Key Takeaways
- • OBIO's Capital Access Advisory Program (CAAP) says companies it has supported have collectively raised over $1 billion in capital, according to a Business Wire release dated September 29, 2026.
- • CAAP has graduated 127 high-growth health science companies, and 65% of alumni secured capital or a strategic partnership within 18 months of program completion, per the release.
- • Six companies have joined the 2026 CAAP cohort: A.I. Vali, Block Biosciences, Hylid Diagnostics, Orb Therapeutics, Thornhill Medical, and Synakis.
- • Companies that have presented at OBIO's Investment Summit have collectively raised over $3.1 billion since 2018; the next summit is scheduled for February 2-4, 2027, in Toronto.
- • The program is supported by the Government of Canada through FedDev Ontario, which is positioned as a catalyst for investment readiness in Canada's life sciences sector.
Summary
OBIO, a not-for-profit, membership-based organization supporting early-stage and venture-backed therapeutics, medtech, diagnostics and digital health companies, announced that companies supported through its Capital Access Advisory Program (CAAP) have collectively raised more than $1 billion. The program, built with support from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), offers post-seed companies advisory support, investment readiness coaching, commercial strategy development, and introductions to venture capitalists, angel investors and strategic corporate partners.
The organization reports 127 high-growth health science companies have graduated from the CAAP pipeline, and that 65% of alumni secured capital or a strategic partnership within 18 months of program completion. The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, congratulated OBIO on the milestone and said Canadian breakthroughs must be converted into Canadian companies that scale and attract investment.
OBIO also welcomed six companies to the 2026 CAAP cohort: A.I. Vali (Toronto, AI-driven medical image analysis), Block Biosciences (Hamilton, precision medicine targeting metastatic spread), Hylid Diagnostics (Ottawa, optical-sensor home blood testing), Orb Therapeutics (Toronto, RNA-based protein-expression therapies), Thornhill Medical (Toronto, RespirAct brain stress test), and Synakis (Toronto, biomaterial-based ocular treatments). The cohort will have access to the OBIO Investment Summit on February 2-4, 2027, in Toronto. OBIO states that companies presenting at the Summit since 2018 have collectively raised over $3.1 billion.
Dr. Maura Campbell, President and CEO of OBIO, said the milestone reflects the quality of Canadian health science innovation and the program's targeted approach. Testimonials in the release came from Dr. Molly Shoichet of the University of Toronto, who cited OBIO's support for AmacaThera, which closed a VC round in 2018 and recently secured a global licensing deal worth up to $230 million, and from Michael Phillips, co-founder and CEO of Vena Medical, who said the 2019 program participation helped sharpen the company's investment story. The release is company-issued and the figures on alumni capital raised are OBIO's own reported totals.
The organization reports 127 high-growth health science companies have graduated from the CAAP pipeline, and that 65% of alumni secured capital or a strategic partnership within 18 months of program completion. The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, congratulated OBIO on the milestone and said Canadian breakthroughs must be converted into Canadian companies that scale and attract investment.
OBIO also welcomed six companies to the 2026 CAAP cohort: A.I. Vali (Toronto, AI-driven medical image analysis), Block Biosciences (Hamilton, precision medicine targeting metastatic spread), Hylid Diagnostics (Ottawa, optical-sensor home blood testing), Orb Therapeutics (Toronto, RNA-based protein-expression therapies), Thornhill Medical (Toronto, RespirAct brain stress test), and Synakis (Toronto, biomaterial-based ocular treatments). The cohort will have access to the OBIO Investment Summit on February 2-4, 2027, in Toronto. OBIO states that companies presenting at the Summit since 2018 have collectively raised over $3.1 billion.
Dr. Maura Campbell, President and CEO of OBIO, said the milestone reflects the quality of Canadian health science innovation and the program's targeted approach. Testimonials in the release came from Dr. Molly Shoichet of the University of Toronto, who cited OBIO's support for AmacaThera, which closed a VC round in 2018 and recently secured a global licensing deal worth up to $230 million, and from Michael Phillips, co-founder and CEO of Vena Medical, who said the 2019 program participation helped sharpen the company's investment story. The release is company-issued and the figures on alumni capital raised are OBIO's own reported totals.
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