Aspect Biosystems gets over $70 million in government investment to continue innovative work

Forgive us at BCBusiness if we get all hipster over Tamer Mohamed and Aspect Biosystems. After all, we did know the biotech company’s CEO before he was cool.

Earlier this week, at Aspect’s offices on the top floor of an office building on Vancouver’s Great Northern Way, government ministers were fawning over Mohamed.

“This is the insulin of the 21st Century,” said François-Philippe Champagne, the federal minister of innovation, science and industry as he announced his government’s plan to invest $49 million into the company.

Likewise, Brenda Bailey, the provincial minister of jobs, economic development and innovation said she was “so proud of what’s going on here,” before announcing that the province would be investing $23.7 million into Aspect.

Aspect, which develops bio-printed tissue therapeutics that are designed to replace, repair or supplement biological functions in the body, aims to help currently incurable diseases, such as Type 1 diabetes, as well as genetic and acquired liver diseases.

This magazine first covered Mohamed in our 30 Under 30 program, when it had some 20 employees. We did it again a couple years later, when it had grown to 50 staff. And then again, last year, when Mohamed won a coveted Entrepreneur of the Year award. The company now has around 90 employees.

The investments are part of a $200 million project to expand its clinical biomanufacturing capabilities and pipeline of therapeutics. “Our story is rooted in B.C.,” said Mohamed, who stressed that he was going to do everything in his power to keep the company and its innovations in the province. He also noted that the company is hoping that, at the end of four years it will have several programs in the works, including a diabetes formula. “Nothing can stop us.”