FedDev provides $10M for Kitchener health-tech hub
The federal government has announced a $10-million investment through FedDev Ontario to establish a health technology innovation hub in Waterloo Region.
The funding was provided to the University of Waterloo, in partnership with Western University, the City of Kitchener and Medical Innovation Xchange, to establish the facility.
Through the project, the partners expect to create 730 skilled jobs, support the development and growth of 135 businesses and commercialize 150 new health-related products, services or processes, leverage $40 million in project funding, and attract over $400 million in follow-on investment in the companies supported.
The project aims to connect the region’s emerging cluster of health tech companies with mentorship and business advisory services, support for health tech product development, and access to specialized labs and clinical trial spaces at the University of Waterloo’s planned Innovation Arena and at Western University. It will combine the digital technology acceleration strengths of the Waterloo Region with the research hospital-based assets of the London region to provide seamless support to both early-stage and scaling firms.
The Innovation Arena, meanwhile, is a planned partnership between the University of Waterloo and the City of Kitchener to further develop the Health Sciences Campus in downtown Kitchener’s Innovation District. It will feature shared product development labs, manufacturing and collaborative office spaces, and will be the new home of Velocity, University of Waterloo’s flagship entrepreneurship program.
“We are very thankful for the Government of Canada partnering with us on this important initiative,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. “With the City of Kitchener and the University of Waterloo’s investments, we are well on our way to reinforcing Kitchener’s place among global leaders in health innovation. The current pandemic has brought the importance of the health sector to the forefront, and we know our residents and Canadians in general are best served when we innovate and produce goods and services locally.”
The health tech sector has been identified as the fastest growing segment within life sciences. In Ontario, the sciences sector employs nearly 90,000 people at more than 6,000 firms. There are over 130 health tech companies in the Waterloo Region alone.
Since November 2015, FedDev Ontario has invested over $235 million in 46 projects in the Health and Biosciences sector, and recently announced $8.2 million for the University of Waterloo to establish the Additive Manufacturing Alliance.
Featured image: Rendering of the Innovation Arena. (University of Waterloo)