New funding for bioscience companies in Ontario

Toronto, ON – A new commercialization strategy providing access to an initial round of special financing from Ontario’s provincial government will help the province’s bioscience companies fund advancement of their programs to treat, prevent and diagnose disease.

The program is a response to recommendations made by the Ontario Bioscience Industry Organization (OBIO), a council of life-science sector chief executive officers.

Initial one-time special financing of $7 million exclusively for Ontario-based bioscience companies is being provided by the province. OBIO is recommending that eligible companies be permitted to match this money with funds from other investors, giving it the potential to make this a $14-million financing.

These new commercialization and financing initiatives respond to OBIO’s report, “Industry Generated Recommendations for Sustainability and Growth of Ontario’s Bioscience Industry in 2010 and Beyond”, presented to the province in 2009. The report – http://obio.ca/category/reports/ – resulted from a series of regional CEO-working groups and online consultations, and has been the basis for discussions between OBIO, senior public servants and MPPs in 2010.

Gail Garland, president and chief executive officer, OBIO, said: “We are grateful to the Ministry of Research and Innovation for its swift response to support Ontario’s bioscience industry with urgently needed funds. OBIO has developed proposed guidelines for deployment of these funds with the advice of finance-industry experts and bioscience-company CEOs.”