wHealth MedPath

Technology including products, services, diagnostics, and software addressing health and wellness concerns that solely, disproportionately or differently affect women, girls, non-binary folks, trans people, and those assigned female at birth.

If your product disproportionately or differently impacts women we’d expect to see sex accounted for in the research, design and delivery of your innovation.

Through funding support from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), Innovation Factory in partnership with Femtech Canada and leading physician networks, physician investment groups, Contract Research Organizations (CROs), and Contract Design and Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs) established the wHealth MedPath program. Its primary mission is to support Canadian validation to early-stage and scale-staging-companies developing innovative solutions in the femtech health and wellness space.

Through wHealth MedPath Femtech companies can leverage up to $20,000 worth in services to work directly with Physician Networks, CROs and CDMOs to garner key insights and develop the essential documentation needed to unlock key milestones in the commercialization journey in areas such as regulatory strategy approval, collaborative clinical hospital projects, and product development.

Projects must focus on accelerating the commercialization of femtech innovations. This includes product-market assessments with clinician key opinion leaders (KOLs) and a collaboration with CROs/CDMOs.

Some examples include:

• Product Design & Testing (Journey Mapping, Assumption Mapping, Product Development, Regulatory Strategy & Submissions, Cybersecurity Testing etc.)
• Product Documentation (Path to Market Reports, QMS, Clinical Study Design etc.)
• Digital Product Support (Prototype Dev, Cybersecurity Hardening, Advanced API & Data Integration etc.)

Level 1 participants can receive a $5,000-value product market assessment from clinician and investment KOLs (Halo Health, MACcelerate) at no cost to the participating company.

Level 2 participating companies can access up to $15,000 worth in services for projects with private-sector delivery partners (Avania Clinical, Inertia Product Development, Tristar) by providing a 50% cash match of up to $7,500.

This brings the total funds a company can leverage up to $20,000 with a participating company contribution of up to $7,500.

1. Submit an online application here.
2. Submission is reviewed for eligibility by the wHealth MedPath team.
3. Select applications will participate in an iIntroductory call with the wHealth MedPath team.
4. Project proposal is submitted to NRC IRAP industrial technology advisor (ITA) for approval.
5. Project feasibility review will be conducted with selected delivery partners.
6. Application is approved. Project contracting begins.

• Privately incorporated Canadian femtech companies
• Working towards commercializing an innovative technology at Technology Readiness Level Six (TRL-6: System/subsystem model or prototype demonstration in a simulated environment) or above.
• Demonstrated commitment to commercializing innovation with a clear clinical application.
• Must be an active member of Femtech Canada. Applications can be found here to apply for free.
• Ontario-based femtech firms must be a client of Innovation Factory. Sign up with Innovation Factory here for free (please note this requirement is not applicable to firms based outside of Ontario).

No. There is no cost to join Innovation Factory or the Femtech Canada Network. Please note, you can only join Innovation Factory if you are an Ontario-based business while Femtech Canada is applicable to femtech businesses nationwide.

Innovation Factory is a not-for-profit business accelerator, serving as the catalyst for technology innovation in the Brant, Halton, Hamilton and Norfolk regions since 2010. Innovation Factory provides business services, training, mentorship, and strategic connections to drive market adoption, leverage intellectual property, and increase revenues, investment, and jobs. Innovators can also access sector-specific resources including exclusive smart transportation test environments and data; and a formal life science and health innovation ecosystem.

Femtech Canada is a national network dedicated to advancing women’s health technology by connecting femtech companies with essential resources and visibility. Through strategic networking, business advisory support, mentorship and a dynamic online community, Femtech Canada inspires entrepreneurs and researchers to pioneer technologies that improve the lives of women and end-users across the country. Operated by Innovation Factory, Femtech Canada is committed to fostering intentional, intersectional, and inclusive growth in the sector by advocating to close the longstanding gaps in women’s health—a field historically under-served, under-researched, and under-funded.