BURLINGTON, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Aug. 30, 2012) - The Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Labour and Member of Parliament for Halton, on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), today announced an investment of up to $990,000 that will allow Natrix Separations to develop and bring to market innovative products for use in the development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals and vaccines.

"Our Government is investing in the people, businesses and communities of southern Ontario to create jobs, growth and long-term prosperity," said Minister Raitt. "Businesses face many challenges getting access to capital. Through the Investing in Business Innovation initiative, we are helping companies like Natrix Separations develop new ideas and take their innovations to market, so people in southern Ontario and around the world can benefit."

The funding is being provided through FedDev Ontario's Investing in Business Innovation initiative. The funding will allow Natrix to leverage more than $4 million in additional private sector investments from Canadian and International venture capital investors. This will result in the creation of ten high-quality jobs in the life sciences sectors in southern Ontario over the next two years.

Natrix Separations produces chromatographic products for purification processes using a patented technology. Chromatography is the term used to describe techniques for the separation of target molecules from contaminants. This funding will help Natrix design a prototype and develop single-use membrane-based chromatography products for large-scale biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

The new chromatography techniques and products being developed by Natrix under this project will improve the manufacturing process for biopharmaceuticals, helping to reduce processing costs and increase productivity for the bio-pharmaceutical industry.

Natrix President & CEO John Chickosky commented, "Natrix is extremely grateful for the support of Minister Raitt and FedDev Ontario. Our team has made exceptional progress in the past year, and the leaders of the global biopharmaceutical industry are enthusiastic about the promise of Natrix's proprietary technologies. This investment will play a critical role in accelerating the commercialization of these products."

Created in 2009, FedDev Ontario supports the southern Ontario economy by building on the region's strengths and creating opportunities for jobs and economic growth. The Agency has launched a number of initiatives to create a Southern Ontario Advantage and place the region in a strong position to compete in the global economy. These initiatives are designed to encourage partnerships and support projects that help the region's businesses and communities become more competitive, innovative and diversified. To learn more, please visit www.FedDevOntario.gc.ca or call 1-866-593-5505.

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This news release is available online at: www.actionplan.gc.ca.

BACKGROUNDER

Contribution to Natrix Separations Inc.

Natrix Separations Inc. was founded in 2004 by scientists from McMaster University. In 2011, a team of bio-process industry leaders joined the company and are now leading the commercialization of its proprietary chromatography technology for the capture and purification of biotherapeutics. Natrix is located in an ISO 9001 manufacturing facility in Burlington, Ont.

FedDev Ontario is providing Natrix Separations with a repayable contribution of up to $990,000 to develop a suite of high performance, single-use and multi-cycle disposable chromatographic products. FedDev's investment leverages an additional $4 million Canadian and international venture capital investments from GrowthWorks, BDC Venture Capital, DE Shaw, and the Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund. The innovation is expected to deliver significant improvements in the production process of biopharmaceutical products, thereby reducing costs and improving productivity. This investment is also expected to lead to ten high-quality jobs in the life sciences sectors in southern Ontario over the next two years

Investing in Business Innovation

Investing in Business Innovation is designed to boost private sector investment in start-up businesses to accelerate the development of new products, processes and practices and help bring them to market. The Government of Canada is focusing on a portfolio of early-stage businesses that are recognized by the investor community as having the potential for high-growth and a net long-term economic benefit for southern Ontario. The investor community includes accredited angel investors from recognized angel investor networks in southern Ontario registered with the National Angel Organization - Ontario and venture capital providers who are member of Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association.

Funding under the initiative is also available for angel investor networks and their associations to attract new investment and support the growth of angel investment funds.

Applications for funding are being accepted and assessed on an ongoing basis. For more information and to apply, please refer to the program guidelines available on the FedDev Ontario website at www.FedDevOntario.gc.ca.