Next Generation Manufacturing

In this compelling episode hosted by Jay Myers, listeners gain invaluable insights into Canada's potential as a leader in advanced biomanufacturing, emphasizing cell and gene therapies. With a dynamic panel of industry experts, the conversation delves into strategic opportunities, the importance of developing skills, and how integrating advanced therapies into Canadian manufacturing could revolutionize patient care.

The dialogue highlights Canada's advantage due to its wealth of expertise and advances in regulatory processes. Each panelist brings a unique perspective on overcoming challenges from scaling academic research to commercial production and the importance of continuous learning due to rapidly evolving technology. With a focus on improving patient outcomes through personalized medicine, the podcast outlines the transformative power of cell and gene therapies.

Nathalie Bourgouin: Serving as the Vice President of Quality and Compliance at ExCellThera, Nathalie Bourgouin wears several hats in this emerging biotech company situated in Montreal. ExCellThera is expanding the scope of cord blood applications to develop treatments for various blood cancers. Bourgouin's leadership in quality and compliance is crucial as the company grows its pipeline in cell and gene therapies.

Panos Chrysanthopoulos: As the Chief Development Officer at Morphocell, Panos is leading the charge towards creating liver regeneration therapies using. Under his guidance, Morphocell stands at the frontier of acute and chronic liver failure treatment, transitioning from academic concepts to GMP-level development.

Jana Machan: With six years at CCRM, Jana Machan now helms the organization as the Senior Vice President of Operations. Her focus includes developing regenerative medicine and commercializing cell and gene therapies, attracting essential investment into Canada, and incubating new companies.

Adam Huys: As the Director of the Center for Advanced Therapeutic Cell Technology at CCRM, Adam oversees the development of bio-manufacturing platforms that are revolutionizing the field. He is a key figure in transitioning these platforms to commercialization in collaboration with Omniabio.

Patrick Daoust: The Chief Business Officer at CATTI, Patrick Daoust is shaping the future of biomanufacturing talent. CATTI focuses on hands-on training in cell and gene therapies, ensuring that the workforce meets the high standards of the industry.

• Canada has strategic opportunities to lead in cell and gene therapies, offering personalized medicine and potential cures for patients.
• The development of specialized facilities like Omniabio is essential for bridging the gap from research to commercial manufacturing.
• Training skilled professionals for GMP manufacturing environments remains a significant focus, with entities like CATTI driving this initiative.
• Strategic partnerships, funding, and global networking are crucial to maintaining Canada's competitive edge and stimulating sector growth.
• Regulatory, technical, and operational agility are vital for small companies in navigating the path to successful biomanufacturing.

"The complexity during the manufacturing in clean rooms, that's a very unique element that we're dealing with." - Panos Chrysanthopoulos

"Having a homegrown ability to manufacture essential medicines is of the utmost importance from a security perspective." - Patrick Daoust

"CCRM...is really, I think, building the whole ecosystem." - Jana Machan

"The simpler we make our products by understanding the processes, by building the right analytics...the more successful we will be." - Panos Chrysanthopoulos

"This is the leading edge of advanced manufacturing...a very important strategic opportunity for Canada." - Jay Myers

Connect with Ngen: [email protected]

Website: Ngen.ca, careersofthefuture.ca,

Instagram: @ngencanada

Twitter: Ngen_canada

Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/ngmcanada.com

In this insightful episode, host Jay Myers engages with a panel of AI and advanced manufacturing experts to remove the veil from the world of Artificial Intelligence in the manufacturing sector. The guests share their unique experiences, showcasing both the transformative impact and the practical challenges of integrating AI technologies into various manufacturing processes.

Throughout the episode, the conversation navigates through the intricacies of AI implementation, from the identification of business use cases to the collection and interpretation of data. Each expert provides a unique perspective on how AI can optimize processes, improve quality control, and address labor shortages. Joseph highlights the importance of meaningful data in AI execution, while Armin underscores the potential for AI to tackle repetitive tasks in manufacturing. Michael emphasizes the need for machine intuition, and Remi discusses human-AI collaboration as the future.

