Biotechgate Digital Partnering - November 29 - December 3, 2021, is designed to support the business development of Pharma, Biotech, Medtech and Digital Health companies. Join five days of virtual partnering and establish new global connections thanks to pre-arranged one-on-one Zoom meetings in their Business Forum. See: https://digitalpartnering.com/ or register here.

For more information about "Premier Partnering:, contact Joshua@Bioalberta.com for promocode details.

BioAlberta is recruiting SMEs to participate in the WIL Voucher program for the STEM and life sciences sector for Winter 2022. We are working with post-secondary institutions and employers like you to match students with new learning opportunities on the job. Students are matched as placements become available.

The deadline for SMEs to apply for Winter 2022 funding is November 1st. For WIL Voucher details or to apply contact Trish@bioalberta.com

Keep the WIL Voucher in mind if you are interested in a student hire for Summer 2022 too!. Mark you calendar as that application deadline is March 1st, 2022.

SME internships must provide students with practical work in a field related to their studies within the Alberta life sciences eco-system. Eligible Alberta small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) who successfully recruit skilled students enrolled in under-graduate, graduate or post-graduate degree programs will be awarded $5000 in matching wage support per student placement. These Alberta SMEs are then free to match WIL Voucher support with either their own operational funds or apply to other available student funding programs (i.e. BioTalent Canada, ECO Canada, etc).

Canada’s preeminent Medtech Conference will take place virtually on October 5 and 6. The Conference is the leading information exchange and educational forum for the medical technology industry. For info and to register see here.

Sessions will include:

• What have we learned about how to manage disease, care and supply chain?

• Best practices and learnings to enhance system efficiencies and deal with surgical/procedure backlogs.

• What changes to policies and practices will allow for enhanced utilization of digital health solutions to increase access to care and complement current care delivery models?

• Lessons learned about supply chain / procurement and the path forward.

NanoSpeed Diagnostics Inc. is an Edmonton based medical diagnostic device company incorporated in 2009. Since that time NanoSpeed has achieved worldwide recognition in the field of Point-Of-Care (POC) diagnostics. 

NanoSpeed’s proprietary diagnostic kit platforms are based on Lateral Flow Immuno-Assay (LFIA) and “Lab-On-a-Chip” (LOC) technologies. These cutting edge technology platforms provide cost-effective and reliable testing tools that address the increasing needs of healthcare industry, regulatory agencies and consumers. NanoSpeed’s flag-ship product, TEST4D allows healthcare professionals to detect exact levels of Vitamin D from a drop of blood in 10 minutes. NanoSpeed’s products are sold in Europe, China, India, Philippines, Middle East, Africa and North America. Launched in 2013 NanoSpeed’s TEST4D reached the sale of over 3 million tests. Today, NanoSpeed has an amazing POC testing portfolio for: Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, Ferritin, Calcium and has a strong pipeline for other health and wellness testing products.

POC devices have a fast growing market. Its Compounded Annual Growth rate (CAGR) is estimated to be over 13% and the market size is estimated to reach over $2B by 2025. NanoSpeed has a proven track record and anticipates becoming a major player in this sector.

Recently, NanoSpeed launched a new product Pet4D, for Animal health/wellness markets. Company’s expertise in developing POC products will be utilized to capture market share in this high growth sector.  

NanoSpeed will be moving into a new two storey 11,000 sq. ft. R&D and manufacturing facility in Edmonton Research Park. The new facility is a natural progression towards NanoSpeed’s position as a global competitor in Point-Of-Care Diagnostics market and meet the growing demand for the company’s current and pipeline products. The new facility will be an important milestone not only for additional space but also capturing additional market share in manufacturing medical devices.

For more information about NanoSpeed Diagnostics Inc. and its products, visit www.nanospeed.ca or email info@nanospeed.ca

ST Innovations is committed to enhancing care and well-being of society while building innovation capacity and wealth for western Canadian SMEs. We provide custom health technology solutions to companies and innovators, no matter where they are in their health technology creation journey. By working with us, our clients gain access to an integrated team of researchers and expertise and world class equipment—over $12M worth—all of which are housed at the University of Alberta.  

