Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization Announces a Call for Life Sciences Companies to Apply for the OBIO Capital Access Advisory Program

PRESS RELEASE Toronto, Ontario, December 5, 2013 – Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (“OBIO®” or “the Organization”), a non-profit organization that is Ontario’s leading advocate for the life science sector, is pleased to announce a call for applications for the second cycle of the OBIO Capital Access Advisory Program (CAAP™).

The OBIO CAAP is an industry-led program that works to improve access to capital for Ontario bioscience companies. It is a unique program that provides companies with mentoring, strategic guidance and access to the networks from both senior members of the life science venture capital community and senior advisors from industry to prepare companies to seek capital. Through the OBIO CAAP, the Organization helps to advance the development and commercialization of medical devices, drugs and other life science technologies that can improve the lives of people in Ontario and around the world.

“The goal of the OBIO Capital Access Advisory Program is to ensure that Ontario’s human health technology companies can continue to bring their remarkable technologies to market,” said Gail Garland, President and Chief Executive Officer of OBIO. “I would like to thank the Government of Ontario and Miller Thomson for supporting this important program, and also thank all of the venture capital investment community members and industry advisors who contributed to the pilot year of the OBIO CAAP. We look forward to continuing and expanding this important initiative in 2014 and beyond.”

"Miller Thomson is a proud supporter of OBIO’s Capital Access Advisory Program,” said Robert M. Stewart, Partner, Miller Thomson LLP. “As a firm, we are excited to be involved in a program that helps great ideas and great entrepreneurs get investment ready. I wish all of the initial CAAP companies much success, and look forward to the continuation of the program in future years.”

Initiated in 2013, the OBIO Capital Access Advisory Program operates downstream from other programs and targets the critical issue of access to capital at the “Series A” to later stages of venture financing. All high-potential bioscience companies based in Ontario that meet the requirements listed below are encouraged to apply.

OBIO CAAP Eligibility

• Companies focused on developing life science products or services including but not limited to therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, healthcare services or healthcare information technologies, and
• Enterprises that have already raised initial capital and are committed raising an additional round of financing in the next 12 to 18 months.

Additional information on the OBIO CAAP can be found at www.obio.ca. Applications are available by sending an email to CAAP@OBIO.ca. Applications must be received by January 20, 2014 at 12 pm ET.

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OBIO: New program to bridge funding gap for life sciences companies gets financial boost from Ontario

PRESS RELEASE Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization: New program to bridge funding gap for life sciences companies gets financial boost from Ontario

TORONTO (June 3, 2013) – An industry-led program in Ontario that works to improve access to capital for human health technology and bioscience companies has received a major financial boost from the province of Ontario.

The Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation is providing funding to support the Capital Access Advisory Program (CAAP), a new initiative launched by the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO), a Toronto-based non-profit organization representing bioscience industry leaders dedicated to advancing Ontario’s life sciences industry.

“We’re pleased to support the Capital Access Advisory Program so that emerging and mid-stage health sciences and biotech companies can access the capital they need to grow,” says Reza Moridi, Minister of Research and Innovation. “We’re proud to work with the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization to build a vibrant life sciences sector in our province. Helping innovative companies secure the financing they need to thrive helps strengthen Ontario and creates opportunities for both marketable products and jobs.”

By connecting early- to mid-stage life sciences companies with investors and industry advisors, CAAP helps advance the development and commercialization of medical devices, drugs and other life sciences technologies that can improve people’s lives in Ontario and around the world.

Gail Garland, CEO of OBIO, says the province’s funding for CAAP, combined with contributions from OBIO members and partners, will significantly increase OBIO’s ability to build on Ontario’s success as a North American leader in life sciences innovations.

“This is where the best and brightest ideas are coming from,” says Garland. “With CAAP, we can ensure that Ontario’s human health technology and life sciences companies can continue to develop and bring their great ideas to market.”

The province’s announcement comes on the eve of an OBIO event on June 3 to thank the 200 volunteers behind the Ontario Bioscience Economic Strategy Team (OBEST), an OBIO initiative that launched a strategy for a commercially viable and competitive bioscience community in Ontario. CAAP is one of the key OBEST initiatives.

