A B.C. biomedical startup is looking to expand across Canada and globally.

Victoria, B.C.-based drugmaker VoxCell BioInnovation plans to keep the company’s research-and-development operations while launching small manufacturing facilities across the globe, Founder, President and CEO Karolina Valente, told Connect.

The earliest expansion could see facilities in Montreal and Toronto, she indicated. VoxCell is currently searching for potential sites, including spaces in existing buildings.

The company expects to invest $30 million to $50 million in the global development effort. Thus far in its 4.5 years of existence, Voxcell has raised $11 million.

“We are looking to five to eight years from now, but we are also getting our ducks in a row with the plans and getting ready,” she said. “So, we are fundraising right now to allow us to get to that point.”

Voxcell uses 3D bioprinting to create human-like tissue models designed to speed up and simplify approvals of prospective vascular drugs without having to test animals first. The company says the breakthrough technology holds the promise of personalized medicine, enabling treatments to be tailored to each patient’s unique genetic makeup and medical history.

Valente developed the technology while completing her doctoral studies at the University of Victoria. The company’s Victoria facility spans 12,000 square feet and employs 21 people.

“What we see is [a need for] $10 million to really grow the facilities here in Canada, and then expansion plans will come, of course driven from revenue, driven from customers.”

Valente said Voxcell wants to capitalize on Quebec’s “very hot life sciences region,” while also expanding in the U.S. and Europe.

VoxCell won an Innovation BC $10,000 pitch competition involving startups at the 2025 Web Summit technology conference in Vancouver in May.

Pictured: Karolina Valente, Founder, President and CEO of VoxCell.

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