B.C. technology companies focused on health care and life sciences may have a new vehicle for growth thanks to new $135 million venture capital fund for health-care technology from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
BDC Venture Capital today announced the $135 million fund will be used to invest in medical technology, innovative therapeutics, diagnostics, health IT, mobile technologies, services, robotics and automation.
The new money builds on an earlier fund, bringing the total investment pool to $270 million. BDC will partner with other Canadian and international investors, as well as retailers, mobile computing and software firms.
"Great investors typically look for industries that are undergoing massive disruption, and this is certainly true of the health-care sector," said Dion Madsen, senior managing partner for the BDC Venture Capital Health-care Fund
"We have never seen a better time to invest in the sector. All economies are struggling to maintain affordable and accessible health-care systems. They are seeking new technologies to improve their health systems and improve health-care delivery, while managing rising costs.
"With the widespread availability of wireless and mobile technologies, innovative molecular diagnostics and imaging technology, high-throughput genomic sequencing, and innovations in health-care IT, the opportunity exists to radically transform health-care delivery across the planet."
Business in Vancouver has featured a number of startups focused on health-care and medical technology, including Livecare,which is uses technology to allow physicians and specialists to examine patients remotely, Reflex Wireless,which makes sensors that can transmit information like blood pressure and heart rate to their doctors via smartphones, and Medeo, which allows patients have consultations with their doctors via laptop, smartphone or tablet.
