Spotlight on Health Innovation

Augurex Life Sciences

Peter van der Velden

Managing General Partner

Lumira Ventures

John Ruffolo

Co-Founder & Vice-Chair

The Council of Canadian Innovators

Published on April 1, 2019

Watch and Read the Experts’ Full Interviews:

From Research to Commercialization: Canada Needs Globally Competitive Anchor Companies in Health Andrew Casey President and CEO BIOTECanada
HealthTech
The Digitalization of Health Data is Canada’s Biggest Health Tech Opportunity Norma Biln CEO Augurex Life Sciences
Digital TransformationHealth
Canada Needs to Build a Healthy Domestic Health Innovation Ecosystem Peter van der Velden Managing General Partner Lumira Ventures
Health
Public-Private Funds to Fuel Canada’s Health Start-ups and Entrepreneurs John Ruffolo Co-Founder & Vice-Chair The Council of Canadian Innovators
EntrepreneurshipHealthStrategy

Canada is internationally respected for its life-changing successes in health innovation. However, at home, our lack of national alignment on health innovation and the important competitive advantage our national healthcare system represents is an impediment to Canada owning the podium in the massive opportunity the future of health represents. This Spotlight explores the challenges and opportunities Canada faces in health, and what our governments, innovators, entrepreneurs and health professional must do to position Canada as a leading international competitor in the future of health.

Key Takeaways & Calls to Action

The growing global population, and the health challenges that come with it, are a massive global future economy opportunity that Canada and our health innovation industry cannot afford to ignore.
The digitalization of health data and the connection of the entire country’s medical information is Canada’s largest health tech opportunity. Our social healthcare system would enable us to implement this change leading to the emergence of many sub-sectors within health.
Canada’s health sector lacks the depth and continuity of capital to commercialize its great health innovations, which is allowing foreign players to take our innovations offshore and resell them to us at huge mark-ups.
We must focus on establishing public-private funds that use different approaches to support our health innovators. These funds must be designed to fuel healthcare start-ups and entrepreneurs, especially in the early-stage technology development.