BioCreate business accelerator is driving industrial biotech in Ontario
Ontario Genomics’ BioCreate business accelerator is welcoming in eight new biotech companies. Each start-up will receive seed funding, 18 months of business mentorship, access to critical infrastructure and introductions to potential investors.
This is part of a five-year, $5.6-million investment from the Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), to help biotech companies commercialize their game-changing solutions in food and agriculture, health, and cleantech.
Here are the newest BioCreate start-ups:
- I-RNA (London) is using precision medicine to improve diabetic retinopathy detection and treatments.
- Kulture Rebellion (Toronto) is creating healthy microbial strains for the functional beverage industry.
- Launch Bioindustries (Mississauga) is upcycling food waste into compostable bioplastics and coatings.
- New Code Oncology (Toronto) is developing AI technology to detect rare and complex cancers faster.
- NuvoBio (Ottawa) is using an AI platform to speed up and de-risk peptide drug discovery.
- Synakis (Toronto) is bioengineering treatments for eye diseases like retinal detachment and glaucoma.
- Tessella Biosciences (Hamilton) is developing a bio-printed dissolvable bandage for burn wounds.
- VascuBio Innovation (Toronto) is bioengineering tissues for the research and healthcare industries.
With an 11 per cent acceptance rate, BioCreate is known for its stringent selection process, which has yielded impressive results since its start in 2023, with companies raising $71.9 million in funding and earning sales and revenue of $26.2 million and creating/maintaining 122 jobs.
BioCreate Program Senior Director Elizabeth Gray says, “Canada is laser focused on strengthening and diversifying its economy. BioCreate is supporting this goal by giving high-potential companies the funding and critical mentorship boost they need to commercialize their products and technologies faster, not just for the benefit of this country, but for the rest of the world.”
“By supporting high‑potential start‑ups through BioCreate,” said the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, “we are helping bring made‑in‑Ontario innovations to market faster and building a stronger, more competitive economy for Canadians.”
For more details on these new companies and the other 24 already in the accelerator, go to BioCreate.ca.
Ontario Genomics invests in researchers and start-ups to drive industrial biotech through homegrown, cutting-edge solutions in food and agriculture, medicine and cleantech. With more than 600 partnerships and $3.5 billion in investments, we’ve been working with governments, industry and innovators for over 25 years to get ideas out of the lab and into the real world. Learn more at OntarioGenomics.ca.
About FedDev Ontario
Since 2009, 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 impact the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our impact stories, our Southern Ontario Spotlight, and FedDev Ontario’s X, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts.
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Media Contacts
Maggie Blood
Innovation Communications and Public Affairs Manager
Ontario Genomics
mblood@ontariogenomics.ca
Sofia Ouslis
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
sofia.ouslis@ised-isde.gc.ca
