CCI Response to Ontario Life Sciences Strategy

Today the Ontario government announced its next phase of life sciences strategy which includes a $146 million in funding to support the sector’s growth.

In response to the announcement, CCI Director of Ontario Affairs, Skaidra Puodziunas, issued the following statement:

“Ontario is home to amazing health technology and life sciences companies, and we are pleased that the government is providing significant new funding to help propel their growth. The government’s $24 million for the Life Sciences Scale-Up Fund is particularly important, as it targets Ontario’s most promising companies. In conjunction with the $12 million announced earlier this year under the Health Technology Accelerator Fund, we hope this government funding will support scale-ups seeking to expand production capacity and procurement opportunities.

But the really exciting news out of today’s announcement is the government signalling plans to move forward with the launch of their Health Innovation Pathway. This program is designed to streamline and simplify government procurement of transformative healthcare technologies — prioritizing Ontario innovators in particular. This is exactly the kind of modern procurement process that experts endorse, and CCI has been calling for.

At CCI, 2024 has been the Year of Procurement, as we work with governments across Canada to improve their processes and policies for buying technology services. We look forward to working with the government to support domestic innovators and implement the Health Innovation Pathway for the benefit of Ontario’s economy, and patients in our health care system.”

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Media Contact‍

James McLeod
jmcleod@canadianinnovator.org