Ontario investing $2.5M in Siemens Healthineers to support domestic medical technology manufacturing
by CM Staff
To scale up their production capacity, Siemens Healthineers is investing over $20 million into their Ottawa facilities to increase their manufacturing output.
PHOTO: EP&T
OTTAWA — The Ontario government is investing $2.5 million in Siemens Healthineers through the Ontario Together Fund. The investment will help increase production capacity of the epoc Blood Analysis System, a handheld device that can analyze oxygen levels in blood, helping clinicians make faster decisions with lab-quality results at the patient’s side. The project is expected to create 93 jobs over five years. To scale up their production capacity, Siemens Healthineers is investing over $20 million into their Ottawa facilities to increase their manufacturing output.
The Ontario Together Fund also announced that they will be investing an additional $50 million in 2021-22 for local businesses to strengthen their domestic supply chain capacity.
The renewed Ontario Together Fund will focus on supporting homegrown manufacturing and innovation to combat COVID-19 and provide other goods critical to the health, safety, and security of Ontarians beyond this pandemic under the following strategic pillars:
- Strengthening Ontario’s domestic manufacturing capacity;
- Supporting homegrown technologies and innovative solutions; and
- Strengthening Ontario’s MedTech ecosystem.
“The renewed Ontario Together Fund will continue to strengthen our domestic manufacturing sector, support local innovators and boost our world-class MedTech ecosystem,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “Companies like Siemens Healthineers and their epoc Blood Analysis System are a perfect example of projects that can transform our ability to respond to a crisis and enhance our resilience while strengthening our health care system.”
Siemens Healthineers is a life sciences company involved in diagnostic imaging and healthcare services. After a highly competitive international bidding process, Siemens Healthineers selected Ottawa and Ontario as the location to increase the production capacity of the epoc Blood Analysis System, making an investment of $20 million into their Ottawa facilities.
“We are very grateful to have received the Ontario Together Fund for our Point of Care business in Ottawa,” said Mathias Ganzmann, Vice President, Site Operations, Siemens Healthineers. “This funding will help us with our expansion plans over the coming years as we add more manufacturing capacity. This is a boost for our Ottawa employees and our work in supporting the healthcare sector and all the frontline workers doing such important work in Ontario.”
The handheld wireless device is used at a patient’s bedside — for example, for someone on a ventilator — to measure their blood gas parameters, including oxygen, carbon dioxide and pH levels, and their lung functioning. Doctors often use blood gas tests in emergency situations to help diagnose the cause of breathing difficulty. COVID-19 impacts oxygen levels in blood, and some reports indicate that patients who suffer even small drops in levels are at a heightened risk. The system streamlines testing times, which is particularly critical for caregivers overwhelmed during the pandemic.
