Canada unveils $67M push for blood, dialysis and needle-free vaccine technology
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The Canadian government has announced a $67 million funding package to support a range of life-sciences and medical-technology projects, including technology designed to convert different blood types into Type O, a portable dialysis system that uses very little water, inhaled vaccines that do not require needles, and a national system to monitor drug shortages.
The funding is being delivered through the Life Sciences Fund as Ottawa seeks to expand Canada's domestic capacity to develop and manufacture critical medical and biotechnology products while reducing reliance on foreign supply chains.
Among the major projects, British Columbia-based Avivo Biomedical will receive up to $10.9 million to develop technology aimed at converting different blood types into Type O, including O-negative. If the technology proves effective and clears the required clinical and regulatory stages, it could eventually expand options for blood transfusions and organ transplantation.
In Ontario, Qidni Labs will receive up to $12.5 million to continue developing a portable hemodialysis device that operates using very little water. The funding will support final design work, pilot-scale manufacturing and clinical studies.
The package also supports a project at McMaster University to develop an inhaled vaccine platform that can be administered without needles and adapted for different pathogens.
In another part of the health system, researchers at the University of Toronto will receive $2.2 million to establish the Canadian Drug Supply Observatory, a national centre that will collect and monitor medicine-supply data in an effort to identify early signs of shortages and improve responses to disruptions.
The broader investment package also includes support for domestic production of antibiotics and antimicrobial medicines, expanded manufacturing capacity for RNA technologies used in vaccines and treatments, and materials used in cell research and biomanufacturing.
The federal government says the investments are intended to strengthen Canada's life-sciences sector, improve preparedness for health emergencies and pandemics, and build more domestic capacity to produce medicines and medical technologies.
