Biopharmaceutical Investment Program (BIP)

Projects that are approved under BIP will be eligible for a contribution from Ontario up to 20% of total eligible project costs.

No. Once the application package is posted on the ministry's web site, applications will be accepted on a continuous flow basis until the $150M is fully subscribed.

Proposals will be individually assessed having regard to the nature of the Project and the financial capacity of the Applicant to perform the Project. Funding will be awarded on the basis of excellence. This means that even if an application meets all of the program criteria, there is no guarantee that funding will be awarded as there may be other Projects of higher quality and/or that more effectively meet program objectives.

A rigorous review will be undertaken to assess the Applicant’s proposal against the program goals and the assessment criteria outlined in Appendix A – Project Assessment Tool.

The Minister of Research & Innovation will conditionally approve Projects, taking into consideration advice from ministry staff and the outcome of reviews from technical experts. Minister’s decisions not to approve any particular application will be final and binding.

The ministry will notify successful Applicants once formal conditional approval of Projects has been received from the Minister of Research and Innovation. Approval will be conditional upon the negotiation of terms and the execution of an agreement satisfactory to Ontario.

Companies whose primary source of business comes from patented products that have received marketing approval by way of a Health Canada New Drug Submission or the equivalent submission in the United States, the European Union or Japan; and which holds at least one patented human health drug product approved for sale in one or more of the following markets: Canada, the United States, the European Union, and/or Japan. Other markets may be identified by the ministry from time to time. The BIP program does not provide funding for business restructuring or regular capital reinvestment.

No. The BIP program is intended to provide targeted financial support to eligible companies in Ontario to undertake R&D and/or an advanced manufacturing project that directly leads to investment and job creation. Ontario will provide up to 20% of a project’s total eligible costs, generating industry investments above and beyond their current investment level.  University-based research institutions and other entities engaged in research and commercialization activities may be eligible under other government programs that would be more appropriate to their specific needs, such as MRI’s Ontario Research Fund, Market Readiness Program and the Innovation Demonstration Fund. These programs provide funding to universities, colleges, hospitals, and not-for-profit companies to stimulate research that will transfer technology from the lab to the commercialization stage. See MRI website: www.ontario.ca/innovation

Yes. The BIP program will give priority to Projects that demonstrate significant collaboration with Ontario biotech firms and public research institutions including innovative business practices, extensive collaborations, strengthening networks, and/or building new institutes . Any funding agreements would be made with a legal entity satisfactory to the ministry.

Eligible Costs are one-time costs directly attributable to the development and implementation of the Project.  Details of eligible and ineligible costs are provided in Appendix B - Eligible and Ineligible Project Costs

Ineligible costs include those associated with ongoing costs of production or operations, general working capital requirements, land purchase, labour (ongoing/operational), business case preparation, vehicles and off-site equipment, advertising and marketing, remuneration to shareholders or other costs not directly attributable to the approved Project (e.g. debt service costs; federal or provincial income taxes, surtaxes or special expenses; lobbying expenses; remuneration to shareholders etc.) Details of eligible and ineligible costs are provided in Appendix B - Eligible and Ineligible Project Costs

The BIP program encourages firms to leverage other funding sources in addition to BIP, to enable firms to maximize their total investment in leading edge R&D and/or advanced manufacturing technologies and to locate these investments in Ontario.

The Ministry of Research and Innovation is subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The Act provides every person with a right of access to information in the custody or under the control of the ministry, subject to a limited set of exemptions. Section 17 of the Act provides a limited exemption for third party information that reveals a trade secret or scientific, commercial, technical, financial or labour relations information supplied in confidence where disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to result in certain harms. Any trade secrets or scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information submitted to the ministry in confidence should be clearly marked. The ministry will notify you before granting access to a record that might contain information referred to in Section 17 so that you may make representations to the ministry concerning disclosure.