The University of Toronto and McMaster University have joined forces to anchor a new venture capital fund focused on backing life sciences spinouts from their campuses.
The initiative represents a strategic shift by Canadian academic institutions to capture the economic value of their research domestically, rather than seeing discoveries commercialized overseas.
The fund is managed by Genesys Capital and has secured backing from a coalition of public and private investors.
Alongside the university anchors, the Ontario government, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), and the Temerty family have committed capital to the vehicle.
This mix of institutional, corporate, and family office support signals strong confidence in the commercial potential of Canadian life sciences innovation.
The launch comes as global venture capital continues to flow heavily into health-tech and AI-driven drug discovery.