BACKGROUND:
BIOSA Technologies is a biotechnology research and development firm that helps organizations innovate ecofriendly solutions to pressing industry, health, and environmental problems.
BIOSA recently expanded into London and is investing over $1.2 million with the help of the Ontario government into the development, manufacturing, and distribution of non-woven filtration material for N95 and N99 mask production and other PPE. BIOSA is in the midst of constructing a 4,000 square foot facility that includes a biochemical laboratory and the first-of-its-size industrial electrospinning machine in Canada.
With strong ties with Western University and a lot of potential industrial, and commercial partners, BIOSA was attracted to London for the ecosystem of companies, educational institutions, and strength in agricultural research.
“We know London is poised to be a leader in pandemic prevention – it has such a strong academic and research community, and great commercial resources. This was a big draw for coming here,” said Dr. Nicholas Ledra, CEO at BIOSA. “It’s also a great spot for collaboration. We use a lot of biomass and landfill-bound agricultural waste in developing our products since they are designed to be eco-friendly and compostable, and by being in London, we’re close to local agricultural groups.”
At the onset of the pandemic, BIOSA recognized a gap in the PPE supply chain and immediately went to work on researching and developing environmentally friendly solutions. Now in London they are looking expand their capabilities and facility in the next twelve months to match market demand and are actively looking for partnerships.
“We are excited to ramp up our production capability and bring on staff with strong expertise – London has a lot of great options for that,” said Nigel Miller, COO at BIOSA. “We’re focused on bringing some of these new technologies like electrospinning out of the academic realm and into commercial production in Canada, and we’ve seen a lot of support from both academic and industrial partners.”
INTERESTING FACTS:
- BIOSA takes agricultural by-products that are disposed of and repurposes them, which means less waste going to landfill
- Early research in the company was in environmental (oil sequestration, plastics) and personal protection (chemical, biological, radiological protection)
- Founded in 2018 by Dr. Nicholas Ledra
- Dr. Ledra has a PhD in Pharmaceutical Science, an MSc in Biochemistry and is a Certified Nanochemical Specialist
- Recipient of multiple NSERC and Mitacs grants
IMPORTANT LINKS:
www.biosatech.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/biosa-technologies
MEDIA CONTACT:
Lori Steuart, Head of Marketing at BIOSA
lori@biosatech.com
647.229.6928
