About Syantra Inc.
Syantra Inc. is a privately held, precision biotechnology company that's changing the way cancer is detected and treated.
Our flagship product, Syantra DX™ Breast Cancer, is a screening blood test for the detection of breast cancer. It measures a panel of gene expression biomarkers from whole blood and then uses a software package, developed with machine learning, to interpret data and provide a result of positive or negative.
Our mission
Our mission is to make early cancer detection part of routine healthcare.
Our vision
Our vision is to become a global provider of blood screening tests (Dx) for breast, lung, colon and blood cancers. Utilizing our company’s novel IP platform, we will also identify specific drug targets (Rx) for the precision treatment of the cancers we screen for.
Our technology platforms
Our discovery platform is used to identify novel biomarkers and drug targets. The discovery platform includes the patented FlowPlate device, cellular models of disease, a biobank of clinical samples and database of clinical and cellular molecular profiles.
Once biomarker signatures are identified, detection tests are developed using our proprietary diagnostic platform which includes the Target Level Quantification (TLQ) analysis platform and the signal assessment software. In addition, the Shepherd LIS software package tracks the sample through processing and report generation.
The therapeutic platform involves drug target validation and testing of drug candidates with human cellular disease models to augment the standard drug discovery process and provide additional data to support candidate selection for clinical trials.
Clinical studies at sites around the world enable additional discovery and product validation.
Together, our discovery, diagnostic and therapeutic platforms provide the foundation of Syantra’s precision medicine approach to identify disease early and intervene to reverse disease and restore wellness.
Our history
Syantra was formed in 2016 by Dr. Tina Rinker, Dr. Ken Fuh, Dr. Randy Moore and Bob Shepherd. It was conceived from work performed out of the Rinker Lab at University of Calgary in Canada. Dr. Rinker and Shepherd had been researching and publishing in the areas of cardiovascular disease and inflammation for about a decade, and through this work, developed a biomarker and drug target discovery platform that is now patented in several countries.
In 2011, a collaboration developed with Dr. Hyeyoung Lee from Yonsei University in South Korea resulted in the awarding of the Alberta-Gangwon Collaborative Research Grant. Fuh joined the project as a PhD student and led the research activities. This work was continued with an Industry-Sponsored Research Award from Alberta Enterprise and Advanced Education and M&D Inc. (Korea).
The first test developed was a qRT-PCR-based breast cancer subtyping test to categorize tumors as hormone-responsive (ER+ or PR+), HER2 positive, or triple negative. However, soon the research team had preliminary data that supported a blood test for breast cancer screening.
In 2017 Syantra received the $1.2M Alberta Small Business Research Innovation award and initiated prospective clinical studies – Identify Breast Cancer (IDBC) – in Calgary, Canada; Manchester, UK; Oklahoma City, USA and Seoul, South Korea. Clinical studies are ongoing through sites in Canada, the UK and South Korea. US site studies are not currently recruiting.
In December 2021, Drs. Rinker and Fuh presented interim clinical trial results at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, based on samples from 1,107 participants (2100 participant study target).
Also in 2021, Syantra Inc. received
accreditation from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA), enabling them to commercialize the Syantra DX™ Breast Cancer screening blood test.
Our team
Rob Lozuk
Chief Executive Officer
Rob joined Syantra in November 2023, bringing 23 years of experience in commercially disruptive technologies at private and public companies across the healthcare arena. In his leadership roles at companies such as Cardea, Specific Diagnostics and Sequenom, he has driven business growth, scaling and the successful sale of the company. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of Limmi, an Artificial Intelligence company serving the life science sector, and Gaia Medical Institute, a company focused on saliva-based point-of-care diagnostics for brain health. Rob holds a degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Bob Shepherd
President and Chief Operating Officer
Bob has over 25 years of experience in cell bioengineering research and development. He has co-founded several companies, including Syantra, to commercialize innovative technologies and is a co-inventor on ten international patents.
Randy Coates, MBA, BCom
Chief Business Officer
Randy is a senior-level executive with a 27-year track record of steering technology businesses towards commercial growth. Throughout his career, Randy has co-founded four companies including Preo Software and Burntsand Inc., which he ushered from start-up to private market success to public company. Randy holds an MBA from the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business.
