Falcons’ Fortunes 2026
December 19, 2025 – Applications to compete in the 2026 Falcons’ Fortunes pitch competition will open on January 5, 2026. Save-the-Date and plan to join us on April 15, 2026 at the annual Falcons’ Fortunes Event.
Author: Ricky
Posts by Ricky
Happy Holidays!
December 15, 2025 – Your friends at FACIT and OICR wish you and your family a safe and joyful holiday season.
We look forward to working together with Ontario’s life sciences entrepreneurs and ecosystem partners for a prosperous 2026.
FACIT joins strategic network to strengthen support for Ontario’s life science start-ups
December 5, 2025 – FACIT looks forward to working together with the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) and the consortium of strategic commercialization organizations to expand support for health innovators and start-ups across the province. The MOU brings together 11 key strategic commercialization partners in Ontario’s life sciences ecosystem.
FACIT launches Feather to Flight competition to build entrepreneurship skills within Ontario’s cancer research community
November 20, 2025 – FACIT is pleased to announce the launch of Feather to Flight (‘F2F”), a competition for Ontario oncology scientists to gain exposure to entrepreneurial skills needed to advance their innovations towards research impact and patient benefit. F2F expands FACIT’s continuum of Ontario First commercialization support programs.
Hamilton, Ontario startup NodeAI wins Falcons’ Fortunes 2025 for revolutionary lung cancer diagnostics using artificial intelligence
March 25, 2025 – The winning pitch at FACIT’s sold-out annual Falcons’ Fortunes pitch competition and recipient of the $100,000 Ernsting Entrepreneurship award was delivered by Dr. Waël Hanna, co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of NodeAI Diagnostics (“NodeAI”). The Hamilton, Ontario based start-up is leveraging the power of artificial intelligence to improve the speed and accuracy in evaluating and staging non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The innovation is poised to address a long standing gap in lung cancer diagnostics that can better inform treatment decisions and ultimately improved patient outcomes.
FACIT and OBIO® announce inaugural WeSEED cohort of women-led start-ups in joint seed capital and commercialization program
March 6, 2025 – The Women’s Synergistic Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (WeSEED) program leverages the combined, complementary capital, expertise and resources of OBIO® and FACIT. The resulting synergies provide a continuum of seamless support and lower barriers faced by women STEM leaders in accessing business training, advisory resources, networks and venture funding.
Idea to Investment Podcast: How FACIT’s support propels early cancer innovations
January 17, 2025 – FACIT’s David Koehler, Director of Fund Operations, appeared on TechAlliance’s Idea to Investment podcast along with Saumik Biswas, President, CEO and Founder of Tenomix Inc. based in London, Ontario. Tenomix’s advancements exemplifies how FACIT’s continuum of commercialization programs can strategically capitalize on homegrown talent and innovations to spur promising start-ups to grow roots in Ontario and bring cancer solutions to benefit patients sooner.
Read More from Idea to Investment Podcast: How FACIT’s support propels early cancer innovations
Esphera SynBio closes seed financing round to advance their lead designer cancer vaccine
January 7, 2025 – FACIT congratulates portfolio company, Esphera SynBio (“Esphera”), on successfully securing seed financing and strategic partners to continue developing bespoke cancer immunotherapies using their proprietary engineered exosome-based platform for improved vaccine efficacy.
Pitch Your Cancer Innovation at Falcons’ Fortunes 2025
December 12, 2024 – Call for entrepreneurs and scientists to pitch your Ontario-made cancer innovation for a chance to win the $100,000 award. Falcons’ Fortunes is FACIT’s premier event to celebrate and grow the entrepreneurial spirit within the cancer research community. Apply by January 17, 2025.
Read More from Pitch Your Cancer Innovation at Falcons’ Fortunes 2025
Wishing you a Happy Holiday!
December 12, 2024 – Season’s Greetings!
From the Ontario life sciences community, your friends at FACIT wish you and your family a safe and enjoyable holiday season.
We look forward to collaborating with you in 2025.