OBIO’s Capital Access Advisory Program (CAAP®) Reaches Milestone with $1 Billion Raised by High-Growth Life Sciences and Health Tech Ventures

TORONTO — OBIO^®, a not-for-profit, membership-based organization offering strategy, programming and infrastructure to support early-stage and venture-backed companies across the therapeutics, medtech, diagnostics and digital health sectors, is celebrating a major growth milestone: companies supported through its Capital Access Advisory Program (CAAP^®) have now collectively raised over $1 billion in capital.

Building on support from the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), this landmark achievement underscores the vital role of OBIO’s CAAP^® as a catalyst for investment readiness in Canada’s life sciences sector. Building on early-stage entrepreneurship programs, CAAP^® focuses on accelerating technology commercialization and empowers high potential life sciences & health tech companies to secure global venture capital and strategic partnerships, and bring transformative health solutions to market faster.

said the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

Launched to address the critical capital gap faced by scaling health science ventures, OBIO’s CAAP^® offers post-seed companies tailored advisory support, intensive investment readiness coaching, commercial strategy development, and direct introductions to an international network of venture capitalists, angel investors, and strategic corporate partners.

Since the inception of OBIO’s CAAP^®, its targeted advisory framework has delivered a proven track record of commercialization and investor conversion:

• $1 Billion+ in total capital raised by CAAP^® alumni following program engagement.
• 127 high-growth health science companies graduated from the CAAP^® pipeline.
• 65% of alumni secured capital or strategic partnership within 18 months of program completion.

Building on this momentum, OBIO^® is welcoming the 2026 cohort of innovative companies entering the program:

• A.I. Vali, located in Toronto, is a medical device company specializing in AI-driven real-time medical image analysis for improved diagnostic accuracy and workflow efficiency while providing seamless integration with EMRs for automated reporting and reimbursement.
• Block Biosciences, located in Hamilton, is a biotech company developing a first-in-class precision medicine that will block metastatic spread before it reaches the brain. Guided by predictive biomarkers, this proactive treatment strategy could revolutionize the standard of care.
• Hylid Diagnostics, located in Ottawa, is a medical device company using novel optical sensors to bring affordable, lab-quality blood testing to the home for patients suffering from chronic kidney disease and heart failure
• Orb Therapeutics, located in Toronto, is a biotechnology company focused on developing innovative RNA-based therapies that boost protein expression to treat a broad range of protein-deficiency diseases.
• RespirAct brain stress test developed by Thornhill Medical in Toronto, is a computer-controlled gas blender used to provide accurate, repeatable, non-invasive control of blood gases to stimulate vascular reactivity, enabling clinicians to objectively measure how the brain responds to physiological stress, much like a cardiac stress test does for the heart.
• Synakis, located in Toronto, is a pre-clinical biotech start-up developing breakthrough biomaterial-based treatments for ocular diseases including retina detachment and glaucoma.

These six companies will benefit from customized strategic planning, advanced fundraising support, business development guidance, and warm introductions to venture investors, healthcare executives, business experts, and strategic partners. The companies will also have the opportunity to showcase their work and meet with global venture capital investors & strategic partners at the annual OBIO^® Investment Summit on February 2-4, 2027, in Toronto, Ontario. Since 2018, companies that have presented at the Summit have collectively raised over $3.1 Billion in capital.

said Dr. Molly Shoichet, Professor, University of Toronto and Pamela & Paul Austin Chair in Precision & Regenerative Medicine.

said Dr. Maura Campbell, President & CEO, OBIO

By supporting high-potential health science companies, OBIO’s CAAP^® has made a lasting impact on Canada’s innovation ecosystem, helping companies reach critical value inflection milestones, generate new intellectual property, raise capital, and bring innovations to market for the benefit of all Canadians.