The Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund is investing in one of Canada’s largest not-for-profit life sciences commercialization organizations.
OCIF this month unveiled $368,048 for Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation, which supports the commercialization of life sciences technologies nationwide.
The funding from OCIF will help API grow its Calgary-based team, as well as establish a life sciences commercialization centre at the local Biohubx facility.
Biohubx is an industry-facing launchpad supporting health-tech and life sciences startups in Alberta that offers turnkey facilities and a network of resources.
Moving forward, Biohubx will be relaunched as an API Incubator, with API taking a direct role in operations and combining Biohubx’s infrastructure, staff, and physical space.
“Calgary is home to hundreds of health and life sciences companies and researchers who are solving global challenges,” explains Brad Parry, chief executive officer of the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund. “This investment fills a gap in the commercialization lifecycle, ensuring those companies can access the space and tools needed to validate and scale their innovations.”
The funding will extend API’s services across multiple areas to help startups and advance products from lab to market. API expects to support 16 companies and create two high-skilled jobs over two years.
“There’s incredible momentum in Alberta’s life sciences sector right now, and with that comes tremendous opportunity,” posits API chief executive officer Andrew MacIsaac.
“API has worked closely with innovators and entrepreneurs in Calgary for some time, supporting their growth and development,” he says, “but with limited onsite engagement, we couldn’t always bring our full capacity to bear.”
“With the support of OCIF, we’re now able to seed an enhanced offering that the sector truly requires as it takes off, enabling made-in-Alberta growth in a big way for Calgary,” MacIsaac remarked.
Calgary’s health and life sciences sector is home to more than 140 companies developing solutions.
“API’s expertise in the technical and regulatory development of health sciences fills an important gap in the local innovation ecosystem and contributes to the sector’s continued growth,” believes Nima Najand, who functions as Executive Director of Innovation and Intellectual Property for Innovate Calgary.
Megan Leslie, who says Biohubx was “instrumental” in the growth of her biotech firm Nanotess, is “excited” about the development, suggesting it will help “more companies grow, scale, and bring new technologies to market while continuing to strengthen Calgary’s innovation ecosystem.”
The Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund was created as a wholly owned subsidiary of the City of Calgary in 2018, and has so far supported more than 1,000 companies and created over 4,000 local jobs.
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