Feb 10, 2020 | BF2030, BioTalent Canada, News
HALIFAX, NS – February 10, 2020 – Today, BioTalent Canada and BioNova announced the launch of The PetriDish™ BioNova job board – giving companies in one of Canada’s fastest growing bio-economy hubs a platform to attract highly-skilled talent.
According to BioTalent Canada’s labour market report Mapping Potential, with over 100 life science companies, 26 research organizations and 11 post-secondary institutions, Nova Scotia is well positioned to lead innovation in Canada’s bio-economy.
“It is estimated that by 2030 the number of jobs in the life sciences sector in Nova Scotia will grow by 200%,” says Scott Moffitt, Executive Director at BioNova. “Providing a job board specific to life sciences companies in our province will help attract the talent they need to realize this potential for growth.”
As the HR partner and catalyst for growth in Canada’s bio-economy, BioTalent Canada has built relationships with employers, associations, academic institutions, governments and job seekers to address and alleviate the two key challenges still facing industry leaders – access to capital and access to talent.
“We look forward to working closer with our Silver partner, BioNova, to help their stakeholders with the necessary tools and services needed to succeed in a growing and competitive industry,” says Rob Henderson, President and CEO, BioTalent Canada. “The PetriDish BioNova will give life sciences companies in the province a dedicated platform to reach the right talent to drive their innovations, after all, without people, there can be no science.”
Modelled after BioTalent Canada’s national job board, The PetriDish BioNova will provide employers with the same benefits of narrowing their search for candidates by providing more relevant bio-economy applicants.
Members of BioNova can access free job postings to help with their recruiting needs.
For current openings or to post a job, visit BioNova.ca/Careers
About BioTalent Canada
BioTalent Canada™ is the HR partner and catalyst for growth in Canada’s bio-economy. Our engagement with employers, associations, post-secondary institutions, immigrant serving agencies and service providers has built a dynamic network that is identifying labour market needs, strengthening skills, connecting job-ready talent to industry and creating opportunities. For more information visit biotalent.ca.
About BioNova
BioNova leads, accelerates, and advocates for Nova Scotia’s growing health and life sciences sector. Since 1993, BioNova has been accelerating the growth of its member companies. By hosting networking and educational events, and providing connections to potential funders and business resources, BioNova helps companies succeed. While these companies commercialize life-changing research to improve healthcare, provide healthier food, and develop clean energy solutions, BioNova advocates on behalf of the sector. BioNova champions the sector’s cluster of world-class research facilities, incubator programs, and companies who, together, bring investment and jobs to Nova Scotia. For more information visit bionova.ca.
Media inquiries:
Siobhan Williams
Director, Marketing and Communications
BioTalent Canada
613-235-1402 ext. 229
[email protected]
Shana Cristoferi
Marketing Manager
BioNova
902-421-5705 ext. 4
[email protected]
Nov 7, 2019 | Gallagher, Grant Thornton, Motryx, News, Novagevity
Motryx, the Halifax company whose technology improves the transportation of blood samples, has won the $55,000 BioInnovation Challenge, Atlantic Canada’s top pitching competition for life sciences companies.Co-Founder and CEO Franziska Broell pitched the company at the finals on Wednesday at BioNova’s Bioport Atlantic competition. The other finalists were Charlottetown-based AgTech company Fieldetect, and Halifax-based SeeChange BioChemistry, which will manufacture high-value compounds from biomass.Now in its ninth year, BIC is designed to support young life sciences companies by teaching contestants how to pitch for investment. As the winner, Motryx will receive $25,000 in seed funding and a $30,000 advisory services package to develop its business idea.Because hospitals and healthcare systems are becoming bigger and more centralized, blood samples are often shipped to labs over great distances, sometimes including air shipment. About 3 percent of samples end up being unusable because they are ruined due to the time, temperature or vibrations involved in the trip. Motryx has developed blood vials with sensors that transmit to labs data on the conditions during the trip, allowing lab officials to identify problems and solve them.“In the last six months, we’ve secured eight early adopter clients in Europe and the U.S., and we’ve been able to convert two into paying clients,” Broell told the panel of judges.The company is also doing a pilot in Africa in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The company so far has raised $1.5 million, including investment from Killick Capital and Concrete Ventures.SeeChange BioChemistry is using a new bio-refinery process to produce high-value compounds from sustainable sources.
Co-Founder Chris Rafuse said the company, which was founded this year, has found a method to use a form of biomass to produce three industrial compounds: polyphenols, which are used in pharmaceutical industries to help with obesity and Type 2 diabetes; lactic acid, which can be used in 3D printing, plastics and other industrial uses; and another compound that Rafuse declined to name.
Refuse said the company is attacking a $4 billion global market opportunity, and current methods of producing these materials involve extraction from petrochemicals and result in a lot of waste. There is no waste with the SeeChange process, he said, and users demand more sustainable sourcing.
“We’ve never made an outside call,” said Rafuse, adding that the company’s six prospective clients all contacted SeeChange. The company will soon be ready to start selling. “We want to hit the market hard and fast so no one sees us coming and we think we can gain a lot of market share very quickly.”
