In the world of drug discovery, the right data can be the difference between a breakthrough idea and one that never gets off the ground. For Stoked Bio, an AI-driven biotech company based at McMaster University, the focus is to find novel solutions for major health threats like antibiotic-resistant bacteria and deadly brain cancer.
The team’s challenge wasn’t the science; it was connecting their research with the specific commercialization support and expert networks needed to get their solutions to market.
Co-founded by Jon Stokes, who spent years developing AI models in the lab, Stoked Bio’s core technology is a unique, AI-driven drug discovery platform called Mosaic. What makes it unique is its biology-first approach that focuses on generating high-quality, disease-specific data to train its models.
What is Stoked Bio’s Mosaic?
Mosaic works by exposing disease samples to vast chemical libraries to see how they biologically respond, allowing the company to discover non-obvious drug candidates that traditional screens might miss.
Stoked Bio is currently developing a pipeline of promising candidates, with a focus on addressing antibiotic-resistant bacteria like E. coli and Staph. aureus, as well as glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer.
Stoked Bio’s pathway to leverage resources within the Innovation Factory ecosystem and beyond
Stoked Bio’s journey with Innovation Factory (iF) started in 2024 when the company first applied for the Synapse Life Science Pitch Competition. After gaining expert advice and pitch training, the team won $14,000 in-kind services from CDD Vault at the live pitch event.
Following its success at Synapse Life Science Pitch Competition, Stoked Bio applied and became a recipient of iF’s Southern Ontario Pharmaceutical and Health Innovation Ecosystem (SOPHIE) program.
Funded by a Government of Canada investment of up to $5.2 million through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), SOPHIE helps technology companies develop, test, and commercialize innovative healthcare solutions.
Through SOPHIE and with the help of collaboration with McMaster University, Stoked Bio is focused on a critical next step: improving the “druggability” of a promising chemical scaffold for glioblastoma. This project includes medicinal chemistry to refine the molecule and research to determine its mechanism of action, with the ultimate goal of finalizing a candidate ready for formal preclinical development.
“From the start, Innovation Factory helped us focus our early strategy and connected us with the right people to build our business,” shared Jeff Skinner, CEO of Stoked Bio. “The support we received—from the hands-on pitch training at the Synapse Competition to the crucial funding from SOPHIE—allowed us to advance our key programs and create the foundational documents we still use today.”
The team has secured intellectual property through exceptional work by the McMaster Industry Liaison Office (MILO), with the filing of two patents for their AI-generated antibiotics, and is actively engaged in building their business through funding from sources like IP Ontario and other strategic partnerships.
Stoked Bio also had the opportunity to showcase its tech at OBIO’s 2025 Investment Summit – an open platform for the start-up to pitch its tech to global investors. Recently, Stoked Bio joined LevelUp, a ‘Made at Mac’ initiative offering start-up companies office space in McMaster Innovation Park.
Stoked Bio’s journey is a great example of how strategic ecosystem support and funding can accelerate the pathway from a research-based idea to a tangible, real-world product. By leveraging programs like the Synapse Life Science Competition and the SOPHIE program, the company is now positioned to make an impact on the future of healthcare.
Interested in learning more about the SOPHIE program? Connect with us to find out more.