• Joseph Lafleur: Joseph serves as the CEO of Polyalgorithm, a company specializing in tehs and data, machine learning with a focus on visual aspects. His expertise lays in partnering with companies to optimize technology use in manufacturing, evidenced by the joint venture with Martin Raya to commercialize innovative welding technology.
• Michael Mohseni: Michael is the CEO of Autometrics, a startup that pioneers industrial AI solutions, particularly in intelligent quality monitoring for complex processing operations like industrial welding and the manufacturing of battery cells for electric vehicles.
• Armin Khatoonabadi: Co-founder and COO of Apera AI, Armin leads his company in creating 4D Vision technology that empowers industrial robots with human-like vision enabling them to handle complex tasks. His technology is adopted across North America in various manufacturing settings, including companies like Ford and GM.
• Remi Duquette: As the Vice President of Maya HTT, Remi leads the charge in providing AI professional services in the manufacturing and industrial AI sector. He is also the president of a cluster aiding manufacturers in understanding and integrating AI into their environments.

• AI is extensively improving manufacturing processes by optimizing operations and addressing labor shortages.
• The application of AI should be problem-focused, with the aim to deliver measurable business value and efficiency improvements.
• Start small with AI integration, focusing on a manageable problem to tackle first and scale over time.
• Data quality and management are critical in effectively deploying machine learning algorithms in manufacturing.
• Future trends in AI may revolve around further automating repetitive tasks, capturing human expertise, and advancing human-AI collaboration.

• "AI can improve a lot on process optimization, which is tied to energy efficiency gains on the sustainability side." - Remi
• "The technology that we are supplying doesn't need readiness. It's not any different from buying a robot and installing it in your production line." - Armin
• "You have to learn on these corner cases and understand what to do about them because they will happen whether you like it or not." - Remi
• "AI is going to help us automate these tedious and dumb operations so that humans can focus on what they are really good at, which is creativity." - Armin
• "AI is offering a great opportunity to bring that intuition into a machine and make it a scalable tool or solution for a broader market." - Michael

Connect with Ngen: [email protected]

Website: Ngen.ca, careersofthefuture.ca,

Instagram: @ngencanada

Twitter: Ngen_canada

Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/ngmcanada.com

On this episode Jay Myers is joined by Dr. Stephanie Willerth, CEO at Axolotl Biosciences.

Axolotl Biosciences' mission is to provide turn-key reagents, including bioinks, 3D tissue models, and consulting services in the field of 3D bioprinting to advance the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. We envision delivering innovative products that enable the 3D bioprinting of humanized tissue models for advancing medicine.

In this episode:

• Stephanie's background
• 3D Printing brain tissue
• Additive solutions in bio-medical and bio-engineering
• Commercialization and manufacturing
• Axolotl getting recognition
• Advice for entering the field
• Attracting talent
• Working with NGen
• The future of Axolotl

Connect with Axolotl Biosciences:

Website: https://www.axolotlbiosciences.com

Connect with Ngen: [email protected]

Website: Ngen.ca, careersofthefuture.ca,

Instagram: @ngencanada

Twitter: Ngen_canada

Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/ngmcanada.com

In this episode of Next Generation Manufacturing, host Jay Myers leads a riveting conversation on the future of advanced manufacturing, with a spotlight on circular manufacturing and the circular economy. The episode draws attention to Canada's innovative strides in environmental sustainability and life cycle product management.

Listeners will dive into a discussion that paints a vivid picture of the interplay between production optimization and the life cycle of products, as well as the lucrative potential of converting industrial waste into profit. The conversation, strikes a chord with those interested in environmental progress within industrial processes.

Industry leaders on the panel, including Bowden, Boqaileh, Stern, Shu, and Valeri, share thoughts and experiences from their respective fields, giving listeners a forecast of the transformation they expect within their domains. They disclose challenges like creating sustainable markets, managing material costs, regulatory frameworks, and supply chain complexities, painting a realistic portrait of the journey toward a circular economy in Canada.

About the Guest(s):

Lina Bowden is a partner and Chief Financial Officer at Carmina DeYoung, a garment manufacturing company known for its sustainable practices. She is deeply engaged in creating a circular economy within the textile industry, particularly focusing on minimizing waste and creating lasting clothing.

Khaled Boqaileh is the CEO and a driving force behind LabsCubed, which focuses on innovation in the polymer and plastics sector through automation and AI, aimed at creating efficient recycling processes.

Chris Stern is the CEO of Carbicrete, a company that is pioneering the production of negative carbon building materials by utilizing waste products like steel slag.

