March 1, 2005 Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton-based Mathis Instruments Ltd. today celebrated its ten-year anniversary as a leader in innovation in Canada. Since 1995, the company has been breaking new ground in the world of sensor technology advancement, and now Mathis has a product of interest to a multitude of different industries, including the pharmaceutical industry. The company received significant investments under a number of programs, including the Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF), of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). These projects allowed Mathis to continue their research into this new technology, develop prototypes and conduct field tests for various applications of the sensors in order to assess their marketability. And they did it! The success of Mathis Instruments is also a success for ACOA. The company is one of the first AIF clients in New Brunswick to successfully complete its funding project and bring it to this stage of product development and marketability. "The Government of Canada, through ACOA, is proud to invest in companies like Mathis Instruments - companies that are clearly making great strides in technology and capturing the interest of the pharmaceutical industry world-wide," said the Honourable Andy Scott, MP for the riding of Fredericton, who joined in the celebrations today at Mathis, on behalf of the Honourable Joseph McGuire, Minister for ACOA, "The Government created the AIF program to allow organizations like Mathis to move forward in the development of technology that will ultimately benefit all Canadians, as well as diversify the economy throughout Atlantic Canada." As part of her Ph.D. research at the University of New Brunswick, Dr. Nancy Mathis developed the sensor technology that laid the groundwork for the establishment of her research and development company Mathis Instruments Ltd., which she founded in 1995 with husband and business partner Chris Mathis. "Mathis Instruments is leading North American activity in transforming pharmaceutical manufacturing improvement, "said Nancy Mathis, President and CEO of the company. "With the new FDA guidance in place, we have customers such as Wyeth, Patheon and AstraZeneca using the technology - all international key players in the pharmaceutical industry." The world of R&D demands a significant investment in time and money but Mathis Instruments has had the attention and venture capital support from the Canadian Science and Technology Growth Fund; Business Development Bank of Canada, Venture Capital Division; New Brunswick Investment Corporation; and the Worker's Investment Fund. In 1999, Mathis won the prestigious Research and Development 100 Award, an international award for innovation, putting it in the distinguished company of Polaroid film and anti-lock brakes. A short time later, in October 2003, Nancy Mathis also won Canada's highest honour for innovation - the Ernest C. Manning Foundation's $100,000 Principal Award. More recently, in late 2004, Mathis was named the national winner of the Outstanding Young Canadian Awards by the Junior Chamber, also in the category of innovation. Prior to the pharmaceutical application, Mathis Instruments already had a customer base that included such industry players as 3M, GE, Lucent, IBM, Dow Corning and Exxon Mobil to name a few. For more information on ACOA's programs, visit our web site at: www.acoa-apeca.gc.ca. To find more about Mathis Instruments' products and applications visit their website at www.mathisinstruments.com.; or email nadine@mathisinstruments.com - 30 - Valérie Poulin Director of Communications Office of the Honourable Joseph McGuire Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (613) 941-7241 Ann Kenney Senior Communications Officer Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency New Brunswick (506) 452-3687 Nadine Chiasson Sales/Marketing Coordinator Mathis Instruments Ltd. (506) 462-7211
