The WeSEED program from FACIT and OBIO^® provides support and seed investment for women-led life sciences companies.

Two of Ontario’s leading drivers of life sciences innovation have teamed up to empower the province’s women entrepreneurs, and it’s helping bring life-changing cancer discoveries closer to patients who need them.

FACIT and OBIO^® partnered to create the Women’s Synergistic Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (WeSEED) program, which provides business training, venture capital and other resources to the women entrepreneurs behind made-in-Ontario cancer innovations.

Launched in March 2025 with a cohort of five companies, the program addresses a critical gap for women-led start-ups, which receive just over two per cent of venture capital globally.

“That disparity means a substantial number of start-ups were lost before they were even created. These barriers impede women-led companies from growing and thriving, and prevents their innovations from making an impact on the lives of patients in Ontario and elsewhere,” says Dr. Connie Chen, Senior Director of Strategy and Corporate Development for FACIT, OICR’s commercialization partner. “By supporting women entrepreneurs, WeSEED aims to elevate equity and representation in life sciences, advance homegrown IP, and give Ontarians access to the most innovative solutions in cancer care.”

WeSEED combines the strengths of both organizations and their proven track records of supporting women-led life sciences in Ontario. FACIT provides Ontario oncology start-ups with seed capital and commercialization expertise, with more than 40 per cent of its portfolio companies being women-founded or women-led. These companies have gone on to attract an additional $330 million in private sector capital to drive Ontario cancer-related innovations forward. OBIO’s Women in Health Initiative (WiHI) is designed to increase the participation and advancement of women in the life sciences and health tech sectors. WiHI has supported over 370 women in life sciences through training and experiential learning, and over 27 women-led companies in the WiHI Seed Program. WiHI alumni companies have raised over $28 million in capital.

With WeSEED, FACIT and OBIO are creating an intentional pathway to move promising women-led innovations from concept, to company, to investment and impact. By coordinating and combining efforts, they will give Ontario entrepreneurs access to earlier and integrated support, allowing companies to take full advantage of both organizations’ networks and resources.

“Canada’s future health and life sciences breakthroughs depend on ensuring that talented women entrepreneurs have equitable access to the resources needed to succeed,” said Dr. Maura Campbell, President & CEO of OBIO^®. “The WiHI Seed program, together with our We-SEED partnership with FACIT, are creating meaningful opportunities for women-led companies to accelerate growth, attract investment, and bring impactful health technologies to patients and healthcare systems.”

Dr. Agata Kieliszek, Co-Founder and CEO of Block Biosciences, says the program is providing expert mentorship at a critical time for her start-up. Block Biosciences aims to develop the world’s first therapy to prevent brain metastases before they happen, and Kieliszek says WeSEED is opening doors to new funding and strategic opportunities that will help make that goal a reality.

“WeSEED provides a structured and supportive environment that encourages women founders to build meaningful relationships with mentors, investors and peers,” says Kieliszek, whose company Block Biosciences received an investment of $100,000 from OBIO^® to accelerate commercialization of their novel therapy. “In doing so, they create more equitable access to networks and capital.”

Genetics Adviser founder and CEO Dr. Yvonne Bombard says WeSEED has and will continue to help her company strengthen its commercialization strategy, build new partnerships and accelerate its impact. A WeSEED company and recipient of seed capital from FACIT’s Compass Rose Oncology Fund, Genetics Adviser is scaling genomics care and helping patients navigate genetic testing pathways through its digital application that integrates clinically-validated patient education, decision support, digital consent and results engagement into clinical workflows.

Bombard says WeSEED is helping overcome some of the barriers traditionally faced by women in life sciences, and ultimately help move more exciting innovations into the clinic.

“Supporting women founders means ensuring more great ideas become real-world solutions that improve healthcare, strengthen our innovation ecosystem and create economic impact,” Bombard says.