Synaptive Medical enters bankruptcy protection

TORONTO – Synaptive Medical Inc., a Toronto-based medical device and technology company specializing in neuroimaging and precision intervention, obtained protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) on March 19, 2025. The company reported secured debt totalling approximately US$104 million, including around $54.8 million owed to senior secured creditor Export Development Canada (EDC).

The company has faced significant financial difficulties, driven by high R&D costs, maintenance of its intellectual property portfolio, and expenses related to its sizable workforce. Sales revenue failed to keep pace with expenses, and the situation was further exacerbated by market uncertainties related to potential US tariffs, impacting the company’s largest market.

Synaptive made various attempts over the past two years to stabilize its financial position, including seeking fresh capital, negotiating with creditors, conducting temporary layoffs of nearly 150 employees, and engaging in a lengthy pre-filing investment solicitation process (SISP), but these efforts were unsuccessful.

Synaptive president and co-founder Cameron Piron (pictured) told the Toronto Star that the threat of U.S. tariffs led to further difficulties for the company: “Two (American) investors in particular pulled back because of the Trump tariff threat. The uncertainty around the tariffs leads to uncertainty in the minds of investors.”

Although court records suggest the company’s cash woes date to 2023, its problems have rapidly accelerated since Trump’s election last November and his threats of levies on Canadian imports stateside.

“Throughout 2024, Synaptive also engaged independently with various groups of investors, including EDC, to secure a long-term financing solution,” the filings said.

“While these discussions resulted in a term sheet with EDC and another co-investor in November the recent, ever-looming threat of tariffs, among other headwinds, derailed those discussion.”

Indeed, the court records say, “the ongoing trade tensions with the United States, the threat of tariffs, retaliatory tariffs and newly imposed tariffs have contributed to a liquidity crisis for Synaptive.”

Furthermore, “the recent market uncertainty caused by trade tensions and the threat of tariffs has caused these challenges to boil over.

Piron said the CCAA restructuring has triggered a “sale and investment solicitation process” in the coming weeks. “It will either be sold or (the creditors) can also consider additional investment (from outside backers),” he said.

“It’s kind of sickening to think about selling the business at this point. It just seems like a terrible time to be selling the company.”

Without any further investment, Synaptive will be sold off to the highest bidder, likely from the U.S., risking its future in Canada and its workforce.

The firm has been on the radar at Queen’s Park ever since economic development minister Vic Fedeli toured its downtown Toronto facilities in September 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Synaptive was showcasing the Evry, its magnetic resonance imaging machine that’s one-fifth the size and weight of most MRIs; the Evry MRI sells for about US$1.2 million, according to the Toronto Star article.