Forging Connections and Driving Growth: A Recap of the MedTech Conference
The MedTech Conference in Toronto has come to an end and it was an exciting time and valuable experience! The 3-day event, which was leveraged to highlight the strength of York Region’s growing life sciences and health tech sector, was filled with insightful panels, engaging discussions, and dynamic networking sessions.
Our Senior Business Development Advisor, Katie Maginn spent her time engaging with many of the 4,350 attendees from around the world. As well, Katie was there to support our municipal partners from Georgina, Markham, Richmond Hill, and Vaughan as they showcased the unique life sciences assets companies can access within their respective communities.
The first day started off strong with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Minister Victor Fedeli announcing the government’s plan to invest $146 million in funding to further establish Ontario as a global biomanufacturing and life sciences hub.
A key highlight was the “Next Gen Health Partnerships: Strategic Alliances for Growth” panel hosted by Vaughan Economic Development. Moderated by Nicole Simone from Invest Ontario, the panel featured Colin Hung from ventureLAB and Courtney Cole from York University.
The discussion shed light on the value of forming strategic partnerships with healthcare and innovation stakeholders for competitive business growth. ventureLAB plays a vital role in this as they have a medtech specific stream as part of their Hardware Catalyst Initiative; Canada’s sole hardware lab and incubator for startups.
On the second day, networking and discovering unique partnerships was the focus for our team. A notable conversation between Daniele Chirico, Research and Business Development Officer with the University of Toronto’s Master of Science in Applied Computing program and Katie Maginn focused on the ongoing research collaboration between the University of Toronto and Markham headquartered AMD Canada. This #YRtech partnership exemplifies how businesses and research organizations can collaborate within the Greater Toronto Area to drive growth and innovation.
A networking reception hosted by Toronto Global in the Canadian Pavilion capped off day two. During this reception, Katie Maginn greeted and conversed with a delegation from the Netherlands led by Sabira Tejani, sharing an overview of the supports medical technology start-ups can access in York Region, as well as drawing attention to the welcoming community we are known for. Conference attendees spent time connecting with various Ontario partners in the Canadian Pavilion including:
- Toronto Region Board of Trade
- Life Sciences Ontario
- Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization
- Clinical Trials Ontario
- Invest Ontario
- Georgina Economic Development
- Markham Economic Development
- Richmond Hill Economic Development
- Vaughan Economic Development
- and others
The final day of the conference featured a panel, “Addressing the Demand for Commercial or Graduating Space with Industry-led Business Park Development” hosted by Georgina Economic Development and moderated by Daniel Hengeveld, Vice President of Investment Attraction at Toronto Global. The panel featured speakers from the Canadian Life Science and Technology Park – Director and Founder, Uzzo Calderaro and President and CEO, Safa’a Al-Rais – along with the Vice President of CBRE, Dan Lacey. Discussions focused on opportunities to enhance the life sciences industry in Ontario and the role of the new business park in Georgina in supporting startups and mid-sized companies in the life sciences, R&D, and technology sectors.
The past three days showcased the collective strength and innovation of the life sciences and medtech ecosystem within York Region and the GTA. Thank you to those who attended the conference and visited the Canadian Pavilion, it has provided an opportunity to forge meaningful connections and collaborative ventures that will help drive growth and success for the future of this vital sector in York Region and beyond. By working together, we can leverage the diverse expertise and resources within the GTA to create a thriving medtech ecosystem that benefits everyone.
Explore York Region’s growing life sciences and health tech sector.