On April 1, the Ontario Government announced a $50 million fund called “The Ontario Together Fund” which is intended to help businesses produce essential medical products amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding is aimed at helping to address the shortage of medical products such as gowns, coveralls, masks, face shields, testing equipment, and ventilators.

According to the official release from the Ontario Government, this fund will “help companies retool, build capacity, or adopt the technological changes needed to produce supplies and equipment for hospitals, long-term care homes, and other critical public services.”

Companies interested in applying for funding can do so by submitting this form on the Ontario Government website. 

This funding comes on the heels of a number of updates from Health Canada announcing that they will be fast-tracking authorizations for companies to sell and import medical products in light of COVID-19 shortages. We’ve included these updates below:

1. Personal Protective Equipment: Health Canada has announced an expedited pathway for Medical Device Establishment Licenses (read more here). This expedited pathway is available for:
   • N95 facepiece respirators
   • Gowns
   • Masks
   • Face shields
   • Isolation units, pods, or rooms intended for transporting infected patients 
   • Nasal pharyngeal swabs
2. COVID-19 Test Kits: Health Canada has announced an Interim Order (IO) for the importation and sale of Class-IV medical devices used to diagnose COVID-19 (read more here).These devices include nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) and serological tests. If you hold market approval for these types of tests from a foreign regulatory authority, you can omit submission of any safety, efficacy, or quality info on your application.

In these troubling times, we are amazed at how our clients and our industry, in general, have risen to the challenge. We commend you for your active and ongoing efforts to protect the health of our citizens. This is not only true of those of you who are providing the front-line products and services needed to fight this pandemic but also those of you whose products and services support the ongoing health and well-being of the public (which is all the more important as our communities find themselves shuttered and isolated).

dicentra is proud to be working with you in these efforts as together we continue to meet this unprecedented challenge.

If you have any questions about this article or any other regulatory matters, please contact dicentra today.