Hamilton & Halton, ON, June 11, 2026 – Innovation Factory is thrilled to announce the renewal of the HEALTHI (Health Ecosystem to Accelerate and Leverage Trials of Healthcare Innovation) program.

Now welcoming applications for its sixth cohort, HEALTHI helps life science and health-tech small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) find a clear path to market for their products and services by connecting them with clinical trial and market readiness expertise at leading research hospitals.

HEALTHI is delivered in collaboration with the Synapse Life Science Consortium and with funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to support innovative Canadian SMEs.

“The HEALTHI program provides SMEs with the specialized support they need at a critical stage in their  development to help them progress toward market readiness,” said David Carter, Innovation Factory CEO. “We’re grateful for the ongoing support from NRC IRAP and our partners, which is a testament to the success of the program and its participants’ impact in the Canadian healthcare sector. Since its inception in 2021, HEALTHI has accelerated the path to market for dozens of healthcare innovators and generated over $8 million in additional collaborative commercialization funding.”

The upcoming phase of the program aims to support 16 new projects from SMEs over the next year. HEALTHI will:

• Provide eligible SMEs with support services worth up to $15,000 per project
• Connect them with world-class researchers, experts and facilities at leading institutes such as Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) and the Research Institute of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton; or with the Coordinated Accessible National (CAN) Health Network’s national integrated marketplace of leading health care operators.
• Empower participants with the knowledge to identify product gaps, refine solutions, and develop pre-trial protocols and documents required for commercialization projects or clinical trials. 

Applications for the HEALTHI program are open until March 31st, 2027. Interested health technology companies can apply online or contact Innovation Factory for more information.

About Innovation Factory

Innovation Factory is a not-for-profit business accelerator serving the Brant, Halton, Hamilton and Norfolk regions since 2010 and is dedicated to growing the regional economy by accelerating start-up and scale-up companies. Innovation Factory provides innovators with business services, training, mentorship, and strategic connections to resources, opportunities and world-class institutions — driving market adoption, leveraging intellectual property, and increasing revenues, investment, and jobs. Innovators can also access sector-specific resources, including exclusive smart transportation test environments and data, and a formal life science and health innovation ecosystem.