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Atlantic Canada's Bioscience Business AcceleratorJuly 2026 Edition

New Member

Emergence welcomes Sophie's Bionutrients

Sophie's Bionutrients Joins the Emergence Program!

Sophie's Bionutrients is a PEI-based food tech company and the first to use microalgae with patent-pending technology to develop 100% plant-based, sustainable protein alternatives for the food industry. Using precision fermentation, their proprietary microalgae strain grows on food waste, harvests in just 3 days, and delivers 60% protein with an amino acid profile that exceeds WHO requirements — all without fertilizer, herbicide, antibiotics, or growth hormones.

Learn More →

In this issue

  • Emergence Company Updates
  • Upcoming Events, Conferences & Trade Missions
  • Joanna Beattie, Emergence Team Member Feature

Company Updates

  • Congratulations to RPS Biologiques who recently received regulatory approval in Iceland for Supratect™️, marking an important milestone in their international expansion efforts. Supratect™️ is an all-natural, organic product designed to enhance biosecurity in aquaculture operations.
  • Hexiris Ophthalmics (NB), led by Dr. Houfar Sekhavay, Dr. Nir Shoham-Hazon, and Jean-Phillippe Gravel, is developing a new generation of ophthalmic devices designed to simplify glaucoma treatment and expand access to care. The Company is making excellent progress, including successful human trials across 5 sites supporting device efficacy, the development of several complimentary new product lines, and the successful closing of a recent Series C investment including participation by PBM Capital and leading ophthalmologists. Emergence is providing the team with mentorship and specialist project funding, including a recent project focused on the company's reimbursement strategy.
  • Congratulations to Natural Products Canada on their 10th anniversary! Emergence companies were well represented at the 10th Anniversary Showcase in Halifax on July 7th. YEW Healthy Aging Nutraceuticals (Altheda), Natures Crops International, 7 Fathoms Skin Care, Bioteem40, PhyCo Technologies, Tunistrong, Infusd Nutrition, and RFINE Biomass Solutions were amongst a lineup of 30+ outstanding natural product companies from across the region.
  • Somru BioScience Inc. marked a major milestone on their incredible growth journey by signing an agreement to acquire Novus Clinical Research Services Ltd. in Bangladesh which will expand both their capabilities and global reach. Read More →
  • This past month, Reach Orthopaedics Inc. was selected as the winner of the Female Founders Showcase at Atlantic Venture Forum. Congratulations to CEO Christina Goudy on her winning pitch, along with all the other presenters.
  • 7 Fathoms released their first Seaweed Extracts Validation & Bioactivity Brief bringing together the scientific work behind their Newfoundland seaweed extracts, including bioactivity testing, ingredient validation, and the research that continues to guide how they formulate for skin barrier support. Read More →
  • BIOLABMATE Composite Inc. celebrated a major achievement as Co-founder & CTO Sanjay Dubey, MCE Student-in-Residence (Winter 2026), was awarded Second Place ($80,000) in the Student Entrepreneur Innovation Prize at the 2026 Climate Solutions Prize Festival. He was recognized for his work developing seaweed-based alternatives to conventional plastics, advancing BIOLABMATE's mission to create sustainable biomaterials. Read More →
  • Nucliq Biologics recently attended Canada's first national gathering of the bioinformatics, computational biology, and data science community in Toronto, where discussions focused on advancing precision healthcare through AI and computational biology. Congratulations to Nucliq intern Paniz Taghipour on receiving the Best Flash Talk Award for her outstanding presentation, recognizing her contributions to advancing microbiome research.
  • A Canadian milestone was realized this month when Vitalité Health Network announced it becomes the first Canadian site to join Breathe BioMedical's multi-center study to advance development of its technology for early detection of breast cancer in women. Read More →
YEW Healthy Aging Nutraceuticals team at NPC's 10th anniversary showcase
The YEW Healthy Aging Nutraceuticals (Altheda) team at the NPC's 10th anniversary showcase in Halifax, June 10th, 2026
Emergence company representatives at BIO 2026Emergence company representatives at BIO 2026Mohammed Moin of Somru BioScience at the Atlantic Canada booth, BIO 2026Jamal Daoud of Galenvs Sciences and colleagues networking at BIO 2026Emergence delegates at the Atlantic Canada booth, BIO 2026
Thank you for all Emergence companies who participated in making BIO 2026 a success. Photos: 1) Jean-Philippe Gravel and Ada Brzezicki, Triple Hair Inc./ Hexiris; 2) Jalil Hakimi, Pegasus Biotech Inc.; 3) Mohammed Moin, Somru BioScience; 4) Jamal Daoud, Galenvs Sciences Inc (centre) with PEI Premier Rob Lantz (left) and Andrew Mitchell, Agilent (right); and, 5) Ryan Marshall, Myomar Molecular (right) with Lauren Ledwell, PEI BioAlliance.

