The Ottawa Life Sciences Council today announced the jury selection of the top 10 life sciences investment and partnership prospects in Canada.

The companies selected will go on to present their case to an audience of venture capitalists, potential strategic alliance partners and conference delegates at BioNorth 2003 (November 17-19), one of North America’s premier life sciences conferences.

The finalists in BioNorth’s Top 10 in the past have proven to be highly successful in attracting funding and partnerships. Last year’s Top 10 have already accumulated over $60 million in new financing, and the finalist companies from 2000 and 2001 amassed a combined total of more than $170 million in the year following each conference.

“In recent years, BioNorth’s Top 10 has consistently proven itself to be a highly accurate indicator of the likely success stories in Canada’s life sciences sector,” said Ken Lawless, president and CEO, the Ottawa Life Sciences Council, in a news release.

The Top 10 companies were selected from a pool of entrants by an international jury of venture capitalists. Entrant companies were classified as either early stage (seeking first and second round) or emerging (seeking mezzanine or later stage) opportunities. Based on their expert knowledge of investment in the life sciences sector, the jury was asked to select the companies that they felt offered the best investment prospects.

The early stage companies are:

  • Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Vancouver)
  • BioAxone Thérapeutique Inc. (Montreal)
  • Inimex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Vancouver)
  • Interface Biologics Inc.(Toronto)
  • Zelos Therapeutics Inc. (Ottawa).

The emerging stage companies are:

  • Aegera Therapeutics Inc. (Montreal)
  • Affinium Pharmaceuticals Inc.
  • (Toronto)Cytovax Biotechnologies Inc. (Edmonton)
  • Ecopia BioSciences Inc. (Montreal)
  • Ionalytics Corporation (Ottawa).

At BioNorth 2003, the companies will have the opportunity to make 15-minute presentations on their opportunity to anaudience of venture capitalists, potential strategic alliance partners andother conference delegates.