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Health Innovation Roundup
Aug. 26, 2026

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Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation

Women's health communicator to keynote Femtech Connect

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Antigoni Studios has announced its lineup of scientific and entrepreneurial minds working to build a healthier world for women at the Femtech Connect Summit on Sept. 21 at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald. The keynote speaker is Tennessee-based doctor Brittany Barreto, who has worked in women's health throughout her career and founded then exited FemHealth Insights. The summit is one of many events taking place during Life Sciences Week (of which Taproot is a media sponsor) between Sept. 21 and 25.

Femtech Connect also includes a panel with speakers from near and far. Moderated by Carole Anne Devaney of Global News Edmonton, the local speaker is Sophie Gray of DiveThru, whose therapy business was early to go virtual and has four studios in the region, plus service in other parts of the province, British Columbia, and Ontario. DiveThru received the largest investment from the Edmonton Edge Fund in 2024 to support its expansion, to the tune of $750,000. The other speakers come from elsewhere, including leaders from Reya Health of London, ON, which focuses on birth control; Calgary's Neuraura, which is building wearable and implantable medtech; and CELLECT Laboratories, a company from Waterloo, ON, that uses menstrual-product nanotech to diagnose various conditions.

Antigoni co-founders Riya Ganguly and Kate Ellis explained what femtech is and isn't during a launch event earlier this year. Femtech is any science-backed innovation that supports women's health, from drugs to leak-proof underwear to life-saving tools such as the JADA System for postpartum uterine care. Ellis emphasized that femtech is far removed from wellness or lifestyle brands such as Gwyneth Paltrow's goop. Non-member registration for Femtech Connect starts at $225, but students can get in for $99. Exhibitor booths are available for $1,000.

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Social innovation

  • The University of Alberta opened its $16.8-million First Peoples' House for more than 2,000 Indigenous students. The 40,000-square-foot building includes study and mentoring areas, a gym, a sacred healing space, and a garden of tipis for quiet reflection. Assistant dean Shana Dion called the opening an example of "meaningful, grounded reconciliation."
  • Free Play for Kids recruited former Canadian national soccer player Randy Edwini-Bonsu to lead its Edmonton soccer program, which offers free participation to youth who can't afford to play elsewhere. Edwini-Bonsu left a 32-employee avocado farm in Ghana — where he had also been coaching high school soccer — to take on the role as director of the Wolves Athletic Club. "When they mentioned Free Play to me, it was a no-brainer because I played for free growing up," he said.
  • The Edmonton Community Foundation explored the power of early childhood education on Episode 212 of The Well Endowed Podcast. Fewer than 46% of Alberta children enter kindergarten ready in all five developmental areas, research shows, so ECF has made early childhood development a strategic priority, investing $2.5 million through 59 grants to organizations supporting children and families.

More health news

  • Alberta's new integrated driver's licences include health card numbers with expiry dates, replacing paper cards. The Alberta Medical Association has raised concerns that vulnerable Albertans may unknowingly let coverage lapse, potentially facing out-of-pocket costs for non-emergency care. The province says no one will be turned away from emergency services. Existing paper cards will expire on July 2, 2031.
  • Alberta now has a record 14,156 registered physicians, indicates data from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta — a 9.5% increase over the past year, including 510 new family doctors. Strathcona-Sherwood Park MLA Nate Glubish celebrated the increase but blamed population growth of roughly 500,000 over four years for continued strains on access to care. An analysis from The Alberta Worker agreed, while further noting that cancellations outpaced new registrations in the second quarter of 2026.
  • More than 1,720 babies were born between May and July at the Lois Hole Hospital for Women inside the Royal Alexandra Hospital. That's nearly 20 a day, including 61 sets of twins and four sets of triplets. Neonatologist Sowjanya Sivakoti told Global News that the unit has faced sustained high activity and believes increased use of fertility drugs may be behind the rise in multiples.
  • Alberta is investing $5 million in midwifery services as the final installment of a three-year, $10-million investment announced in 2024, focused on increasing the province's midwifery workforce.
  • In a personal essay for Forward Weekly, Leif Gregersen drew on his experience with schizoaffective disorder to argue that treatment alone is not enough for recovery from serious mental illness — stable housing, income, and community support are also essential. Punishing disability policies and a fragmented support system create "false economies" that cost the public more in the long run, he wrote.

Happenings

Here are some events coming up soon:

And here are more to keep in mind:

Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.

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