Life Sciences Scale-Up Fund (LSSUF)

Life Sciences Scale-Up Fund (LSSUF) is sponsored by Ontario (Canada) Government (administered by an unspecified entity). The LSSUF program is designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that specialize in human health sciences by providing them with financial backing to scale their operations, drive innovation, and bring transformative healthcare solutions to market.

Life Sciences Scale-Up Fund | ontario. ca Life Sciences Scale-Up Fund Learn how companies can receive support to expand, scale up, and increase competitiveness in the life sciences sector. Skip this page navigation The Life Sciences Scale-up Fund ( LSSUF ) provides financial support to help small-to-medium sized enterprises ( SMEs ) scale up in the life sciences sector.

LSSUF aims to help build a pipeline of strong innovative SMEs based in Ontario (or intending to relocate to Ontario) that are ready to respond to procurement opportunities.

drive growth and increase competitiveness in the life sciences sector foster innovation and commercialize new products for healthcare adoption build domestic manufacturing capacity strengthen Ontario's healthcare supply chain and help companies be procurement ready The LSSUF complements Ontario’s Health Innovation Pathway ( HIP ), which provides a coordinated, all-of-government approach to assessing and adopting innovations into the province’s healthcare system faster.

By providing funding to help SMEs prepare for procurement opportunities in the healthcare system, LSSUF helps support the pathway’s objective of scaling health innovations province wide. For Round 2, we are interested in receiving proposals that: Incorporate artificial intelligence ( AI ) solutions and AI-related knowledge, or other innovative approaches.

Accelerate the adoption of innovation into the healthcare system or have been identified or validated by HIP . Have solutions that are central to the province’s healthcare priorities and broader vision to provide connected, convenient care closer to home.

Eligible technologies in scope include, but are not limited to: digital health technologies medical and surgical procedures medical imaging and screening programs lab testing and genetic testing complex health system interventions, such as models of health care delivery Support breakthrough technologies that have been proven to relieve health system burden and/or accelerate the diagnosis, treatment and improvement of patient outcomes.

Please refer to the LSSUF program guidelines for more information. A successful applicant could receive up to $2. 5 million to help cover up to 33% of eligible project costs.

Successful applicants are required to secure funding to cover at least 67% of remaining eligible project costs. Applicants are not allowed to stack funding with other provincial funding programs for the same project, excluding tax credits. Applicants may stack funding with other government sources (for example, federal funding programs), up to a maximum of 67% of the eligible project costs.

If a company has previously been approved for the LSSUF , the previous project must be successfully completed before any new LSSUF project will be considered. Before applying, companies must first complete the mandatory self-assessment eligibility screening form to help determine if they are eligible for the LSSUF .

To be eligible for funding, life sciences companies footnote 1 [1] in the human health sciences industry must meet all the following requirements: be a for-profit company with a business number designated by the Canada Revenue Agency have at least 2 years of operations and financial statements footnote 2 [2] (audited or accountant reviewed) be a small-to-medium sized company with at least 5, to a maximum of 500 full-time equivalent employees in Ontario by the project start date located in, or planning to locate in a community in Ontario by the project start date All applicants must ensure compliance with all applicable laws and must not owe any fees, levies, or taxes to His Majesty the King in right of Ontario or his agencies.

Applicants must also be compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act , 2005, S. O. 2005, c .

11. demonstrate readiness for scale-up or expansion of company operations build on work previously undertaken by the company be completed within 2 years from the project start date In addition, eligible prejects must be in support of an innovation with a Technology Readiness Level ( TRL ) 7 or higher.

In order to qualify as TRL 7, the technology must be a working prototype at a planned operational level and ready for demonstration in an operational environment. Applications are open from June 22, 2026 to August 4, 2026. Applicants will be notified of the ministry's decision within approximately 60 business days of the application deadline.

Prior to applying, companies are encouraged to discuss projects with a Ministry Business Advisor who can help assess fit with the program and provide advice on application preparation. Step 1 : Read the LSSUF program guidelines . Step 2: Complete the mandatory LSSUF self-assessment eligibility screening form .

Step 3: Register for Transfer Payment Ontario ( TPON ) to create your Ontario. ca Login footnote 3 [3] . Once registered you will be able to apply.

Step 4 : Gather the following required documents (to be uploaded in PDF ): copy of the applicant's Articles of Incorporation or Limited Partnership Agreement audited or accountant reviewed financial statements (for example, balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements ), for the previous two consecutive fiscal years, submitted as two separate documents quotes from contractors/vendors for eligible project cost items letter of financial attestation from the senior management signing authority of the company ( CEO , CFO , etc. ) indicating that the company has the financial resources in place to complete the project.

The letter must indicate the funding amount that the company will contribute to the project a corporate family tree, detailing the relationships between the applicant company and its parent, subsidiaries, and/or affiliate companies. Please review the application process section of the LSSUF program guidelines and the sample application form before submitting an application.

Applications are evaluated on their overall merits and reviewed against targeted results within the scope of LSSUF 's objectives. Applicants be required to provide additional information from an applicant to help evaluate the project proposal. LSSUF is a discretionary, non-entitlement funding program with limited funding.

Accordingly, even if your application meets all program objectives and eligibility criteria, approval is not guaranteed and will depend on the number and strength of other applications. For general inquiries and questions please contact us at lssuf@ontario. ca .

For advice on developing applications, companies are encouraged to contact a Ministry Business Advisor based in their region. Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Niagara Region and Simcoe County CentralRegionBAS@ontario. ca All counties west of Hamilton Region including Niagara Region WesternRegionBAS@ontario.

ca All counties east of Durham Region EasternRegionBAS@ontario. ca Published: January 13, 2025 Life science companies in the Food and Animal Sciences Sector are not eligible. In instances where a parent/affiliate company is a source of funding, please provide the financial statements for that entity.

TPON is the Province of Ontario’s online application system for grant funding. Before applying for a funding opportunity, all applicants must first register with TPON . Learn more about submitting an application form on TPON .

Applicants with technical questions can contact the TPON Customer Service Line toll-free at 1-855-216-3090 or toll-free TTY at 1-800-268-7095 , Monday to Friday from 8:30 a. m. to 5:00 p.

m. EST , or by email at tponcc@ontario. ca .