NexusHealth
Where Science Fiction Becomes Science Fact
NexusHealth is a health innovation accelerator, transforming how the modern university serves society by bringing together stakeholders from across sectors and working with them in new ways to more efficiently move products from the lab to society. We’re developing antibiotics for untreatable disease, discovered by AI algorithms; wearable devices that monitor your health 24/7, and alert you of potential issues; vaccines without needles; medicines for incurable conditions, like Alzheimer’s, celiac disease, and metastatic brain cancer; cures for liver cancer and other metabolic conditions; and radioactive medicines that target disease with extreme precision, sparing healthy cells in ways current treatments cannot. This all may sound like science fiction, but, at NexusHealth, we’re making it science fact.
The NexusHealth Product Pipeline
Wearable tech that tracks your health in real-time
Engineers at NexusHealth are at the forefront of a revolution in health-care technology, developing next-generation wearable biosensors that could redefine personalized health management.
An AI-elucidated precision antibiotic for bowel disease
Jon Stokes and his research team have discovered a precision antibiotic that targets the drug-resistant bacteria that drive inflammatory bowel diseases, like Crohn’s. In a global first, the researchers used a new type of AI to successfully predict exactly how the drug would work — shortening the development pathway by several years and reducing the cost of drug discovery by several million dollars.
Drugs that block cancer from spreading to the brain
A Nexus-affiliated startup is working on a first-in-class precision medicine that will prevent secondary metastatic brain cancer. The new drug candidate is an innovation that could revolutionize the future of cancer care.
A next-gen, needle-free COVID-19 vaccine
NexusHealth researchers are developing a next-generation, needle-free vaccine for COVID-19. This made-at-McMaster vaccine is proven to be more effective at inducing protective immune responses than traditional injections, as it targets the lungs and upper airways — where viruses first enter the body. The new vaccine is administered via a personal inhalation device, and is currently in phase II human trials.
New drugs that tackle neuro diseases
With a Nexus-affiliated biotech company, McMaster researchers are using advanced profiling techniques to identify new therapeutic compounds from novel chemistry discovered in a remote rainforest in British Columbia. Already, the team has identified KCB-100, a fungi-derived drug candidate with potent activity against neurological conditions, like depression, anxiety, and Alzheimer’s disease.
A new treatment for liver cancer
NexusHealth researchers have developed a promising treatment candidate that helps the immune system attack and destroy liver tumours.
State-of-the-art antiviral aptamer technology
Scientists at NexusHealth are designing aptamers — tiny molecules made up of DNA — to stick to specific targets, much like antibodies do. One of the aptamers in development is able to bind to all variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, and thus stands as a promising new treatment option.
New treatment candidates for celiac disease
Researchers at NexusHealth are trialling a new supplementation program to assess the efficacy of tryptophan as an answer to celiac symptoms.
