Canadian Health Science Innovations Attract Global Investment at the Sixth OBIO® Investment Summit

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Global investors and strategic pharma licensing teams met with some of Canada’s most promising early-stage health science company leaders and our top research institutions at the OBIO^® Investment Summit from February 8-10, 2023. The sixth edition of the annual Summit, held at First Canadian Place in Toronto, showcased Canada’s early-stage life science industry to the global investment community.

“The Summit brings together Canada’s most promising early-stage life science companies to share their state-of-the-art innovative technologies with global investors, showcasing the strength of our industry and the opportunity for investment across Canada,” said Dr. Maura Campbell, OBIO^® President and CEO. “The Summit continues to build on the success of the Canadian ecosystem, and we are proud of our efforts to help companies anchor in Canada and develop their innovative technologies at home.”

The OBIO^® Investment Summit attracts investment to Canada and Ontario, and since 2018, Canadian companies that presented at the Summit have raised more than CAD $1.3 B. “Each year we build on our past success,” added Dr. Campbell. “The 2023 Summit featured our first-ever Pharma Licensing Forum, where 9 global pharmaceutical companies met with Canadian biotechnology companies looking to out-license their technologies and develop research collaborations.”

OBIO^® has received support from the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) to assist with various programs including the, CAAP^®, EAHN™ and WiHI. “Providing better health care for Canadians means investing in the organizations that support innovators and research institutions. The work that OBIO^® is doing helps grow Canadian-made health technologies and encourages participation of women in leadership roles in the health sector,” said the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. “OBIO’s Investment Summit is an important networking opportunity that is strengthening our healthcare institutions for the health and wellbeing of all Canadians.”

“Part of building Ontario is ensuring that companies, innovators and entrepreneurs have the support they need to succeed and advance next-generation technologies,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “The OBIO^® Investment Summit has provided Ontario’s life sciences sector a great opportunity to showcase their world-class talent and ingenuity, and our government is proud to have supported this event. Together, we’re building Ontario and ensuring that our province remains at the forefront of life sciences innovation and a global leader in life sciences.”

The OBIO^® Investment Summit’s success, and that of the entire industry, can only be achieved with the support of a strong, collaborative ecosystem. These include Canada’s pre-eminent research and post-secondary academic institutions, technology incubators and accelerators, entrepreneurs, start-ups, healthcare organizations and multinationals, all of whom are working together to develop the industry and pursue every opportunity for growth.

"Having a strong ecosystem to help new companies accelerate commercialization of their innovations is important to attracting investment to the Canadian life science industry,” says Anne Woods, Managing Director of Life Sciences and Healthcare at Silicon Valley Bank in Toronto. “Investors and licensing professionals rely on the Canadian ecosystem to support health science businesses to develop their intellectual property and scale domestically.”

“We were delighted to present at the OBIO^® Investment Summit,” says Dr. Wendy Naimark, Chief Technology Officer, Ripple Therapeutics, a clinical stage ophthalmic therapeutics company focused on sustained drug delivery without the use of polymers or excipients. “OBIO^® gave us the skills we needed to present our novel therapeutics and the right forum to foster relationships with investors outside of our network.”

OBIO^® looks forward to collaborating with our ecosystem partners to develop the life science industry and foster investment in Canada through future summits.

About OBIO^®

The Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO^®) founded in 2009, is a not-for-profit, membership-based organization engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of human health technologies positioning Canada as a leader in the international marketplace. OBIO^® advances this goal through collaborative partnerships with industry, the investment community, academia, the health system and government.

For more information, please visit www.obio.ca and follow OBIO^® on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About FedDev Ontario

For 13 years, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation, growth and job creation in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving productivity, growing revenues, creating jobs, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. Learn more about the impacts the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our pivotal projects, our Southern Ontario Spotlight, and FedDev Ontario’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Doriane Rey
Manager, Marketing & Events
Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization
dorianerey@obio.ca