As a leader in the Canadian life science investment community, Lumira Ventures has been closely monitoring and engaging with companies who are developing COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. While our portfolio companies and employees within have been significantly impacted by the current crisis, much like the broader innovation and startup ecosystem, we have been proud of their responses and efforts to leverage their technologies to fill needs in the battle against COVID-19. One of our portfolio companies Bardy Diagnostics recently launched a Mail-to-Patient service that enables fully remote cardiac monitoring for both populations at high-risk of COVID-19 and patients who simply cannot get to their clinicians during “shelter-in-place”. A number of our infectious disease portfolio companies are also exploring the relevance of their technologies and resources toward COVID-19 treatments. Last week, Lumira Ventures participated in a private placement with IMV Inc. who are exploring the use their DPX immunotherapy platform, currently in the clinic for various cancers, to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
While we can point to many examples of companies and individuals across the life science space trying to do their part, what is clear is that life as we know it will not be the same until we develop a vaccine, and until then, those most impacted will continue to need long-term support. We continue to be inspired by organizations doing their part both upstream in the innovation ecosystem and downstream in the organizations we are coordinating with as part of the Double Bottom Line Challenge. This week we are honored to have supported an additional group of high-impact initiatives doing their part to support those in need in our community:
Fred Victor: fredvictor.org. A Toronto-based organization that offers shelter, food and essential resources to the homeless. Fred Victor initiated the COVID-19 Fund to provide these individuals with the necessary support to keep them safe and healthy in this challenging time.
Food For Thought: foodforthought.cafe. An Ottawa-based initiative supported by local chefs and restaurants that provide nutritious meals to families who need it most. Since the start of the outbreak they have provided over 20k meals to families in need across the city.
St. Stephen’s Community House: schto.ca. This Toronto-based organization provides support and services to the homeless. Lumira’s donation supports an Overdose Prevention Site that remains operational during COVID-19.
Sustain the Line: sustaintheline.com. An organization that supports provides meals crafted by local restaurants to healthcare workers on the frontlines in cities across Canada and the US. Lumira supported a new initiative to provide meals to frontline workers in Fort MacMurray.
The Stop: thestop.org. A Toronto-based community centre that provides emergency food access including food bank services and takeout meals to individuals and families in the community.
We continue to call upon our colleagues in the venture capital and private equity community to join us in this mission. Please feel free reach out to a member of our team if you would like to work with us or suggest any high value initiatives achieving Double Bottom Line Impact that you think we should consider supporting.
Sincerely,
The Lumira Ventures Team