Canada’s life sciences industry is receiving millions in federal funding to support research into everything from antimicrobial resistance to organ transplantation.
The news: The Government of Canada announced last week $67 million in funding through its Life Sciences Fund, a program that invests in Canada’s scientific, technological, and industrial capabilities. The funding will support five projects with dual-use capability.
From the source: “The healthcare and life sciences sector is one of the fastest-growing in the country,” Minister of Health Marjorie Michel said in a statement on Sept. 18. “Canada stands at a pivotal moment and is strengthening its sovereignty and its position as a global leader in life sciences.”
The context: The bulk of the investment will go to five organizations. Edmonton’s Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API) is receiving nearly $22 million toward a $23.5-million initiative to launch the Canadian Allied Antimicrobial Supply Resilience, a project to secure antibiotic and antimicrobial drugs for priority pathogens. BC’s Avivo Biomedical is receiving just shy of $11 million toward a $34-million project advancing tech for blood transfusion and organ transplantation. Alberta’s Northern RNA is being funded with up to $6 million toward a $9.5-million project to establish “good manufacturing practice capacity” for RNA development. Ontario’s Qidni Labs is receiving $12.5 million for its $25-million project to complete design of a portable hemodialysis system, and BC’s Stemcell Technologies is receiving $2.8 million toward a $3-million project establishing domestic manufacturing capacity for custom cell culture media.
Final thought: Canada has framed this investment as integrated with its broader Defence Industrial Strategy, which prioritizes deal-use application in many of the initiatives it funds. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada told BetaKit that funded projects would protect Canadian citizens and military forces and would be foundational to national and economic security. The federal department specifically referenced Avivo’s tech—which is capable of converting different blood types into the universal donor Type O—and Qidni’s portable hemodialysis systems as examples of funded projects that have dual-use benefits in both civilian and combat settings.
BetaKit’s Prairies reporting is funded in part by YEGAF, a not-for-profit dedicated to amplifying business stories in Alberta.