AceAge is bringing the future of healthcare right to your doorstep with its smart pill companion that delivers, reminds, connects and secures medication

With seven million Seniors in Canada, almost every family has known or cared for a loved one who has struggled to manage their medications. Lack of medication adherence can result in trips to the hospital, forcing life changes such as increased homecare, retirement living relocation or ultimately a move into long term care.

‍In 2016, AceAge enrolled in The Accelerator Program® to gain their support in commercialization of a solution that would support Senior independence and wellness by delivering and monitoring their medications. This lead to the development of Karie™, a smart pill companion that delivers, reminds, connects and secures medication in order to promote medication adherence. Leveraging existing pharmacy medication strip technology, AceAge discovered they could deliver a positive medication taking and monitoring experience to support Seniors maintain their independence later in life.

“At a formative time in our commercialization, Accelerator Centre and its mentors were influential in helping us develop our business processes and sales plans,” said John Simmons, Chief Executive Officer. “Learning and gaining insights from the mentor’s past experiences was extremely valuable since we didn’t have to learn as many of the hard lessons on our own.”

‍AceAge was in the research and development phase of creating Karie, the Karie Portal (a secure cloud based data management system), and the Karie companion app. The Senior, or their caregiver would load the Karie medication cartridge, typically holding two or more weeks of medication, into the Karie smart pill companion. Karie notifies the Senior, with visual and sound reminders when its time to take their medication. Then with the simple push of a button, the correct type and amount of medicine will be dispensed. If a dose is missed, the Karie Companion application will notify a caregiver, giving them an opportunity to check in to see if everything is alright. This process not only ensures peace of mind, but reduces unnecessary or expensive visits to homes and hospitals, ultimately driving up the overall health care expenditure.

In 2019, AceAge fully developed and commercialized the Karie™. In just three years, the team went from research and development, to market secure distribution agreements and purchase orders. Since 2020, AceAge Inc. closed a CA $5 million Series A financing round and $1.5 million in FedDev Ontario repayable contribution, supporting their aggressive global growth strategy. Karie is now available in 5 countries including Canada and the United States.

“Our time at the AC is a foundational chapter in the AceAge story, and I’m glad we are able to tell it,” said John. “We’re looking forward to Graduation!”

‍AceAge has been working on various other initiatives to unlock the endless possibilities the Karie can provide, including a I2P2 study with CABHI, and the implementation of applied facial recognition. AceAge is bringing the future of healthcare right to your doorstep, giving loved ones the support they need to age independently, and in the comfort of their own home.

‍Join us on Friday October 22nd to celebrate AceAge’s incredible startup journey as they graduate from The Accelerator Program! After four phases, over 400 milestones, and years of riding the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, they have shown the world they have what it takes to succeed.