Leading Health and Life Sciences in Nova Scotia

Modernizing EQUITY TAX CREDITS in Atlantic Canada and Stimulating Innovative Companies

Jan 8, 2019 | News

BioNova advocates on behalf of the sector for initiatives that are important to attract investment to the province. learn more about the recommendations we’re presenting to Government on modernizing Equity Tax Credits for Atlantic Canada by clicking on the image below.
To add your signature of support for these recommendations CONTACT US

Update: Province Announces Innovation Equity Tax Credit
highlights: The new tax credit applies to investments up to $250,000 in eligible businesses, which is $200,000 more than the current Equity Tax Credit. Nova Scotian investors will receive a tax incentive of 35 per cent, or 45 per cent in priority sectors of oceans technology and life sciences.

thumbnail of Modernizing Equity Tax Credits in Atlantic Canada V1

ENTREVESTOR: Momentum for Tax Credit Revamp

Jan 8, 2019 | BF2030, Grant Thornton, News

The investment tax credit discussion in Atlantic Canada has been intensifying lately, and now Senator Colin Deacon is taking up the cause. These provincial taxation measures give private investors a tax break if they invest in approved companies. All four Atlantic provinces now offer these credits, as do most Canadian provinces and American states. Players in the startup community have been pushing for improvements for ages – a position I’ve advocated for in this column several times over the years. Those calls are now intensifying. In June, a group headed by Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency exec James Curry issued a discussion paper recommending these credits be harmonized and be offered to investors outside a company’s home province. And now Deacon, a serial entrepreneur named to the Senate last summer, is pushing for similar changes. “A good startup ecosystem needs a good angel group,” said Deacon in an interview last week. “Equity tax credits are a great way for governments to leverage their investment in startups . . . through private investments.” He argues that equity tax credits (the name of the Nova Scotian program; each province has its own name for them) help to generate recurring waves of new companies year after year. That ensures the startup community keeps growing. The main problem is that each province grants the credit only to taxpayers who live in that province. This means the credits can attract only a small pool of investors – exceptionally small in dollar terms given that there is less wealth in Atlantic Canada than in other parts of the continent. Traditional Businesses are Linking up with Startups, to their Mutual Advantage Curry’s paper – co-written by BioNova head Scott Moffitt, Ogden Pond CEO Sean Sears, and Grant Thornton tax partner Keith MacIntyre – recommends that Atlantic Canada “regionalize” investment tax credits. That means the rules would be uniform across the region. (New Brunswick currently has the most generous tax credit by a long shot.) And it would mean investors in one province could receive a credit for funding a company in another province. Deacon and the paper’s authors even want the credits to reward investors who live outside the region. Some American states such as Arkansas and Minnesota already allow external investors to benefit from their tax credits. The thinking is that it’s more important to get money into growing companies than be concerned about where the investor is based. So far, the talk about enhanced credits is just that – talk. But there is more talk than a few years ago. (BioNova and Grant Thornton will continue the discussion with an information session in Halifax on Wednesday at noon at the Innovacorp Enterprise Centre on Summer Street.) Deacon says the discussion is intensifying because the region’s startup community has proven it can generate wealth, exports and jobs, and policy makers are looking for ways to perpetuate that success. Click here to continue reading

ENTREVESTOR: One To Watch in ‘19: McCain Foods

Jan 4, 2019 | News, TruLeaf

See the full article here We reported a few weeks ago that McCain has now taken over the management of Halifax-based TruLeaf Sustainable Agriculture. Last spring, McCain made its second investment in Fredericton-based Resson as part of a $14 million equity funding round. McCain Foods also works with Fiddlehead Technology of Moncton and Eigen Innovations of Fredericton. East Coast Startups Tapping Into Accelerators Beyond our Borders.  TruLeaf specializes in vertical farming, and will soon open its $16 million plant in Guelph, Ont., which will use data analytics and artificial intelligence to maximize its vegetables’ output and nutritional value. TruLeaf aims to become the North American leader in vertical farming – an ambition that will require so much capital and management expertise that it couldn’t be achieved without the help of a company like McCain Foods.]]>

