OLSC: Canada's Top 10 Life Science Companies Named for 2006/2007

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - Nov. 1, 2006) - The Ottawa Life Sciences Council (OLSC) is pleased to announce this year's finalists in the Canada's Top 10 Life Science Companies Competition (Canada's Top 10). The 2006/2007 finalists will present their company to an audience of venture capitalists, potential strategic alliance partners and conference delegates at BioNorth 2006-one of North America's premier life science conferences.

Once again, this year's finalists and alumni will participate in exclusive investment forums in New York and Boston in January 2007. The companies will also have the opportunity to participate in an exclusive one-day professional development workshop to perfect their pitches for a US investor audience. Since its inception, Canada's Top 10 alumni have raised over $485 Million in venture capital financing since their selection.

"Canada's Top 10 finalists represented some of the best early-stage life science opportunities anywhere" said Ken lawless, President & CEO of the Ottawa Life Sciences Council. "The competition provides an exceptional vehicle to promote Canadian companies to the North American investment community"

Canada's Top 10 finalists are selected from a pool of entrants by an independent international jury of life science venture capitalists. Entrant companies are classified as either early stage (seeking first and second round financing) or emerging/late stage (seeking mezzanine or later stage financing) opportunities. Based on their expert knowledge of investment in the life sciences sector, the jury selects the companies that offer the best investment and partnership prospects.

"This competition is a unique snapshot of emerging life science companies in Canada," states Maha Katabi, Vice-President, Life Sciences, Ventures West and Canada's Top 10 jury member. "It showcases great technologies and entrepreneurs that are ready for prime-time investing."

2006/2007 Finalists included Rimon Therapeutics of Toronto, Ontario

Award program information, company descriptions and quotes can be found at www.bionorth.ca/Top10.

About the OLSC

The Ottawa Life Sciences Council (OLSC) is a not-for-profit, member-supported, development corporation for the life sciences sector in the Ottawa and Eastern Ontario region. Our mandate, to catalyze the growth of the local life sciences community, is achieved through: networking activities, consortia building, support for technology commercialization, identification of market opportunities, information resources, sector advocacy and sector specific marketing initiatives at all levels of opportunity (local, regional, provincial, national and global). For more information about the Ottawa Life Sciences Council visit www.olsc.ca or call (613) 828-6274 x229.