Emergence Updates

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A reminder to TEAM Mentoring participants, your next round of mentor meetings are coming up in Halifax. Mark Monday, September 21 and Tuesday, September 22, 2026 in your calendars. Joanna will be emailing more details so stay tuned!

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Emergence is proud to support the HATCH Blue Aquaculture Innovation Studio, delivered by Hatch Blue in partnership with Oceans Advance Inc., and congratulates Atlantic BioCorp, Smallfood Inc., EVAH Corp., BIOLABMATE, and SEVO Bioscience who all participated as part of this latest cohort.

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Emergence Office Hours Webinar: Claims Made in the Labelling and Advertising of Supplements in Canada and the U.S. – Scientific and Regulatory Requirements
🗓️ 1 PM, Oct 20, 2026
👩‍🏫 Kathy Musa-Veloso, PhD & Aarsh Shah, MSc from Intertek CEA
👉 RSVP

About: Kathy and Aarsh from the Health Claims and Clinical Trials team within Intertek’s Food & Nutrition Group will focus on the United States and Canada and will provide: an overview of the types of claims that are and are not permissible in the labeling and advertising of dietary supplements; the scientific requirements for ensuring claims are scientifically substantiated; and, associated regulatory requirements for marketing supplements with claims.

Team Member

Joanna Beattie, Project Manager, Emergence

Joanna Beattie

Project Manager, Emergence

We're back with another team member profile, this time, featuring your Emergence Project Manager, Joanna Beattie - the person who brings into fruition the plans and events hosted by the Emergence Program! Joanna's career path has shaped her perspective to contribute to the Emergence team, while approaching the field with an eagerness to learn.

A seasoned Project Manager, with experience working in the Department of Veterans Affairs as an Executive Assistant, Joanna entered the Bioscience field because of her curiosity to learn, and her eagerness to apply her skills. Upon doing so, she discovered how Emergence did not just offer her a new field to explore, but also exciting opportunities to learn from founders, mentors and her teammates as well.

"For me, the intimidating part was less about the position itself and more about coming into the bioscience area, because I didn't have any background in it at all. But now I see that as the most exciting part of the job."

Events

Funding & Programs

  • Capital BioVentures – Ascent Program (6-month cohort for therapeutics companies; closes Aug 3, 2026)Apply
  • ResearchNB – Bridging Fund (Open, closes August 13, 2026)Apply
  • ResearchNB – Clinical Fellowships (Open, closes August 20, 2026)Apply
  • CanExport SMEs 2026–27 (Open, closes August 31, 2026)Apply
  • ResearchNB – Research Professional Fund (Open, closes September 10, 2026)Apply
  • Natural Products Canada – Proof of Concept (Rolling intake, min. $100K contribution)Apply
  • Natural Products Canada – Fast-Track to Financing (Rolling intake, up to $25,000)Apply
  • BioTalent Canada – Student Work Placement Program (Rolling intake, up to $7,000/student)Apply
  • BioTalent Canada – Career Starter Program (Rolling intake, prioritizing Youth Furthest from Employment)Apply
  • Regional Defence Investment Initiative (RDII) – Atlantic Canada, ACOA ($38.2M over 3 years; supports dual-use tech, defence supply chain integration in projects; rolling intake)Info
  • Empower3D Program – Youth Work Placement Wage Subsidy (Rolling cohorts; 12-week placements; up to $7,000/participant)Email
  • Canada's Ocean Supercluster – Innovation Ecosystem Projects (Rolling intake; consortium-led, non-commercial initiatives; up to 75% of eligible project costs matched)Info