OBIO also recently announced new additions to its board of directors: Kelly Holman, co-founder and Managing Director at Genesys Capital Management Inc.; Terry McCool, former Vice President at Eli Lilly Canada Inc.; Steven Plymale, CEO at Profound Medical Inc.; and Tom Reeves, President and CEO at Interface Biologics Inc. For more information or to request a media interview, please contact OBIO CEO Gail Garland at (416) 673 6619 or (416) 575 7805, or by email at gailgarland@obio.ca.

About OBIO

The Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®) is a private sector, membership-based organization that is Ontario’s leading advocate for the life sciences sector. OBIO is engaged in policy and government relations activities to enable the successful development and commercialization in Ontario of life sciences technology through investment, strategic alliances, stakeholder engagement and industry promotion.

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Nine-point strategy for growth and sustainability

Nine-point strategy for growth and sustainability of Ontario bioscience industry is launched

Plan is first of kind for province

TORONTO, June 23 – An economic strategy to ensure the sustainability and success of Ontario’s commercial bioscience sector was announced today. Implementation of the strategy is underway, according to OBIO™, the CEO-led industry organization.

Developed by multi-stakeholder Ontario Bioscience Economic Strategy (OBEST™) teams in seven regional bioscience clusters, the strategy comprises nine priority initiatives. Of these, five are for implementation by the industry; four will be implemented by the industry partnering with government.

Dr. Daniel Billen, Chair of the OBEST Advisory Board and General Manager,
Amgen Canada, said: “We have put the onus on our industry to implement this strategy and on government to put supportive policies in place. Together, these will enable Ontario’s bioscience companies to complete the virtuous cycle of economic growth, jobs and improved health for all.”

Gail Garland, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Bioscience Industry Organization (OBIO) said: “Regional governments throughout North America and globally have been prioritizing innovation–based economic development for over a decade. Successful ones are those in which industry takes the lead in identifying strategic priorities and implementing specific actions that drive change.”

The five strategy initiatives for industry implementation are:
1. Education in and awareness of Ontario’s bioscience sector, the value of innovation, and in entrepreneurship;
2. Building and expansion of the pool of investors and partners;
3. Building interconnectivity among Ontario small and medium-sized enterprises;
4. Defining industry priorities, and
5. Encouraging “patient” (long-term) capital.

Strategic initiatives to be implemented by the bioscience industry in partnership with government are:

1. Identification of and investment in provincial health priorities;
2. Ensuring and clearly demonstrating integrity of process in making decisions that affect Ontario’s bioscience industry;
3. Using provincial purchasing power to drive the market, and
4. Modification of government incentives for industry for rapid access to and deployment of existing funds, and to ensure the industry’s competitiveness globally.

More than 200 executives representing all stakeholder organizations – bioscience companies, research institutions, government, universities, patient-support organizations, and venture capitalists-- contributed more than 5,000 volunteer hours to develop the strategy. This marks the first occasion in Ontario that a universe of stakeholders has volunteered time to work collaboratively on a strategy for building an industry that delivers health and economic wellbeing to Ontarians.

The seven regional bioscience clusters represented are: GTA Central; GTA North; GTA West; South Central Ontario; Western Ontario; Eastern Ontario, and Northern Ontario.

About OBEST

OBEST was established by OBIO as a forum for attracting the many insights of stakeholders to advance Ontario’s health-science sector and develop it into an economic engine for the province. Two groups form OBEST, an Advisory Committee and regional discussion groups led by bioscience CEOs. Each group comprises all stakeholders in Ontario’s health-science industry and is responsible for building the economic strategy to ensure a commercially viable and competitive bioscience sector in the province.

About OBIO
Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO™) is Ontario’s leading advocate for the life-science sector. A private sector, membership-based organization, OBIO engages in policy advocacy and government relations activities to enable successful development and commercialization of life-science technology through investment, strategic alliances, stakeholder engagement and industry promotion.
OBIO is supported by Members and Sponsors, among whom are Amgen Canada, AstraZeneca Canada, BDC, Eli Lilly Canada, Gowlings LLP, HealthComm, Merck, Norton Rose LLP, Novartis Canada, Pfizer Canada, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Purdue Pharma Canada, RBC Royal Bank, Sanofi, Torys LLP.

Further information, contact: Gail Garland, OBIO, at 416-575-7805 or gailgarland@obio.ca or Joan Lister, HealthComm (416)994-3806 or lister@healthcomm.ca