Authors: OBIO® and Life Sciences Ontario

Life Sciences Ontario (LSO)

Life Sciences Ontario is a member-funded, not-for-profit organization with a legacy of more than 30 years advancing the success of Ontario’s life sciences sector. From its beginnings, LSO has always been more than an industry association—it is a community-based organization representing the full breadth of Ontario’s life sciences ecosystem, including academia, research hospitals, start-ups, multinationals, and service providers. Through advocacy, message amplification, and connectivity, LSO works to build a stronger, more cohesive community in Ontario and beyond.

Our roots lie in biotechnology. Established in 1989 as the Toronto Biotechnology Initiative (TBI), the organization gave the sector its first united voice. TBI quickly became a vocal advocate, opposing sweeping regulations in favor of a risk-based approach that balanced public safety with R&D and economic growth. Beyond advocacy, TBI expanded into networking breakfasts, mentorship programs, and annual awards, steadily broadening its membership beyond the Greater Toronto Area; a tradition that continues today, serving as a conduit of connectivity across the sector. In March 2007, TBI was renamed the Biotechnology Initiative, and by June 2010 it evolved into Life Sciences Ontario, embracing a provincial mandate that included pharmaceuticals, medical technologies, agritech, biochemicals, and service providers. 

LSO has built partnerships with organizations across Ontario and beyond:

Provincially, LSO and OBIO® champion the sector through joint initiatives such as talent development, policy advocacy, ecosystem-building events, and coordinated government submissions, including joint feedback to Finance Canada on SR&ED reform and the potential adoption of a patent box regime. The collaboration has also focused on shared priorities for sector advancement: ensuring access to capital, strengthening support for SMEs, encouraging the adoption of innovation across health systems, expanding access to wet lab space, and attracting and retaining top talent.

At the national level, LSO works closely with BIOTECanada and is part of the National Biotech Accord, which calls on leaders from all orders of government, industry, academia, and stakeholders across Canada to collaborate to strengthen and grow the life sciences enterprise. 

Beyond this, we also collaborate cross-provincially with other members of the accord to create new opportunities by facilitating connections, sharing resources, and expanding access to funding and markets. In today’s economic climate, working across provincial borders is more important than ever, and these partnerships ensure that Ontario’s strengths contribute to a stronger, more integrated national life sciences ecosystem.

For more information, please visit https://lifesciencesontario.ca/ and follow us on LinkedIn.

OBIO®

OBIO® is a membership-based organization advancing the next generation of innovative human health companies through strategy, programming, policy, and advocacy. OBIO® supports early-stage and venture-backed companies enabling them to raise capital, hire and train industry-ready talent, facilitate the commercialization and market adoption of their technologies in health systems, and access infrastructure. Since its inception in 2009, OBIO® has supported companies that have raised over $1.7 billion in capital, vetted over 250 innovative technologies to facilitate adoption into the healthcare system and supported over 1,000 Canadians to gain high-skilled jobs and grow the workforce. 

OBIO® Membership gives companies the tools and connections needed to grow, offering them increased visibility, expert resources, investor networks, discounts to conferences and ecosystem events, talent support and more.

We support companies with:

Capital Access: We help with IP strategy, closing Seed and Series A investment rounds, and establishing strategic partnerships and licensing deals

Adoption: We provide guidance on commercialization strategies, create connections with healthcare systems, and support the evaluation of technologies in real-world settings.

Skills Development & Training: We offer programs in Biomanufacturing for Advanced Therapies, Cybersecurity and Digital Health Training for Health, Entrepreneurship, and C-suite training. In addition, we provide members with recruitment support through the job board on The PetriDish™.

Infrastructure Support: We are working towards increasing the inventory of wet lab space in Ontario.

Special areas of focus:

Women in Health: Through our Women in Health Initiative (WiHI), we support women entering and advancing their careers in business development roles within the health science industry. The WiHI Seed Program also addresses significant barriers that women-led health science companies face in accessing financing.

Critical Technologies: The Life Sciences Critical Technologies & Commercialization (LSCTC) Centre of Excellence provides infrastructure, commercialization, technology adoption and talent programming to accelerate the use of critical technologies: 5G and advanced networks, ethical artificial intelligence, blockchain, cybersecurity, quantum and robotics.

For more information, please visit OBIO.ca and follow us on LinkedIn and X.