In keeping with the Provincial Government’s commitment to accelerate innovation and build a healthy province, the Honourable Andrew Parsons, Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology today announced $149,000 in funding support through the Innovation and Business Investment Corporation to PragmaClin Research Inc. to further their work on Parkinson’s disease.
PragmaClin Research Inc., owned by Bronwyn Bridges and Gord Genge, is a medical technology company that operates in the health care sector. Mr. Genge was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019, and throughout his steps to diagnosis had identified several patient assessment issues that needed to be solved, including long wait-times and subjective patient assessment. Ms. Bridges is a Ph.D. student at Memorial University, and while conducting her research on Parkinson’s disease she met Mr. Genge and discussed potential solutions to patient care issues. Shortly thereafter, PragmaClin was formed in 2020.
PragmaClin says it is driven to find a disruptive solution to managing Parkinson’s disease, which currently affects about 10 million people worldwide. The company is developing a one-of-a-kind product, the Parkinson’s Remote Interactive Monitoring System, which is set to monitor, analyze, and rate the severity of Parkinson’s disease symptoms remotely and objectively. The system is unique in that it does not require any specialized equipment or wearable sensors that would be unfamiliar to both patient and practitioner, providing an easier path to adoption.
The non-repayable funding support from the Provincial Government will enable PragmaClin to further enhance the Parkinson’s Remote Interactive Monitoring System (PRIMS) and elevate it from a demonstration to a market-ready stage. PragmaClin is also receiving advisory services and research and development funding from the National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program to support the project.
Quotes
“I’ve had the privilege of learning about the experiences of Ms. Bridges and Mr. Genge, and am truly impressed by their determination and commitment to building from Mr. Genge’s lived experience to alleviate the struggles of others. PragmaClin is well-positioned in an emerging market, not only because of its commercialization value, but also because of the potential it holds in transforming lives. I’m excited to see the outcome of this project.”
Honourable Andrew Parsons
Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology
“PragmaClin is honored to receive support from both the Provincial Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the National Research Council of Canada. This support will allow us to expand our team and hire consultants to help us commercialize and validate PRIMS. It is our goal to improve health care delivery services through technology and we want to be able to launch from home before scaling globally. The local ecosystem for health tech companies has allowed PragmaClin to grow faster than we could have imagined.”
Bronwyn Bridges
PragmaClin Research Inc.
“The Parkinson Society Newfoundland and Labrador is very supportive of PragmaClin’s continued development of the PRIMS device. People living with Parkinson’s in rural and remote areas all over the world could benefit from the practical solutions PRIMS offers for their ongoing monitoring and therapeutic needs.”
Derek J. Staubitzer
CEO and Executive Director, Parkinson Society of Newfoundland and Labrador
-30-
Learn more
Follow us on Twitter @GovNL and @IET_GovNL