September 22-23, 2026 // Ottawa, CanadaBIONATION 2026

Every biotech company starts with a spark: an idea, a discovery, a problem no one else has solved. But turning that spark into a company is where the real story begins.

In this session, noted Canadian biotech leaders will take the audience inside the moments that shaped their companies: the first belief in the science, the capital decisions, the IP strategy, the regulatory hurdles, the talent questions, and the hard choices about where to grow.

For policymakers, industry leaders, and the broader life sciences community, these stories will show where Canada is helping companies move forward, where the system is holding them back, and what it will take for more Canadian biotech companies to grow, compete, and stay here.

Canada helped shape the modern AI era. Now the challenge is turning that advantage into stronger life sciences companies and better solutions for patients. AI is already changing how companies find targets, design therapies, run trials, improve manufacturing, and support diagnostics.

This session brings together a range of companies using AI at different points along the life sciences pathway, from discovery and platform development to clinical validation and real-world deployment. Together, they will show what AI looks like beyond the headlines: where it is creating value, where companies are running into barriers, and what is needed to turn Canadian AI strength into stronger companies and better health outcomes.

Canada has the science, talent, and companies to compete globally. What it does not yet have at sufficient scale is the capital needed to carry more of those companies through clinical development, manufacturing, commercialization, and global growth.

This session will bring together capital leaders to examine what it would take to unlock larger, more patient pools of investment for Canadian life sciences. From pension funds and sovereign wealth funds to family offices and specialized investors, the conversation will look at where capital is flowing today, where it drops off, and why too many Canadian companies face a financing gap just as they are ready to scale.

For policymakers, investors, industry leaders, and the broader life sciences community, this is a conversation about what Canada needs to do next. If we want companies to remain, scale, and compete from here, later-stage capital cannot remain the missing middle.

Dual-use innovation is often associated with defence, aerospace, or advanced manufacturing. But as Canada places greater focus on preparedness, security, and sovereign capacity, life sciences companies have an important role to play.

Many biotech and health technologies already have both civilian and preparedness applications, from medical countermeasures and diagnostics to biomanufacturing, pathogen detection, AI-enabled health tools, and supply chain resilience.

This session will define what dual-use means for Canadian life sciences and where biotech companies fit within emerging government priorities. The discussion will explore how companies can identify dual-use potential, position their technologies for new opportunities, and move from funding signals to real pathways for validation, adoption, and scale.

As the federal landscape continues to shift, BIONATION will also explore what the current political and geopolitical moment means for Canada’s biotechnology sector. Grab a coffee and join us for Reading the Room in Ottawa, a candid conversation on the forces shaping federal decision-making, the issues likely to define the months ahead, and how life sciences leaders can position the sector for what comes next.