Events & Conferences

  • PEI Tech Week 2026 (Aug 9–16, 2026, Charlottetown)Info
  • Cold Harvest & Aquaculture Canada 2026 (Sept 15–17, 2026, St. John's — early bird deadline Aug 1, 2026)Register
  • Maine Blue Economy Week (Sept 30–Oct 2, 2026, Portland, ME — marine biotech/aquaculture relevant; exhibitor/flash-talk applications due Aug 7, 2026)Register
  • 2026 IEAT International Medical Devices Import Showcase (Oct 15, 2026, Taipei/Online)Register
  • DEFSEC Atlantic 2026 (Oct 6–8, 2026, Halifax — ACADA's premier Atlantic defence/security trade show)Info
  • Innovation Week 2026 (Oct 19–21, 2026, St. John's NL)Info
  • BioSTL Global Health Innovation Summit 2026 (Oct 6–8, 2026, St. Louis)Email
  • The MedTech Conference (AdvaMed), Boston (Oct 18–21, 2026)Info
  • BioPort Atlantic 2026, Halifax (Sept 22–24, 2026)Info
  • BIO-Europe 2026, Cologne (Nov 9–11, 2026)Register
  • HLTH USA 2026, Las Vegas (Nov 15–18, 2026)Info
  • MEDICA/Compamed 2026, Düsseldorf (Register: Sept. 15. / Nov 16–19, 2026)Register
  • Health Research Symposium 2026, Saint John (Nov 18–19, 2026)Info
  • CASTL Elevate Program (Rolling intake)Learn more

Upcoming Trade Missions

  • Team Canada Trade Mission to India – life sciences included (Oct 12–17, 2026, Mumbai/Hyderabad/Bengaluru; application open July 10–Aug 9)
  • DALO Nordic Defence Week 2026 – Scandinavia's largest defence industry exhibition (Aug 19–20, 2026, Herning, Denmark; registration open May 18–Aug 18, 2026)Info
  • Japan Dual-use and Defence Tech Canadian Technology Accelerator – Co-innovation mission connecting Canadian SMEs with Japanese defence and dual-use technology partners (Sept 28–Oct 2, 2026, Japan; application open June 5–July 30, 2026)Info
  • OXExpo (Ocean Transformation Exhibition) – New international exhibition focused on ocean transformation and maritime innovation (Nov 25–26, 2026, Yokohama, Japan; registration open May 13–July 31, 2026)Info
  • MEDICA/Compamed Trade Fair – One of the world's largest medical trade fairs for healthcare technologies and medical devices (Nov 16–19, 2026, Düsseldorf, Germany; registration open May 28–Sept 15, 2026)Info
  • NGen SMART Eureka Delegation – Vienna Funding Opportunity (Rolling Intake)Info

Atlantic Provinces Resources

  • Innovation PEI Trade CalendarView
  • Invest Nova Scotia Trade MissionsView
  • Opportunities New Brunswick Trade EventsView
  • Bounce HealthTech EventsView

A note from the team

The Emergence team would like to acknowledge the passing of Gerry Pond, an icon of the Atlantic Canada business community. Mr. Pond, a founding force in New Brunswick's technology sector and a champion of entrepreneurship across Atlantic Canada, died recently at the age of 82. Through his leadership at NBTel and Aliant, and later as an investor and mentor via Mariner Partners and East Valley Ventures, he helped to build the region's innovation economy and left a lasting legacy in the many founders and companies he supported.

Each month we share the milestones, hires, and ideas shaping our community. Thank you for being part of the Emergence story — keep building, keep questioning, and keep us posted.