Kristina Rinker, PhD, PEng
Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer
Kristina is a biomedical engineering innovation professional focused on technology development, translation to implementation, mentoring and training, and entrepreneurial thinking. Additionally, Kristina is co-lead of biodiagnostics and a professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Calgary. She’s also a member in the Charbonneau Cancer Institute.
Kenneth Fuh, PhD, MLT
Co-founder & Director, Product Development
Kenneth completed his doctorate degree in biomedical engineering at the University of Calgary and is actively involved in assay development, optimization, and clinical demonstration of Syantra DX.
Randy Moore, MD FRCSC FACS
Co-Founder & Medical Director
Randy is a consultant vascular surgeon with over 20 years’ experience in innovation, research and biotech development. Randy is a co-founder of Syantra and is currently the CMO of ViTAA Medical Solutions, a software as medical device company based in Montreal.
Carol Roesler, MBA, CPHR
Vice President
Carol has more than 17 years of cross-sector experience working with companies whose focus ranges from CO2 emission conversion technology to materials science to industrial and energy infrastructure. She is an innovative and strategic thinker who has consistently invested in education and professional development. Carol earned an executive MBA from the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business. She also holds an undergraduate degree and a post-graduate certificate in psychology.
Gareth Evans, MD FCRP
Advisor
Gareth is a professor in Medical Genetics and Cancer Epidemiology at the University of Manchester, and is a consultant for Saint Mary’s Hospital in Manchester. Gareth has published 864 peer reviewed research publications and a book on familial cancer (Oxford University Press). He is a leading clinician on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) familial breast cancer guideline group.
Terry Macartney
Business Development, Europe/Middle East
Terry is an operations, marketing and business development veteran who specializes in biotechnology and international business. He completed post-graduate studies at the University of Alberta and the University of Salford. Terry is based in Spain for most of the year.
Dr. Massimo Cristofanilli
Scientific Advisory Board (SAB)
Dr. Cristofanilli is a Professor of Medicine, Chief of Breast Medical Oncology and Associate Director of Precision Medicine at Weill-Cornell Medicine. He also serves as the Scientific Director of the Englander Institute of Precision Medicine bringing his international reputation and expertise in the field of molecular diagnostics, drug development and translational research.
Olesya Kharenko, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist, Molecular Discovery
Olesya has over 17 years of experience working in the biotech industry, academia and research. She has an extensive experience in breast cancer, translational biology, drug discovery, epigenetics, and target validation. She has over 10 years of research and development experience leading oncology and discovery teams addressing resistance to current therapies as well as pre-clinical development of small molecule therapeutics and tool compounds. She holds a Ph.D. in bioinorganic chemistry from the Bowling Green State University, OH, USA. She has authored and co-authored over 35 peer-reviewed publications and is an inventor on several patents.
Our Board of Directors
Peter Calverley
Board Chair
Peter is a seasoned business executive and board member of companies in Canada and the United States. Peter is a decisive business executive with a strong track record of driving operational and financial performance. Peter is the CFO of Tela Innovations and is a board member and the former CEO of COOL-IT (Calgary and USA).
Rifat Pamukcu, MD
Rifat is chairman, president and CEO of Midway Pharmaceuticals based in Philadelphia. Previously he was founder, director and CSO of Cell Pathways Inc. where he was instrumental in obtaining over $140 million of capital and in transforming CPI into a public company.
Alice Reimer
Paul Kuzel, MD FRCPC DABD
Paul is the medical director of Rejuvenation Dermatology, which has clinics in Alberta, Ontario and B.C., and a co-founder of Calgary-based mobile lab services startup, TapLabs Corp. He has published extensively on skin cancer topics including melanoma, squamous cell and basal cell carcinoma. He has a strong interest in laser and aesthetic dermatology and has trained with some of North America’s foremost experts. Paul is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s prestigious Dermatology Residency Training Program.
Key partners and associates
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![Alberta Cancer Foundation]()
Photo By: John Doe
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![DynaLIFE Medical Labs Alberta]()
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![Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust]()
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![University of Calgary]()
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![Yonsei University]()
