Mar-2021
FedDev Ontario supports new healthcare innovation ecosystem, including Mohawk College
Southern Ontario Pharmaceutical and Health Innovation Ecosystem will increase access to a specialized network of experts and create new jobs.
On March 30, 2021, FedDev Ontario announced the investment of $6 million in Hamilton’s Innovation Factory to launch the Southern Ontario Pharmaceutical and Health Innovation Ecosystem (SOPHIE).
SOPHIE is a healthcare innovation initiative established to help high-potential life science companies scale and generate economic value for the Greater Hamilton region and across southern Ontario. SOPHIE builds upon the expertise developed as part of the Synapse Life Science Consortium, of which Mohawk College is a founding member. As a key partner to Innovation Factory and the Synapse Life Science Consortium, Mohawk College, along with McMaster University, St. Joseph’s Healthcare and Hamilton Health Sciences, will serve a critical role to help companies accelerate the commercialization of new health innovation products.
The launch of SOPHIE will increase industry access to the applied research expertise and healthcare research facilities available at Mohawk. Researchers and technical staff at MEDIC, Mohawk’s Technology Access Centre in Digital Health, and the Medical Technology Innovation Centre (MTIC) will help small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs develop, test and validate innovative health technology.
“We thank FedDev Ontario for this investment in Hamilton’s thriving health innovation sector,” says Jeffrey McIsaac, Dean of Applied Research at Mohawk College. “SOPHIE will provide life science companies with a pathway to launch new products and grow their businesses with the support of Hamilton’s leading institutions and unlock the expertise available here at Mohawk at both MEDIC and the Medical Technologies Innovation Centre.”
Support through Innovation Factory’s SOPHIE will create 50 jobs, maintain an additional 100 jobs and encourage 100 firms to either establish themselves or grow in Southern Ontario. This investment will also leverage over $7.5 million in other investments.
Read full piece from Mohawk College News Desk here