On July 15th, Life Sciences Nova Scotia brought its community together in Halifax and online for its Annual General Meeting, welcoming an audience from across the province to reflect on a year of meaningful progress.
Open to employees across member organizations, this was an opportunity for people working across the sector to connect, learn about the association’s impact, and discover what’s next for our organization. It was a clear reflection of a community that continues to grow, collaborate, and move forward together.
A stronger, expanding network
Chair of the Board Kevin Sullivan highlighted some of the significant achievements for LSNS member companies in the past year.
ABK Biomedical secured a $48 million financing round to advance clinical trials and manufacturing, while DeNova expanded partnerships for its innovative sustainable protein. Our Nova Scotian innovators also earned major recognition and awards at events across Canada, including Elle MD, FinLeaf Technologies, 3DBioFibR and more. Together, these achievements highlight the growing impact of Nova Scotia life sciences on the national stage.
Our CEO Doris Grant also shared how this year marked a significant period of growth, with 25 new members joining the association.
Each new member strengthens the collective, bringing fresh expertise, new perspectives, and expanded opportunities for collaboration across Nova Scotia’s life sciences ecosystem.
Bringing the sector together
Over the past year, LSNS delivered 34 events, spanning On Tap networking nights, education sessions, and our Introduces pitching event. Together these events attracted 1,569 registrations from across the sector.
These gatherings continue to play a critical role in building meaningful connections, sharing knowledge with new companies, and creating space for collaboration across disciplines.
A defining highlight was BioPort Atlantic – which reached its highest attendance this year. The conference continues to grow as a flagship event for the sector, bringing together leaders, innovators, and partners to explore why life sciences matters, from improving lives to advancing sustainable solutions.
Supporting startups through Introduces
LSNS continues to support early-stage companies through Life Sciences Introduces, an event designed to help founders showcase their innovations, receive practical feedback, and build meaningful connections within the ecosystem.
This year marked a key milestone with the 40th company introduced, including 16 new companies engaged over the past year.
By connecting founders with experienced industry professionals and ecosystem partners, the program helps accelerate growth and strengthen the pipeline of innovation across the province.
Investing in talent and future growth
Building a strong, future-ready workforce in life sciences is a key priority for LSNS. Through programs like the newly-launched Talent Accelerator Co-op Program , we supported 14 student placements across eight member companies, helping organizations access emerging talent while giving students meaningful, hands-on experience in the sector.
These efforts are part of a broader suite of programs designed to support startup and scaleup companies at critical stages of growth. From helping solve technical challenges, to strengthening how they present and position their innovations, and enabling them to build new partnerships beyond the province, these supports are designed to be practical, responsive, and impact-driven. They help companies build capacity and continue advancing innovation across our ecosystem.
Looking ahead
Members also received an update on our collaboration with the team at CGI. By collecting feedback from members and ecosystem partners, we created a new strategic plan focused on how LSNS can strengthen the member experience, enhance services, and create even stronger connections across the sector.
The resulting strategic plan will help guide the organization’s growth while ensuring members receive personalized, responsive support.
With continued growth across membership, programming, and innovation, LSNS is building momentum that will carry into the year ahead, and advancing the importance of our sector in Nova Scotia.