ENTREVESTOR: Curwin Steps Down as TruLeaf CEO

Dec 17, 2018 | News, TruLeaf

Read full article here Gregg Curwin has stepped down as CEO of AgTech company TruLeaf Sustainable Agriculture, paving the way for McCain Foods to steward the company through a phase of expected “exponential” growth. In an interview last week, Curwin said it was his decision to step down and he did so with the full support of the TruLeaf board and major investors. All decided the company’s ambition and the complexity of its machine learning-driven vertical farms required a larger management team and access to more capital. Curwin left the post late last month. Halifax-based TruLeaf aims to be the North American leader in vertical farming, which combines hydroponic technology, LED lighting and reclaimed rainwater with machine learning to produce vegetables year-round indoors. Vertical farming is nearly 30 times more efficient than traditional agriculture, uses as much as 95 percent less water, and takes up less land.  ]]>

Collaboration with Major European Lateral Flow Test Developer and Sona Nanotech Inc.

Dec 4, 2018 | News, SONA NanoTech

Read the original press release here Halifax, Nova Scotia–(Newsfile Corp. – December 4, 2018) – Sona Nanotech Inc. (CSE: SONA) has signed a collaboration agreement with one of Europe’s largest lateral flow test developers, who will integrate Sona’s nanorod technology into their market-established lateral flow assays. Operon SA, based in Zaragoza, Spain, produces a range of rapid diagnostic test and molecular diagnostic products, which it exports to more than 50 countries. Operon and Sona have agreed to work together to improve the performance of Operon’s currently in-market lateral flow tests to help further establish their market share in the infectious disease arena. If the feasibility study is successful, further development will take place with the expectation to launch products into the market in the first half of 2020. Sona CEO Darren Rowles said: “Sona Nanotech is growing its presence in the lateral flow market, and this agreement with one of the largest and most respected developers in Europe demonstrates the scale of our ambition. We are confident that Sona’s unique gold nanorods will improve the performance of Operon’s tests while remaining cost-competitive, allowing expansion of their market share in this multi-billion-dollar market segment*. I am confident this collaboration is just the start of a long and productive relationship between our companies.” Tomas Toribio, MD of Operon, said: “Operon is always looking for new innovations that will improve the performance of our diagnostic tests and provide a more cost-effective offer for our customers. Sona’s gold nanorods are a unique and impressive technology and we look forward to working together to maximise their potential in our lateral flow assays.” About Sona Nanotech Inc. Sona Nanotech Inc. is a nanotechnology life sciences firm that has developed two proprietary methods for the manufacture of rod-shaped gold nanoparticles. The principal business carried out and intended to be continued by Sona is the development and application of its proprietary technology for use in multiplex diagnostic testing platforms that will improve performance over existing tests in the market. Sona’s gold nanorod particles are CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium) free, eliminating the toxicity risks associated with the use of other gold nanorod technologies in medical applications. It is expected that Sona’s gold nanotechnologies may be adapted for use in applications, as a safe and effective delivery system for multiple medical treatments, pending the approval of various regulatory boards including Health Canada and the FDA. Sona is a publicly listed company on the Canadian Securities Exchange existing under the laws of Nova Scotia, with its operations in Nova Scotia. About Operon Operon has been developing, manufacturing and selling lateral flow tests to the global market for more than 26 years. Its main product lines are:

  • Raw Materials: monoclonal antibodies and recombinant antigens.
  • Immunocromatography: rapid lateral flow tests.
  • Molecular Diagnostic tests: Opegen and OligoGen.
  • Customized services: contract manufacturing of lateral flow tests and raw materials.
For More Information For more information about Sona, please contact: Darren Rowles President and Chief Executive Officer Telephone: (902) 442-7192 Email: Darren Rowles [email protected]]]>