On March 20, 2020, the Government of Canada sent a call to action to Canadian businesses and manufacturers to help deliver critical health supplies that will help Canada fight the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Since then, the government has been working with almost 3,000 companies who have stepped up to offer their expertise and capacity.
One of those companies is Victoria’s StarFish Medical, the country’s largest medical device design, development and contract manufacturing company.
Through the Next Generation Manufacturing Supercluster (NGEN Canada), at least $50 million has been made available to develop and produce new, in-demand technologies, equipment, and medical products such as virus screening tests, vaccines, therapeutics, and symptom management treatments.
It also includes medical equipment to care for Canadians such as ventilators, peripherals, personal protective equipment, and cleaning and sterilization chemicals and equipment.
StarFish is leading the first phase of a project to develop an open-source, safe, effective, and cost-efficient ventilator design.
StarFish was the only BC-based company to be identified as a solution finder in the race for supplies, with the majority of firms being based in Central and Eastern Canada.