Nova Scotia life sciences industry group BioNova has chosen eight semi-finalists for its annual BioInnovation Challenge, with $55,000 of funding and in-kind services up for grabs.
Now in its twelfth year, the pitching competition will be held during BioPort Atlantic — the annual conference for life sciences and biotech in Atlantic Canada — on Nov. 2 and 3. The finals are being held in-person this year in a return to pre-pandemic form, although semi-finalists must first pitch virtually on Nov. 1 to earn a place at the conference.
The BioInnovation Challenge has a history of producing rainmaking companies. The eight semi-finalists from 2020, for example, raised over $1 million in funding over the following year. And in 2019, former BIC winner ABK Biomedical raised a banner US$30 million funding round.
Since its inception in 2011, the competition has distributed $500,000 worth of prizes. And in addition to their potential winnings, the semi-finalists receive business training, including one-on-one pitch classes with Boston, Mass.-based startup coach Linda Plano.
Here’s a look at this year’s competitors:
Halifax
Marc St-Onge, Co-Founder; Alex Ludwig, COO
Aycoutay tracks a person's wellbeing by capturing and analyzing meaningful data about their health in such facets as digestion, neurology, cardiovascular, hormones, mood and energy.
Bêche Nutraceutical Company
Lower Wedgeport, NS
Jules LeBlanc, Managing Partner; Julie Houde, Interim Sales Manager
This company manufactures natural and non-prescriptive health products using extracts and hydrolysates derived from Canadian east coast sea cucumbers.
CanBliss Beverages
Charlottetown
Sarra Jayasinghe, CEO
CannBliss sells non-alcoholic wines infused with cannabis. The company’s offerings are targeted at people who want to have something to drink, but who are “seeking alcohol-free solutions.”
Halifax
Matthew Mizzi, CEO
Drinkable has developed a device that is smaller than a smartphone and tests water for about a dozen common contaminants, such as lead, arsenic and uranium.
Halifax
David Hodgson, CEO and Sara Fedullo, COO
Hollo has designed a spacer – a delivery device for compressed gas asthma inhalers – that is smaller and more portable than existing products.
Halifax
Rafaela Andrade, CEO
Myomar is a health diagnostics company developing the first, non-invasive molecular detection device and multiplex test for muscle loss.
Tunistrong Technologies
Charlottetown
Ian Lucas, CEO, Matthew Dunlop, Vice President and CTO
Tunistrong Technologies is developing a “nano material” made from tunicates — aquatic invertebrates and an invasive species — that can be added to composite materials to strengthen them.
Halifax
Justin Hartlen, CEO
Psychiatrists Luke Napier, Daniel Rasic and Jacob Cookey started Virtual Hallway in 2019 because they were struggling to schedule and document the phone consults they were performing. The modern version of their platform automates much of those processes.
