$146 million commitment to support new Life Sciences Scale-Up Fund, wet labs programs, and procurement.
The Government of Ontario launched the second phase of its life sciences strategy this week as the province looks to establish itself as a global biomanufacturing and life sciences hub.
The new phase will see $146 million in provincial commitments towards boosting research capacity, increasing access to specialized lab space, speeding up health trials, launching modernized procurement processes, and starting and investing in new funds.
Strategy is meant to add 25 percent more “high value” life sciences jobs by 2030.
The Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (MEDJCT) says the goal of the life sciences strategy is to establish the province as a global biomanufacturing and life sciences hub that leads in the development, commercialization and early adoption of innovative health products and services.
The strategy has set an anchor goal of growing Ontario’s biomanufacturing and life sciences to hold 85,000 high-value jobs by 2030, a 25 percent increase from 2020. The province also intends to double venture capital investment in the life science sector, up to $725 million per year, by 2030.
The first phase of the strategy was launched in March 2022 and focused on addressing immediate challenges in the sector, including access to personal protective equipment. Phase two will focus on research and development, unlocking new streams of capital to support the existing life sciences ecosystem, the province said in a statement this week.
As part of the strategy’s second phase, Ontario will invest up to $46 million in the Ontario Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund, which helps boost research capacity at postsecondary institutions and affiliated research hospitals, $15 million in a new wet labs program, and $5 million for Clinical Trials Ontario’s QuickSTART Initiative to speed up health trials.
Wet labs, which are specialized laboratory spaces for life sciences research and development, are notoriously hard to access in Ontario. A Fall 2023 report from commercial real estate group CBRE stated that only 0.6 percent of the 12.3 million square feet available in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area is vacant. The new wet labs program is meant to reduce the time and barriers companies face when looking to access lab spaces, according to the province.
“Helping our researchers develop and commercialize new products and technologies in health care and other critical fields will drive economic growth right across the province and bring life-changing benefits to the people of Ontario,” Minister of Colleges and Universities Nolan Quinn said in a statement.
The province also announced a new $24 million Life Sciences Scale-Up Fund (LSSUF), which will act in tandem with the $12 million Health Technology Accelerator Fund announced in the provincial budget earlier this year. The LSSUF is meant to help Ontario companies expand production capacity and prepare for procurement opportunities.
The commitments include the $40 million earmarked by the Venture Ontario Fund earlier this year to make indirect investments that support Ontario-based life sciences companies and biomanufacturers.
Finally, $4 million is reserved to support the existing life sciences ecosystem, a MEDJCT spokesperson told BetaKit in an email statement.
First announced in Ontario’s 2023 budget, phase two will also see the launch of a procurement modernization program called the Health Innovation Pathway. In collaboration with Supply Ontario, the program aims to reduce barriers across public sector procurement, simplifying the way healthcare organizations can access new technologies, with priority placed on Ontario-based innovations.
A spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Health told BetaKit that the Health Innovation Pathway will support innovators through the process of proposal submission, technology review, and preparation for procurement, as well as build connections with other health system stakeholders. They added that details on the program’s launch will be available in the coming weeks.
Procurement has been an ever-present issue for Canadian healthcare companies, often turning them south of the border for customers. Skaidra Puodziunas, director of Ontario affairs for the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), said in a statement that the launch of the Health Innovation Pathway is “exactly the kind of modern procurement process that experts endorse,” and what CCI has been calling for.
Feature image courtesy Pixabay. Photo by Jermaine Will.
