Jim Banting leads the office that turns University of Toronto research into companies, and he has been on the other side of it, co-founding a Queen's spin-off and selling it to a U.S. pharma buyer.
Worth knowing
He knows how licensing, manufacturing and platform deals get negotiated with U.S. biotech buyers, and he has rebuilt a university's commercialization function from the inside, offices and all. At U of T he now controls the door to research partnerships, technology transfer, a venture fund and the UTEST and UTE start-up programs.
Story
Jim did his honours degree in Life Sciences and then a PhD in Pharmacology at Queen's, and in 2006 went to the United States to join Human Genome Sciences, where he spent six years doing business development deals. He came back to Kingston, took over PARTEQ Innovations in 2014, and in 2017 led the work of folding Queen's technology transfer office into the university itself, holding both roles through the transition. He still lives in Kingston and mentors early companies there through the regional innovation centre Launch Lab. In March 2026 he took over Innovations, Partnerships and Entrepreneurship at the University of Toronto, where his first public moves include a partnership with the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network's incubator program and a role in the national conversation about trust in AI.
Highlights
- Co-founder, Vaxis Therapeutics; sold to a U.S. specialty pharmaceutical company
- President and CEO, PARTEQ Innovations, Queen's University (2014)
- Assistant Vice-Principal, Partnerships and Innovation, Queen's University
- PhD Pharmacology (1997) and BSc Life Sciences (1993), Queen's University
- Mentor, Creative Destruction Lab; supporter of We-Can women entrepreneurs
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