Deadline: 3 March 2025
The Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (MEDJCT or Ministry) is inviting applications for The Life Sciences Scale-Up Fund (LSSUF). The fund supports small- to medium-sized life sciences enterprises (SMEs) to scale up, innovate, and increase competitiveness by providing funding needed to commercialize a market-ready product and prepare for procurement opportunities.
LSSUF aims to help build a pipeline of strong innovative companies based in Ontario (or intending to relocate to Ontario) that are ready to respond to procurement opportunities, whether in Canada or abroad.
These SMEs will drive growth and increase competitiveness in the life sciences sector, foster innovation by commercializing new products for healthcare adoption, build domestic manufacturing capacity and strengthen Ontario’s healthcare supply chain and help companies be procurement ready.
Priority will be given to those projects identified through the Health Innovation Pathway (HIP) and/or focused on made in Ontario products that align to solve the problem of domestic procurement. Through LSSUF, SMEs may also benefit from initiatives that:
- support adoption of innovation into the healthcare system including:
- a streamlined pathway to identify, review and demonstrate the most promising health technologies
- support to help health service providers procure innovations from life science companies
- access to navigational and advisory supports
- will advance commercialization, including enhanced Intellectual Property Ontario supports and in collaboration with Clinical Trials Ontario, reduce the time it takes to get clinical trials up and running
- support the life sciences ecosystem by promoting investment into the sector
Funding Information
- The LSSUF will provide successful applicants conditional grants of up to 33% of total eligible project costs to a maximum of $2.5 million.
- Stacking with other provincial programs for the same project is not permitted. Applicants may stack funding with other government sources (for example, federal funding programs), up to a maximum of 67% of the eligible project costs. Eligible projects must support scale-up or expansion of company operations, be completed within two (2) years from project start date and have financing in place by the project start date.
Eligible Project Costs
- Eligible project costs means those costs, net of applicable HST, which are directly attributable to, and necessary for, the completion of the project and are not wholly or partially for another purpose.
- Eligible project costs are incurred and paid for by the company after the application intake close date (project start date) up to and including the date that the project is completed (project completion date). Any costs for which the company is eligible to receive a rebate, credit or refund are not eligible project costs.
- Eligible project costs do not include ongoing costs of production or operations. Eligible project costs are cash outlays which must be documented through invoices, receipts, or recipient records acceptable to Ontario. These are all subject to verification by an independent auditor. You must maintain evidence of payment for audit purposes.
- The ministry has the unequivocal right to deny any expenditure that it deems ineligible. The ministry reserves the right to request additional supporting documentation and information regarding all expenditures.
Eligible Activities
- The LSSUF may support a range of eligible project activities, including but not limited to:
- projects that enhance or expand the production capacity and/or capability of the company to boost domestic manufacturing (for example, launching an additional product to expand current suite of manufacturing offerings)
- projects that advance new technologies through the latter stages of product development cycle (for example, testing, regulatory approvals, etc.) by covering infrastructure and/or operating costs to help bring the product to market (for example, market-ready support for a company that is facing commercialization hurdles in entering the Canadian market)
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible for funding, life sciences companies in the human health sciences industry must meet all the following requirements:
- Be a for-profit company with a business number designated by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
- Have at least two (2) years of operations and financial statements (audited or accountant reviewed)
- Be an SME with at least five (5), to a maximum of 500, active full-time employees in Ontario by the project start date
- Must be in, or plan to locate in a community in Ontario by the project start date
- All applicants must ensure compliance with all applicable laws and must not owe any fees, levies, or taxes to His Majesty the King in right of Ontario or his agencies. Applicants must also be compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, S.O. 2005, c. 11.
For more information, visit MEDJCT.