San Francisco health - Canadian Technology Accelerator

Do you want to scale up your health or life sciences company in San Francisco? This region, including Silicon Valley, is home to one of the most important clusters of medical innovation in the world. It is famous for its strong venture capital ecosystem and high concentration of business and startup leaders.

The Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) business development program will help your company to:

• advance commercialization goals
• increase access to local opportunities
• successfully expand into the United States (U.S.)

Apply now

Important dates

What are the benefits of joining?

The CTA will give you:

• tailored guidance delivered virtually from experienced mentor teams built around company-specific issues that include:
  • regulatory and reimbursement pathways
  • accessing finance
  • client acquisition
  • building your team and corporate negotiating strategy
• connections to local venture capitalists and potential partners including major healthcare providers and research centres:
  • Kaiser Permanente
  • Sutter Health
  • University of California San Francisco (UCSF)
    
    As well as major corporations:
    • Johnson & Johnson
    • Pfizer
    • Merck
    • Genentech
    • Astellas
    • Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) like Rock Health and Verily
• in-market innovation days in San Francisco and Silicon Valley
• strategic business intelligence, advice, and training to better engage with the local market delivered through weekly masterclass sessions

Who should apply

Companies must be interested in expanding into San Francisco and Silicon Valley and have technologies in:

• biotechnology
• diagnostics
• genomics
• drug discovery
• medical devices
• precision medicine
• therapeutics

Your company must:

• be a high-potential, growth-stage, and scientifically innovative
• have a minimum proof of concept and clear strategy for accessing this market
• be seeking venture capital (post-seed to series A) or alternative financing, partnerships and customers within the next 12 months
• have a CEO or founder who is committed and able to participate in virtual advisory meetings and preparatory work, as well as in all virtual kickoff and closing programming

The Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) supports diversity, equity and inclusion in trade. We strongly encourage companies led by Canadians of all backgrounds to apply.

What you need to apply

How the program works

The program will offer customized virtual support from September to December 2022 for three hours per week. We will establish tailored priorities at the beginning of the program to develop your business strategy as well as advance your market entry, investment and customer acquisition objectives. You will participate in:

• advisory meetings
• masterclasses
• opening and closing events
• and more

Following the guidelines for COVID-19, we will continue to reassess any in-person attendance for the CTA Digital health in the U.S. However, if a visit to the U.S. is possible, companies should plan to spend a maximum of seven days in the country.

Timelines:

• September: Opening showcase and introduction to mentors
• October-November: Mentor meetings and masterclasses
• December: Closing showcase and program end

Testimonials

"CTA was a great program. The mentors in CTA were directly related to the business and contributed to our business strategy. We got introductions to potential partnerships investors that will secure the long-term viability of our business. I will be recommending this program to other Canadian companies in the future." Serenity Bioworks Inc., San Francisco Life Science CTA 2018-19

“Excellent program. The depth of the engagement for an accelerator program was the best we've experienced so far.” MIMOSA Diagnostics, San Francisco Life Science CTA 2020-21

“While working at the CTA in San Francisco we built countless relationships that have led to numerous strategic partnerships, including an excellent partnership with a major consultancy. We will continue to maintain a presence in-market as we work toward raising funding and continue to foster ongoing relationships with partners.” Affinio Inc., Silicon Valley CTA 2014-15

Contact us

Learn more about this program by contacting:

Nicole Sanders
Trade Commissioner, Life Sciences
Canadian Technology Accelerator – San Francisco
Nicole.Sanders@international.gc.ca