Surrey-based HealthTech Connex is among seven B.C. companies to receive a share of $18.3 in federal PacifiCan funding that aims to help businesses "scale up their operations, create more jobs, accelerate growth and bring made-in-B.C. products to markets around the world."
A life-sciences company, HealthTech Connex will receive $3.7 million to help commercialize its NeuroCatch Platform brain-imaging medical device across North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
Funding was announced Monday (March 3) at Surrey City Hall by Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (PacifiCan), following a morning tour of HealthTech Connex's home on 96 Avenue, north of Surrey Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Ryan D’Arcy, company co-founder, president and chief scientific officer, says the funding "will greatly help (to) rapidly scale NeuroCatch deployment further across the globe to all points of care where clinicians need a simple and powerful tool to evaluate the cognitive health of their patients.”
The six other B.C. companies to benefit from PacifiCan funding are EggSolutions Vanderpol’s of Abbotsford ($5 million to expand manufacturing and reach new markets), 4AG Robotics of Salmon Arm ($2.5 million for robotic mushroom harvesting technology), MarineLabs of Victoria ($1.8 to grow its ocean data network), Mustimuhw Information Solutions of Duncan ($3.26 million for the expansion of its digital health platform), VitaminLab of Victoria ($921,000 to expand operations) and Pledge Resource Managers of Kelowna ($1.1 million to scale up production of its smart shower system).
The news conference at city hall was attended by Sajjan along with Randeep Sarai (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs, Surrey Centre MP) and Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke.
PacifiCan is advertised as "the federal economic development agency dedicated to British Columbians."
Sajjan says people of this province are known around the world for innovation.
"Business leaders across the province are transforming industries like agriculture and digital technology," he stated. "PacifiCan is here to support these businesses. The investments announced today will strengthen B.C. companies’ competitiveness and help to ensure long-term prosperity for all British Columbians."
The next intake for PacifiCan's Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) program opened Tuesday, March 4; the portal will remain open for companies to submit expressions of interest until April 30, on the website canada.ca. Through BSP, PacifiCan makes repayable contributions to high-growth businesses in B.C. that are scaling and bringing innovative goods, services or technologies to market.