Jun Shu from CNEM (Canadian New Energy Materials Corporation) leads initiatives in green recycling processes for battery materials, which are critical for the burgeoning EV (Electric Vehicle) industry.

Tony Valeri is the president and CEO of Ridge Strategies. With an extensive career in the federal government and a focus on decarbonization, he brings a wealth of knowledge aiming to transform the steel sector to utilize waste as a resource.

Key Takeaways:

• Circular manufacturing is redefining how industries view waste by treating it as a valuable resource.
• Challenges such as cost, market demand, and complex recycling processes must be addressed to advance circular economies.
• Collaborative efforts and system thinking are crucial for the effective transition to circular manufacturing models.
• Advances in recyclable materials in textiles, polymers, and construction set a pace for change in Canada's manufacturing industries.
• Regulatory alignment and customer education will play pivotal roles in the success of circular economy initiatives.

Notable Quotes:

• "The concept of circular manufacturing and lifecycle product management demands a new way of doing business, new thinking about value chains." – Jay Myers
• "I think to do circular economies well, we have to be able to make things here." – Lina Bowden
• "The only way to really solve it is real innovation." – Khaled Boqaileh
• "Effectively make ours the obvious choice." – Chris Stern
• "We have to work hard." – Jun Shu

Connect with Ngen: [email protected]

Website: Ngen.ca, careersofthefuture.ca,

Instagram: @ngencanada

Twitter: Ngen_canada

Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/ngmcanada.com

In this episode, Jay Myers, CEO of Next Generation Manufacturing Canada, interviews Humera Malik, the founder and CEO of Canvas AI. They discuss the challenges faced by industrial companies in managing and utilizing their data and how AI can help solve these problems. Humera shares her journey from the telecom world to the industrial IoT world and explains how she founded Canvas AI to connect users with their data and make AI accessible to engineers and plant floor personnel. She highlights the importance of providing a layer of interaction with the data and focuses on three key areas: helping users work with their data, making the technology accessible to non-data scientists, and helping users complete the data analysis journey. Humera also discusses the solutions Canvas AI has developed for asset management, process optimization, and sustainability, and the importance of building trust with AI systems. The episode concludes with a discussion on the adoption of AI in Canadian manufacturing and the growth plans for Canvas AI.

About Humera:

Humera Malik is the founder and CEO of Canvas AI. With a background in the telecom and industrial IoT industries, Humera has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by industrial companies in managing and making use of their data. She founded Canvas AI to provide a platform that connects users with their data and makes AI accessible and usable for engineers and plant floor personnel. Humera is passionate about empowering users to solve their own problems and has developed solutions focused on asset management, process optimization, and sustainability.

Canvass AI aims to empower process engineers on the plant floor to make data-driven decisions quickly and accurately.

• Canvas AI provides a platform that connects users with their data and makes AI accessible and usable for engineers and plant floor personnel in the industrial sector.
• The solutions developed by Canvas AI focus on asset management, process optimization, and sustainability, helping users solve recurring problems and institutionalize knowledge.
• Building trust with AI systems is crucial, and Canvas AI achieves this by demonstrating the efficiency and effectiveness of their solutions in solving real-world problems.
• Canadian manufacturing companies have been conservative in adopting AI, but programs like the one with Next Generation Manufacturing Canada can help accelerate adoption and showcase the value of AI solutions.
• Canvas AI's growth plan is centered around making their platform a de facto tool for industrial engineers, empowering them to use AI in their day-to-day operations and problem-solving.

• "The problem I saw was, in the industrial sector, everybody was spending so many bizarre figures of about a trillion dollars spent into infrastructure built, and then another gazillion dollars spent on building the infrastructure to store data, which I called data hoarding. And then on top of that, what happens next? Nobody kind of was working on it." - Humera Malik
• "The intent really was how to empower the user to solve their problem, because they are the domain experts. All they need is how to make better use of their data." - Humera Malik
• "We focus on where we see we can provide value, so our qualification process is more refined and we really know how to score who fits the best and then take them through this journey." - Humera Malik

Connect with Canvass AI:

Website: https://www.canvass.io

Connect with Ngen: [email protected]

Website: Ngen.ca, careersofthefuture.ca,

Instagram: @ngencanada

Twitter: Ngen_canada

Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/ngmcanada.com