While wages, housing starts, and exports are growing at a rapid pace in Canada’s smallest Province, PEI is set to experience another booming year according to analysts. Among these success stories – Sekisui Diagnostics – an international company based in Japan that bought an existing bioscience company in Charlottetown in 2011 and has seen steady growth ever since. Read more in this article from The Guardian Newspaper.

A group of senior members of 4-H Clubs from across PEI wrapped up the new PEI BioFutures Program by presenting their experiences at Holland College this week. Over the past six weeks, eight senior 4-H Club members visited PEI Bioscience Cluster companies and research labs, giving them a hands-on introduction and education on the potential for careers in the industry. The project wrapped-up with presentations members and an overview of Holland College’s two-year Bioscience Technology Program, by Learning Instructor, Dr. Michael Gibson.PR – 4-H BioFutures Project Wrap-Up  4h Biofutures

2018 marks the 100th Anniversary of 4-H on PEI and senior members of the PEI 4-H Club are getting the opportunity to go behind the scenes at PEI Bioscience companies as part of the first group in the PEI BioAlliance 4-H PEI BioFutures Project. Read more here on CBC PEI’s website.

Advanced Extraction Systems Inc. (AESI) is pleased to announce the completion of an agreement with Organigram Holdings Inc. (TSX VENTURE: OGI) to build the first in a series of custom CO2 Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) Systems for producing high-quality cannabis extracts on a commercial scale. Read more here.

Ontario and PEI-based Delivra Inc., has announced that it has successfully developed and tested line-extension products using its precision topical delivery system platform to include cannabis-related over-the-counter and prescription products. Read more here.

Canada is a leader in research, science, creation and invention, but according to industry reports, it can do more when it comes to commercializing innovations. And so today, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, launched Canada’s Intellectual Property (IP) Strategy to boost middle-class jobs and help innovators compete on the global stage. Read more here.

The Federal Government joined members of the BioVectra team in Windsor, Nova Scotia today to announce an investment of $5 million in BioVectra Inc. to help the biotechnology and pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing company expand its operations to Nova Scotia, enabling the PEI-based company to further grow and create additional highly skilled positions in Atlantic Canada. Read more here.

Congratulations to all of today’s winners from the Provincial Science Fair!
The Best in Biotech BioAlliance Awards were handed out to: First Place Winner was Grade 9 student, Neleah Lavoie from Gulf Shore Consolidated for her project “Cost-effec tive Extraction of Chitin and Chitosan from Lobster Shells”. 2nd Place Winner was Grade 10 Bluefield Senior High school student, Sophie MacDonald for her project “Drug Discovery from Actinobacteria using a Temperature-Dependent Culture Mimic Approach”. And Third-place Winner, Grade 6 student Jannah McCallum from West Royalty Elementary School for her project “Does Cinnamon Protect Carrots? Getting to the Root of the Matter”.

The Ocean Supercluster proposal has been successful in the Federal Government’s ISI (Innovation Supercluster Initiative) Competition, as has the Protein Industries Supercluster – two of five successful clusters announced today in Ottawa. The BioAlliance is a member of the Oceans Supercluster team, representing marine biotechnology and fish health and nutrition capabilities in the region and PEI’s Food Island Partnership is part of the Protein Industry supercluster. Read ISED’s News Release.

Island Water Technologies Inc. has been awarded $500,000 in seed round investment by Island Capital Partners (ICP) and Natural Products Canada (NPC) for water technology commercialization. The deal comes on the heels of a string of wins for the PEI company, including its recent acceptance into esteemed water accelerator, Imagine H2O, as well as commercial wastewater projects in North Africa, China, and Kenya, to name a few.