A cutting-edge Innovation Arena at the University of Waterloo will be constructed with assistance from $7.5 million from the Ontario government. The new $35 million office will be a center point for advancement in Ontario’s life sciences area in Kitchener and Waterloo, supporting the improvement of new wellbeing innovation and the commercialization of protected innovation and empowering speculation and occupation creation.
Premier Doug Ford said, “It’s great to see the spirit of Team Ontario in action with the University of Waterloo, the private sector, and all levels of government coming together to build this world-class facility.” As we keep on developing our territory’s life sciences area, the new Advancement Field will speed up the turn of events and commercialization of made in Ontario advancements, make new positions and assist with drawing in speculations to Kitchener and Waterloo.”
The new 90,000 square foot Innovation Arena is being constructed in collaboration between the City of Kitchener and the University of Waterloo. A health-tech incubator and a small business center with a shared wet lab for local startups will be part of the facility. In Southwestern Ontario, the Innovation Arena will become a hub for innovation partnerships, industry collaboration, and research.
Global biomanufacturers have invested nearly $3 billion in Ontario over the past two and a half years. The new Innovation Arena will support the discovery of cutting-edge new health technologies and build on this success.
Minister Fedeli stated, “The Innovation Arena will assist many more Ontario start-ups, entrepreneurs, and innovations bring their ideas to life and to market.” Ontario has a long history of innovation in the life sciences sector. We are guaranteeing that Ontario will continue to be a global innovator and leader in the life sciences industry for generations to come with this investment.
Minister of Colleges and Universities Jill Dunlop stated, “Ontario has a world-class postsecondary education system and is home to innovative start-ups and scale-up firms.” The University of Waterloo’s Innovation Arena will accelerate the discovery, development, and commercialization of made-in-Ontario research by fostering collaboration among businesses, researchers, and community partners. This will help bring ideas from the lab to market sooner, which is an essential component of our government’s strategy to maximize the value of Ontario-grown innovation.
Taking Life Sciences to the Next Level, the province’s first life sciences strategy in a decade, is supported by the Innovation Arena. Ontario launched a $15 million Life Sciences Innovation Fund as part of this strategy to assist entrepreneurs in bringing their ideas from the lab to the market. Companies will be able to advance made-in-Ontario solutions like vaccines and medical treatments with the assistance of this early-stage fund, which will be managed by the Ontario Centre of Innovation.
