Ontario fuels 10 start-ups with up to $500,000

TORONTO – The Ontario government is investing $5 million through the fourth round of the province’s Life Sciences Innovation Fund (LSIF) to help 10 companies develop and launch made-in-Ontario medical technologies, create good-paying jobs and strengthen Ontario’s position as a global leader in the industry.

Advancing the goals of Ontario’s Life Sciences Strategy, the LSIF helps companies across the province turn breakthrough discoveries and prototypes into real-world health solutions and unlock new commercial opportunities to bring innovative Ontario-made medical technologies to market, from AI-enabled diagnostics to next-generation drug discovery and advanced biomaterials.

“It takes a village to turn ideas to inventions to innovations – at Synakis, we are thrilled to be part of the LSIF community where we can bring our expertise in science and engineering together with those of our colleagues in translation and commercialization to build a great Canadian biotechnology company here in Toronto,” said Molly S. Shoichet (pictured), co-founder, Synakis.

The following companies will each receive up to $500,000 to help grow their businesses, commercialize their technologies and create local jobs:

• Esphera SynBio Inc., located in Ottawa and Hamilton, is an in vivo engineering company developing its next-generation ExoGen™ platform to create in vivo immunotherapeutics for cancer and chronic disease.
• Kare Chemical Technologies, located in Mississauga, is a pharmaceutical manufacturer developing a patented platform to produce non-psychoactive therapeutic alternatives to opioids for pain management, obesity and neurodegenerative diseases.
• Myomar Molecular Inc., located in Sudbury, is a health technology company transforming muscle health management by developing the first non-invasive, urine-based test to monitor muscle degeneration.
• MyStoria Inc., located in Kitchener, is a digital health company building a care coordination platform to help patients organize medical records and navigate reproductive healthcare.
• mDETECT Inc., located in Kingston, has developed next-generation DNA-methylation liquid biopsy technology to support earlier, more accurate detection and ongoing management of metastatic cancers including lung, breast and prostate cancers.
• NodeAI, located in Hamilton, is a health technology company developing an AI-powered platform to help clinicians identify lymph nodes, predict malignancy and improve biopsy guidance to better inform treatment decisions and patient outcomes.
• ScriptRunner Innovations Inc., located in King City, is building AI-powered infrastructure for modern pharmacy delivery, enabling pharmacies to improve patient care through streamlined operations and an Amazon-like prescription delivery experience.
• Stoked Bio, located in Hamilton, is a biotechnology company harnessing machine learning in a proprietary, biology-first process to discover novel therapeutics to treat drug-resistant diseases such as infections, microbiome-related conditions, cancers and Parkinson’s Disease.
• Synakis Corp., located in Toronto, is a biotechnology company developing breakthrough ocular disease solutions to enhance the quality of life for retinal disease, detachment and glaucoma.
• Synmedix, located in Hamilton, is a biotechnology company developing a new generation of antibiotic therapies that effectively treat serious drug-resistant infections while preserving the health of the microbiome.

To date, LSIF has generated nearly $63 million in private-sector co-investments while creating and retaining almost 1,400 good-paying jobs, supporting the government’s plan to protect Ontario and build a more competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy at a time of growing global uncertainty.

“Ontario has the research strength, talent and entrepreneurial drive to lead in life sciences and LSIF is helping turn that advantage into real-world impact,” said Claudia Krywiak, president and CEO of the Ontario Centre of Innovation. “By connecting capital with breakthrough innovation, we are accelerating commercialization, strengthening our domestic supply chains and ensuring that Ontario-made solutions reach patients and markets around the world.”

Building on the success of the LSIF’s initial launch in 2022, the 2025 Ontario Budget: A Plan to Protect Ontario included an additional $15 million investment over the next three years to renew the fund. By fostering the conditions for companies to innovate and compete in the global market, the government is reinforcing the province’s position as a global biomanufacturing and life sciences hub and building the strongest, most resilient and self-reliant economy in the G7.