Operating under a licensing agreement with the University of Prince Edward Island, Fieldetect is developing a hand-held device that will allow farmers to detect disease in their herds fast enough to prevent a large outbreak.
President and Co-Founder Andrew Trivett said the company is beginning with hog farmers, who now have to take samples from their herds and send them to a lab to be tested. In the day or two it takes to get the results back, a disease could spread, possibly leading to a cull of the entire herd.
“What if we could take that test and have the farmer do it themselves, have it take less than an hour and get the result immediately?” asked Trivett.
Fieldetect has developed LabAnywhere, a handheld device that will test a sample from the animal and give farmers the results on their smartphones in about 40 minutes. The team expects to begin shipping the product in late 2020 and sell about 500 units in the subsequent 12 months.
Nov 22, 2018 | News
TruLeaf’s purpose
To improve public health and the environment by growing nutritious food using multi-level indoor farming technology.
Greens for everyone
TruLeaf uses their proprietary indoor vertical farming technology to grow and sell pesticide-free, nutrient-rich leafy greens all year round. The company sells to major food retailers, food service and distributors in Atlantic Canada, and is expanding to Ontario this fall. Their produce is sold under the GoodLeaf brand, through a wholly owned subsidiary.
But Gregg Curwin, CEO and founder of TruLeaf, sees potential for the company beyond simply growing greens. In addition to owning and operating farms across North America, TruLeaf sees how their indoor farming technology could be used to improve food security around the world. “Think of the Caribbean and the devastation last year. Every one of those islands could use one of our farms,” he says.
TruLeaf grows produce without the use of pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. The growing system is designed to drastically reduce water usage compared to traditional farming methods, and because the farms are indoors and can be built anywhere, they offer local produce 365 days a year. As well as reducing the environmental costs of transporting food, TruLeaf is also supporting local employment throughout the year. “There’s nothing better for a provincial GDP than 12-month agricultural production,” says Curwin.
The company also sees significant potential for TruLeaf’s approach in Northern communities, giving access to locally grown nutritious food all year round and providing employment opportunities.
When your purpose is personal
Curwin believes that using vertical farming to develop a fairly priced nutritious product is the most effective way for him to make an impact on the public health crisis he witnessed during the decades he worked in the healthcare industry.
“I was deeply disturbed by what I was seeing – the incredible amount of inefficiency and the incredible acceleration of disease, our emergency rooms lined up with people in the hallways,” he says.
It was around this time that Curwin was introduced to the concept of vertical farming. He quickly became interested in the connection between nutrient-rich food, self care and health. “I couldn’t get it out of my head and I actually divested out of my other businesses. I think my wife thought I was bona fide crazy. She supported me fully and so I took a couple of years just researching it and I just deeply felt that this is the future.”
Curwin’s passion for TruLeaf’s purpose has seen him through the ups and downs of the business, and he’s seen this same motivation help his team members on hard days as well. It’s also played a role with their investors, who, says Curwin, might not have started out as impact investors but have turned into them after they’ve bought into TruLeaf’s social mission – and the company.
Competing on purpose
Their purpose has also given TruLeaf a strong competitive edge, enabling them to compete successfully against other well-known brands in the health and organic space.
TruLeaf’s customers – retailers and distributors – are responding to consumer demand for the types of products that TruLeaf offers, but that demand goes beyond a simple desire for lettuce. Curwin sees consumers making informed decisions about what they buy, attracted to the story told by TruLeaf about their purpose in their marketing.
“So I think the more we tell our story, the more the consumer understands it, it will directly affect our revenue,” says Curwin. “If we don’t tell the story well, if we don’t say that we’re doing all these great things, then shame on us and then it will probably have a negative effect on revenue.”
Getting the timing right
Curwin believes that the time is right for purpose-led businesses to prosper, and TruLeaf is benefiting from this. “The demand is incredible. And I think it’s a testament to our quality, but also to the market demographic and what’s going on socially. People want to care about their food.”
But it wasn’t always this way. He remembers in the early days of TruLeaf when discussions with a government department about his idea ended in ridicule. Thankfully, times have changed – be it conscious consumers creating a market demand, investors wanting to pursue a social purpose with their money, or employees searching for meaningful work that reflects their values.
“Don’t be afraid of purpose-led. Embrace it and back it with a sound business case and then you’re going to have a lot of fun,” says Curwin. “Never has there been a better time to start a purpose-led business.”]]>
Sep 12, 2018 | Nature's Way Canada, News
www.natureswaycanada.ca.
NATURAL PRODUCTS CANADA
Natural Products Canada (NPC) works with an array of partners to commercialize naturally-derived
products and technologies in health and life sciences, natural resources, agriculture and agri-food, and
sustainable bioproducts. It acts as matchmaker and mentor to companies and researchers; serves as
technology scout and ecosystem navigator for multinationals and large corporations; and helps investors
discover, develop, and de-risk opportunities. NPC has over 400 opportunities in its pipeline and has
completed several investments, and experienced one exit. Established in 2016, NPC is funded by a range
of public and private investors, including the Government of Canada’s Centre of Excellence in
Commercialization and Research (CECR) program, administered by the Networks of Centres of
Excellence. Visit www.naturalproductscanada.com.]]>