GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) aims to find and nurture life sciences innovation in the Great White North.
GSK today launched a new $50 million fund that will invest in “early stage breakthrough research” in Canada. In addition to committing funding for startup companies, the GSK Canada Life Sciences Innovation Fund will look for investing opportunities with academic and health institutions, and translational research centers.
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“This is an important step in addressing Canada’s innovation gap and we’re excited by the prospect of developing even closer ties with leading research organizations across Canada to enhance opportunities for innovation and create new high-value jobs,” Paul Lucas, president and CEO of GSK’s Canada operations said in a statement.
While the new fund will support research, it won’t be targeting research at its earliest stages. Instead, the fund aims to close the gap for research on the brink of a breakthrough but still short of the funding needed to reach commercialization. The fund will be managed by GSK’s Canada unit as well as its global corporate venture capital arm SR One, which is based in Pennsylvania. British pharma giant GSK has its U.S. headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
SR One invests globally in emerging life sciences companies. According to GSK, SR One has invested roughly $650 million in more than 140 companies since 1985.
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