By Kulbir Singh
This month, Sona’s dream of having its own independent laboratory facility was finally realized.
Until now we had operated out of laboratory space at the University of St. Francis Xavier in Antigonish, where the company was founded back in 2014. While we are grateful to the university for all its support over the years, it was quickly becoming clear we had outgrown the space and needed a new base from which to operate.
After months of preparation work, we have moved into our new lab at the Innovacorp Technology Innovation Centre in Dartmouth. As Sona’s Chief Technical Officer, I see this as a huge step forward that will impact us positively at all levels, from businesses development, R&D and production, right through to our products and services.
This move will strengthen Sona’s production and development capacities. Sona is a fast-growing science and technology company and we have already signed a product distribution agreement with Expedeon and also signed development projects with multiple diagnostic and life sciences companies (see here, here and here), so moving to a larger lab facility is a smart move.
We can now take advantage of the large space by installing larger and more specific pieces of equipment to help streamline our processes, as well as having dedicated spaces for nanoparticle production, lateral flow test development
The physical location of our new lab is also advantageous. The previous 225km distance between our scientific and business development team is now cut to zero, which means everybody will be better informed and both sides of the business will be able to make quicker and better decisions. In addition to this, we are now only a 15-minute drive away from Halifax international airport and about the same distance from the port of Halifax, which is a very strategic location to have from a business perspective.
As Atlantic Canada’s first and only nanotechnology company, we have the responsibility to build on our success for the greater good of the region. This move is not only important for Sona Nanotech as a company, but it will also lead to the creation of new, highly skilled jobs, which will benefit the local community and impact on the economic development of the wider area.
Our move was covered by various media outlets, both online and in broadcast TV news, including Global News.
You can also watch our new video showcasing the new lab here.
We are extremely grateful for the support of our management team, the board of directors, Numus Financial, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Innovacorp for helping to make this move a reality.