Dr. Ryan D’Arcy, Co-Founder, President, and Chief Scientific Officer, speak at the event, sharing his vision and passion for advancing brain health technology. @facebook.com
BRITISH COLUMBIA – A recent announcement by the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (Pacifican) saw $18.3 million in funding going to seven B.C. companies to scale up their operations and create more jobs as well as bring made-in-BC products to markets around the world.
Among these companies, HealthTech Connex, a life sciences company based in Surrey, is receiving over $3.7 million to expand its operations. The company’s advanced brain imaging medical device, NeuroCatch® Platform, evaluates cognitive function within six minutes and is designed to help healthcare practitioners, researchers, and clinicians provide the best health care to their patients. PacifiCan’s investment will allow HealthTech Connex to commercialize their device across North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.
“HealthTech Connex focuses on delivering advanced healthcare by connecting science and innovation to real world impacts in brain health. In medicine, you can’t treat what we can’t measure. NeuroCatch represents a global breakthrough to ensure there are objective and accessible vital signs for our brains. This PacifiCan investment will greatly help 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,” explained Dr. Ryan D’Arcy, Co-Founder, President & Chief Scientific Officer of HealthTech Connex.
EggSolutions Vanderpol’s, a family-owned and operated egg processor based in Abbotsford, is receiving $5 million to expand manufacturing. With PacifiCan’s support, this company will purchase new equipment, move to a larger manufacturing facility, and improve wastewater treatment capability to reduce its environmental footprint. This investment will strengthen Western Canadian supply chains, increase food security, and bring more B.C.-made products to Canadian consumers.
4AG Robotics of Salmon Arm received $2,500,000 which will enable them to scale up its robotic mushroom harvesting technology. The company’s robots use artificial intelligence to help farmers pick, trim, and package mushrooms, significantly reducing production costs and boosting productivity. This investment will allow 4AG to expand manufacturing, hire more employees, and increase sales globally.
MarineLab, a Victoria-based company, received $1,800,000 to grow its ocean data network. MarineLabs makes sensors that track weather and waves for ports and ship operators in real-time. In addition to creating new jobs, this investment will help the company add more sensors and improve its forecasting tools, making marine travel safer and more efficient.
Indigenous owned Mustimuhw Information Solutions received $3,266,398 in funding to expand its digital health platform. The company develops software that helps First Nations and Indigenous health and family-services organizations manage medical records and other personal data in a culturally sensitive way. This investment will help Mustimuhw Information Solutions launch and scale up a new community wellness and housing management application, making it easier for Indigenous communities to manage these services.
Victoria-based VitaminLab‘s $921,278 in funding will help the health and biotech company, expand its operations. VitaminLab creates personalized vitamin supplements using health data. This investment will support the company’s move to a larger facility, introduce automation, and meet growing demand for its products.
The $1,100,000 in funding will help Pledge Resource Managers, an Indigenous and woman-owned clean technology company in Kelowna, scale up production of its smart shower system. The RainStick Shower is the first in North America to filter and recirculate water in real-time, reducing household water use by 80%. This investment will allow the company to bring manufacturing in-house, hire more employees, and meet growing demand for its product around the world.
Through the Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) program, PacifiCan makes repayable contributions to high-growth businesses in B.C. that are scaling and bringing innovative goods, services or technologies to market.
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