Deadline: November 09, 2025
The Synapse Life Science Competition, organized by Innovation Factory, is a premier pitch competition in Ontario designed to help early-stage life science innovators, scientists, and researchers move their innovative products and services from the lab to the market by pairing them with business and entrepreneurship students and providing comprehensive training, mentorship, and resources.
The competition focuses on combining the ideas and research of life science innovators with the intellect and strategy of students. It aims to help participants develop commercialization plans and pitches, participate in business training workshops to bring their ideas to market, and establish valuable connections within the life science community. The goals include supporting early-stage life science companies, innovators, scientists, or researchers who have a product, service, or idea and fostering collaboration between innovators and students from biomedical, business, and engineering backgrounds.
The Synapse Life Science Competition is brought to life by Innovation Factory with a mission to facilitate the commercialization journey for innovative life science products and services. This competition uniquely pairs life science innovators with business and entrepreneurship students to create dynamic teams that benefit from cross-disciplinary expertise. Innovators receive hands-on support through commercial plan development and pitching training, while students gain valuable business experience and resume-building opportunities.
Eligible innovators are early-stage companies or individuals located in Southern Ontario, incorporated or planning to incorporate by December 31, 2025, with a life science-related product or service. They seek driven, coachable leadership teams and have not reached the finalist stages in similar previous competitions. On the student side, eligible applicants are upper-year college and university students, graduate level students, or recent graduates with backgrounds or interests in business, science, engineering, or commercialization who are eager to collaborate with innovators.
The competition offers substantial incentives including cash prizes and in-kind support, while fostering a strong network within Ontario’s life science ecosystem. Both innovator and student finalists benefit from the extensive mentorship provided, gaining valuable insights and experience to advance their entrepreneurial ambitions in the life sciences.
For more information, visit Innovation Factory.
