TORONTO, ON – April 26, 2022 – Today, the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®) is pleased to announce it has secured another round of funding for its Business Development Skills Program (BDSP™), with a $5.45 million investment from the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development and the Skills Development Fund. The program was first launched in May 2021 to provide funding to health science companies to support the intellectual property commercialization of Ontario innovations. With this new funding, OBIO® will continue to address the need for innovative training solutions to help companies gain the critical skills they need to build a global business based in Ontario.
“The BDSP™ is unique in that it focuses on enhancing the strategic business development capabilities of management teams in health science companies,” says Maura Campbell, CEO and President at OBIO®. “By providing mentorship and training for key team members, including senior management and C-suite, Ontario companies will be better positioned to attract significant investment, create highly-skilled jobs and grow a business-savvy health science labour force.”
In its first year, the BDSP™ enabled 84 Ontario-based companies to transform their teams through intensive mentorship and training to develop the skills necessary to take their business to the next level.
“OBIO’s BDSP™ has given Cyclica the opportunity to invest in our team’s growth and take our business development skills to the next level. The funding we received has allowed us to acquire and translate knowledge that we believe will have demonstrable impact on the company by transforming our thinking,” says Naheed Kurji, President & CEO at Cyclica. “Learning is a lifelong journey, and I cannot overstate the benefits to our business by being able to provide continuous opportunities to my team.”
Through the BDSP™, OBIO® helped more than 350 employees to receive training specific to the rapidly growing health science and technology industry. Participating companies hired more than 300 new team members and collectively raised over CAD $100M in investment funding. OBIO® is now accepting applications for its next cohort.
"Ontario is a global health sciences leader and we need to ensure innovators have the tools they need to take their businesses to the next level,” says Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. “This OBIO® program will ensure Ontario remains at the cutting edge of health sciences technology for years to come.”
“Life sciences innovation is often driven by entrepreneurs that can benefit from a deeper understanding of how to scale and grow their businesses. It is critical that they have access to the best business development advice,” says Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “OBIO’s Business Development Skills Program will give Ontario-based life sciences entrepreneurs practical skills development and advice that will help them succeed.”
OBIO® is now accepting BDSP™ applications for 2022-2023.
To learn more and apply, visit www.obio.ca/bdsp.