Government of Canada invests $20M to scale up health tech innovation

Canadian health tech startups looking to scale up their companies may be getting a big helping hand, as the Government of Canada recently announced it’s investing $20 million in this space.

This will begin with a $7 million investment aimed at the establishment of the CAN Health Network, an integrated market allowing startups and SMEs working in the fields of health and biosciences to work directly with health care organizations.

Announced by the minister of small business and export promotion, Mary Ng, she said that this will allow these companies to develop technology that meets the needs of those health care organizations, while simultaneously allowing them to commercialize that innovation and scale-up their companies.

“Our government is making these investments to scale up companies and create good jobs for Canadians. The integrated market is an innovative approach supporting technology development and business growth,” said Ng. “Through easy access to a large, consolidated domestic marketplace, companies will scale up and be anchored in Canada, commercializing technologies that can be exported around the world.”

According to the press release, the international market for medical technologies is estimated at $500 billion annually, and the Government of Canada is trying to ensure Canada’s place among the top nations in that market.

This plan will begin with the initial $7 million in funding which will allow the Saskatchewan Health Authority to establish the CAN Health Network in Western Canada and Trillium Health Partners to establish it in Southern Ontario. Each will receive $3.5 million to establish their network with the companies listed below.

Saskatchewan Health Authority:

• Alberta Health Services
• Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba
• O’Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary
• Vancouver Coastal Health

Trillium Health Partners:

• Bruyère Hospital
• Grand River Hospital
• The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)
• Prism Eye Institute
• SE Health
• Sinai Health System
• Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
• University Health Network
• Unity Health Toronto

The additional $13 million of the announced investment will be doled out based on need after some time has passed to assess the results of the network.