermentation technologies. Our mission is to transform waste streams into high-performance, eco-friendly materials that offer cost-effective, sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics. We’re currently leading a pilot project that converts waste from insulin production into home-compostable pharmaceutical packaging.
Meet the team: Andrew Chiappetta, CEO; David Crisante, Research Development Specialist
Quthero
Quthero is advancing regenerative therapies based on its proprietary Q-peptide technology for applications in aesthetics and immunology. Q-peptide is a synthetic, bioactive, peptide sequence derived from Angiopoietin-1, which enables versatile applications in areas where cell survival, anti-inflammatory effects, and regenerative support are critical. Quthero’s pipeline focuses on applications of post-aesthetic procedures, wound healing and regeneration, as well as cardiovascular health.
Meet the team: Milica Radisic, CEO & Founder; Susan Bruggemann, COO & CFO; Karen Cronholm, CBO; Omar Ibrahimi, Chief Medical Officer; Mike Williams, Business Development Officer; Dawn Bannerman, Senior Scientist; Alaa Alsaafin, Business Development Lead / MSL
Re:Pair Genomics
Re:Pair Genomics uses AI software to design compact, synthetic promoters, with cross-species effects, for targeting specific tissues and cell types. Rather than spending six months to a year to design and validate promoters manually, our algorithm can produce designs ready for testing within a day.
Meet the team: Shiron Lee, Co-founder & CEO; Luca Hategan, Co-founder and Chief Development Officer; Yosuke Niibori, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer
Visit the Re:Pair Genomics website.
Sparked
Sparked offers the first at-home device that screens for risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) using the proteins found in your saliva. Results are provided rapidly and without the need for a traditional laboratory or technical training. CVD is the most common cause of death of adults in North America but 80% of cardiovascular events are preventable; Sparked is on a mission to detect CVD early, rapidly and in every corner of the world.
Meet the team: Stephanie Buryk-Iggers, Founder & CEO; Morteza Jeyhani, Chief Technical Officer; Michael Glogauer, Chief Scientific Officer; Patrick Lawler, Chief Medical Officer
Purpose-built to drive life science innovation, SpinUp is the first wet lab 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 offers early-stage start-ups access to outstanding wet lab space, equipment, and expertise at U of T Mississauga. SpinUp is part of U of T entrepreneurship, a network of 12+ innovation accelerators that has supported more than 650 capital-backed companies, which have created 9,000 jobs and raised $2.5 billion in external investment over the past ten years.
Media Contact
U of T Mississauga:
Julia Le
Issues and Media Relations Strategist, Office of Communications