Canada’s First Dual-Use Masterclass for Life Sciences & Health Tech Innovators
Supported in part by funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP).
The Current Landscape
The convergence of health technology and national security is a strategic imperative for Canada. In alignment with Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy, which prioritizes strategic autonomy, secure domestic supply chains and sovereign control of Canadian intellectual property (IP), strengthening the national life sciences & health tech sector is critical to human resilience, biodefence and security.
Canada’s life sciences sector, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) developing world-class innovations, is already demonstrating extraordinary global leadership: four of the five Canadian companies selected for recent NATO DIANA Human Resilience and Biotechnologies cohorts have been supported by OBIO®. Furthermore, 60% of OBIO-supported companies are actively exploring dual-use applications for their technologies.
Program Overview
While foreign defense agencies actively fund Canadian SMEs, without strategic alignment, these investments risk shifting domestically-supported IP and economic returns away from Canada. To bridge the gap between civilian healthcare innovation and military applications and ensure the protection of our country’s sovereign innovation capabilities, OBIO® is proudly launching Canada’s first comprehensive Masterclass program.
This program is designed to:
Prepare life sciences & health tech SMEs to commercialize dual-use applications for their technologies, and provide them with a customized Defence Go-to-Market Plan tailored to defence readiness frameworks
Equip executive leaders with the knowledge and strategic insights they need to navigate the defence market
Enable companies to access non-dilutive funding
Foster domestic procurement readiness
Align commercial health innovations with Canada’s defence priorities and NATO standards
Cohort Details:
Dates & Times:
Four virtual sessions: October 8 & 22 (9:30am-12pm ET) / November 5 (9:30am-1pm ET) & November 19 (9:30am-2pm ET)
One in-person tactical workshop: December 3, 2026 – All day
Cohort size:
Strictly limited to ten participants for the inaugural cohort to ensure high-impact, personalized advisory and deep participant engagement.
Participation fee:
$200 CAD for selected participants
Eligibility
SMEs supported by NRC IRAP in the life sciences & health tech sector (therapeutics, medtech, diagnostics and digital health) with dual-use ambitions or scaling readiness are eligible to apply for the Masterclass.
Apply Now
Are you ready to take your health tech innovation to the front lines of national security in alignment with Canada's defence priorities?
Submit your application through our intake portal below.
*Applications close on September 4, 2026*