New Incubation Investment Award aims to help promising Canadian regenerative medicine companies grow and scale in Canada

OTTAWA, September 21, 2026 – As Canada marks Global Biotech Week, Canada’s Stem Cell Network (SCN) today announced the first direct company investment in its 25-year history, awarding $1 million to Montreal-based biotechnology company RejuvenRx through its new Incubation Investment Award (IIA) program.

Canada has built world-class strength in regenerative medicine research, talent and biomanufacturing. Yet promising innovations often stall before reaching patients or are developed and commercialized outside Canada because emerging companies lack the capital and support required to scale.

SCN created the IIA to help address a critical early-stage funding gap between the identification of a promising innovation and the point at which it is ready for clinical development, manufacturing and significant private investment.

“Canada has spent decades building extraordinary strength in regenerative medicine research, but scientific excellence alone does not ensure that Canadian discoveries become Canadian economic and health successes,” said Cate Murray, President and CEO of the Stem Cell Network. “The Incubation Investment Award provides targeted support at a critical stage, helping promising companies generate the evidence, intellectual property and commercial readiness they need to attract further investment and grow in Canada.”

RejuvenRx named inaugural recipient

RejuvenRx was selected following a rigorous review process based on the strength of its science and innovation, leadership and business strategy, and the potential of its technology to improve health outcomes.

Based in Montreal, RejuvenRx is developing a next-generation oral medicine that aims to restore healthy blood-forming stem cells and help rebuild the immune system. If successful, it could offer a new treatment option for patients with serious blood cancers and other diseases who today may have few alternatives beyond stem cell transplantation.

The company was co-founded by Drs. Anne Marinier and Guy Sauvageau, key members of the internationally recognized team behind the discovery of UM171, a life-saving molecule developed at Université de Montréal that boosts the effectiveness of stem-cell transplants in cancer patients.

RejuvenRx builds on the scientific expertise behind UM171, while pursuing a new strategy focused on treating blood stem cell disorders at their source.

“We are honoured to be the inaugural recipient of Stem Cell Network’s Incubation Investment Award,” said Anne Marinier, CEO of RejuvenRx. “This investment will help us advance the foundational work needed to move our technology closer to patients and strengthen our readiness for future investment and development.”

As part of a strategic partnership with SCN, Capital BioVentures supported the IIA review process and will provide business expertise and mentorship to RejuvenRx.

Helping Canadian biotech companies bridge the commercialization gap

The IIA marks the first time SCN has directly invested in companies and builds on its longstanding support for translational research. Over its 25-year history, SCN research funding has enhanced or catalyzed more than 28 biotechnology companies, complemented by access to regulatory expertise, commercialization training and other programs designed to move Canadian discoveries toward the marketplace.

The strong level of interest in the IIA competition demonstrates growing demand for new early-stage funding and de-risking mechanisms within Canada’s biotechnology sector.

“Too often, discoveries made in Canada are developed and commercialized elsewhere, taking intellectual property, talent and economic opportunity with them,” said Murray. “Helping high-potential companies reach the next stage of development increases the prospect that those benefits remain here in Canada, and SCN looks forward to investing in more of these companies in the years to come.”