From a bilateral Kinarm exoskeleton to a virtual reality immersion system to high-throughput cell-culture testing, ST Innovations has all the latest tools and equipment necessary to advance your innovation. And we’re pleased to be adding three more to complete our highly sought after, laser microfabrication suite! Funded by the generous contribution of Western Economic Diversification Canada, the new additions include industry-grade microfabrication and validation tools; the femtosecond laser, an optical profiler and a fibre laser micro-welder. 

The femtosecond laser is an ultrashort-pulse laser for industrial applications and medical device prototyping. In the health technology arena, the laser will advance precision health technologies in three areas: interfaces with the nervous system to treat organ diseases, biosensors, and intelligent diagnostics and predictions of health status.

The optical profiler will provide 3D imaging of the prototypes microfabricated by the femtosecond laser, allowing for sub-micron resolution validation of the structural integrity of the microfabricated systems. Having a detailed and accurate 3D representation of the micromachined objects will allow for immediate adjustment of laser microfabrication parameters to achieve reliable and high-quality results. 

The fiber laser micro-welder will allow precise welding of the microfabricated prototypes to input/output interfaces that allow for effective integration of the prototypes into their intended application and environment of operation. 

Collectively, these pieces will become a part of ST Innovations’ greater set of elite tools. The suite will support the creation of unprecedented achievements in implantable and wearable medical devices, advanced optics and a range of lab-on-a-chip (LOC) applications in western Canada providing SMEs direct access to equipment and expertise for optimal health technology development. 

For full details on the laser microfabrication suite and how it can advance your health technology development needs, please contact Jonathan Butterworth, Business Development Manager. 

A new $50M investment fund to invest in early-stage Canadian companies developing naturally-derived alternatives to synthetic products. Learn about this new opportunity here.

Designed to help establish the commercial feasibility of innovative natural products and technologies, and attract and de-risk subsequent investment- research institutes, start-ups and SMEs, see details here.

AGE-WELL’s funding has been renewed through the federal Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program to the end of fiscal year 2022-2023. They have $21.9 million over three years from GoC to provide Canadians with technology-based solutions to improve quality of life for older adults and caregivers. If you have an idea apply for these exceptional funding opportunities now. Details can be found at: http://ow.ly/fgsL50zE3oO Y

This Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) is being delivered by regional development agencies (RDAs) to help more businesses and organizations, that are key to the regions and local economies. A total of $304 million will be available for western Canadian businesses. To learn more or apply see here.. 

Natural Products Canada announced on September 9th an important new partnership with Foresight, Canada's cleantech accelerator to leverage our respective strengths to support innovation in agtech right across the country. The new pan-Canadian, sector-specific accelerator and network hub will bring together stakeholders in agtech - innovators, industry, investors, government, and academia - to scale agtech solutions and promote adoption.

Read the full release here.

As Canada seeks to rebuild its biomanufacturing sector and support made-in-Canada solutions to global health challenges, The Ottawa Hospital, the University of Alberta and BioCanRx announced on September 13 that they have collaborated to create Canada’s first full-service, end-to-end biomanufacturing solution for academic and industrial clients to manufacture vaccines, gene therapies, cell therapies and more. Read all about this announcement here.

Northern RNA Inc. and Providence Therapeutics announced on September 14, a multi-year agreement for Northern RNA to provide Plasmid DNA, mRNA Cap Analogs and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certified manufacturing to support Providence's COVID-19 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine development and manufacturing requirements. The value of the agreement signed between Northern RNA and Providence is in excess of $15 million dollars and represents a continued joint commitment to bring World-Class mRNA-based vaccines to global markets. Read the full announcement here.

PBG BioPharma Inc., (PBG), a Phytochemical Biopharmaceutical Group company, announced September 29 that it has received a manufacturing Site License issued by the Natural and Non-Prescription Health Products Directorate (NNHPD) of Health Canada for the manufacturing, packaging and labeling of natural health products at its facility in Leduc, Alberta.

This licence allows PBG to diversify its GMP-compliant manufacturing business through the addition of natural health products including nutraceuticals, herbal remedies, vitamins, minerals and other non-prescription over the counter therapeutics to its current Health Canada licensed Hemp and Cannabis related processing/manufacturing and analytical business. Read the full announcement here.