TORONTO, May 02, 2022 – A recent agreement between the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®) and the Centre Québécois d'Innovation en Biotechnologie (CQIB) will enable Quebec companies to evaluate their technologies in real-world healthcare situations as part of OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™).
EAHN™ brings together health technology companies and organizations in a collaborative healthcare system to evaluate, refine, adopt and procure Canadian-made technology solutions. By joining EAHN™, CQIB will become the first Quebec incubator of EAHN™ and will play a role in helping Canada’s healthcare ecosystem improve patient care. As part of the partnership agreement, CQIB will identify companies in its network that are a potential fit for EAHN™ and exclusively evaluate and pre-qualify Quebec companies so they can access EAHN™.
Launched in early 2020, EAHN™ partners Canadian companies’ innovative, market-ready health technologies (from medical devices and diagnostics to therapeutics and digital health to software platforms, including artificial intelligence) with healthcare organizations and supports them from evaluation to adoption and procurement planning. Through EAHN™, OBIO® provides project management and financial support to evaluate technologies in a real-world setting and facilitate their broad adoption into the healthcare ecosystem.
For over 25 years, as a life sciences incubator, CQIB has supported a broad spectrum of startups in its 30 000 sq.ft. R&D facilities. These companies have collectively raised over CAD $500 million in funding since their creation, and some have become high-profile industry players. CQIB recently launched its Digital Health Accelerator, Medxlab, whose mission is to support the commercialization of new technologies in healthcare, including diagnostic innovations to improve clinical outcomes. Medxlab also has co-working space for its startups, which is located at the Computer Research Institute of Montréal (CRIM), a leading IT expertise innovation centre on the Montreal AI zone.
“We are very pleased to welcome CQIB to OBIO’s EAHN™ and to share our expertise in supporting Quebec and Canadian companies to improve the adoption of innovation in Ontario’s healthcare facilities,” says Maura Campbell, President and CEO of OBIO®.
“Thanks to EAHN™, Quebec companies supported by CQIB and its Medxlab program will gain easier access to funding for technical and commercial validation of their technologies. They will benefit from their collaboration with Ontario’s healthcare institutions and OBIO’s expertise. Also, we will facilitate Ontario companies’ access to the Quebec healthcare network as well as the use of our co-working space”, says Perry Niro, CEO of the CQIB.
About CQIB The Quebec Biotechnology Innovation Center (CQIB) is a one-stop shop which facilitates the acceleration, growth and success of the next generation of life sciences and medical technologies businesses. Inaugurated in 1996 on the National Institute for Scientific Research campus (INRS), in the heart of Laval Biotech city, the CQIB provides an ecosystem at the service of start-up companies and facilitates their rapid, commercialization-oriented, and sustainable development.
For more information, please visit www.cqib.org.
About OBIO®
OBIO®, founded in 2009, is a not-for-profit, membership-based innovation organization engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of human health technologies positioning Canada as a leader in the international marketplace. OBIO® advances this goal through collaborative partnerships with industry, the investment community, academia, the health system, and government.
For more information, please visit www.obio.ca and follow OBIO® on Twitter at @OBIOscience.
Media Contacts:
Anne-Laure Gorget
Marketing Director
Centre québécois d'innovation en biotechnologie
Doriane Rey
Manager, Marketing & Events
Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization