Canadian Medical Startups get Major Boost as Ottawa Orders Vital Supplies in Fight Against COVID-19
By Christopher Katsarov
Canadian medical device startups have struggled for years to sell to governments at home, making it hard to persuade foreign buyers to follow suit. The onset of the global COVID-19 crisis has changed that.
As Ottawa scrambles to secure vital medical supplies for the fight against the virus, it has turned to domestic companies big and small to help, rapidly signing orders to secure millions of masks, coronavirus test kits and other items made on Canadian soil. This week, the federal government said it had signed deals with medical device suppliers Spartan BioScience Inc. of Ottawa and Toronto’s Thornhill Research Inc. – contracts that could transform both companies from small operators into global players.
