NewGen Health has taken the top prize at Innovation Factory’s 16th annual LiONS LAIR pitch competition, securing $30,000 for its technology aimed at making early kidney disease detection more accessible.
The competition brought together startups from across the region at the Oakville Conference Centre on September 24, with more than 350 members of the business and innovation community attending. More than $55,000 in cash and in-kind prizes were awarded during the event.
NewGen Health won first place for its urine-based screening device and accompanying software, which are designed to enable rapid, early detection of kidney disease and help clinicians optimize patient care.
“It’s been quite a journey, starting with Founders Fast Track, where the coaching and support from the Innovation Factory team helped us make it to the top ten,” shared Mazhar Shahen, co-founder of NewGen Health. “LiONS LAIR is a hard competition, and you have to be ready to put in the work, but it’s absolutely worth it. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone on the team who supported us along the way.”
Sensible Vascular took second place and received $15,000 for its fully integrated thrombectomy system. The medical technology is designed to remove a stroke-causing clot in a single pass, with the goal of improving first-pass success and protecting brain function in stroke patients.
TOMI Nutrition finished third, receiving $7,500 for its line of clean, plant-based beverages designed to improve nutrition for toddlers and children.
Tiny Tube Bio received the $2,500 People’s Choice Award for its next-generation micropipette. The startup is developing an auto-calibrating sensor designed to deliver greater precision than conventional industry-standard micropipettes.
The 2026 finalists presented their companies to a judging panel that included Mark McQueen, Director at Deloitte Burlington Gi3; Kevin Shipley, Patent Agent, Lawyer and Head of Mechanical & Industrial Processes (Canada) at Marks & Clerk; and Emily Porta, Executive Director of Maple Leaf Angels.
This year’s LiONS LAIR also introduced the Pillar of Innovation Award, with Oakville-based Geotab becoming its first recipient. The award recognizes collaboration, leadership and contributions to the technology and innovation ecosystem across Hamilton, Halton, Brant and Norfolk.
Founded in Oakville in 2000, Geotab has grown from a family business into a global connected vehicle and fleet management technology company while maintaining its headquarters in the region.
“This year’s LiONS LAIR competition showcased an incredible array of talent and ideas that are ready to take off,” said David Carter, CEO of Innovation Factory. “It also marked a new tradition for Innovation Factory – the Pillar of Innovation Award, recognizing an organization like Geotab, which not only understands the journey of scaling a business, but has been engaged by sharing its knowledge, expertise, and resources to support start-ups across the innovation ecosystem.”
Innovation Factory is a not-for-profit business accelerator that has supported technology companies across the Brant, Halton, Hamilton and Norfolk regions since 2010. LiONS LAIR has become one of the organization’s longstanding startup programs. Since the competition launched in 2010, Innovation Factory says it has worked with more than 180 companies through LiONS LAIR and awarded more than $1 million CAD in cash and in-kind resources.
The 2026 competition was supported by sponsors and ecosystem partners including Deloitte, Marks & Clerk, Matrix Venture Studio, McMaster University, McMaster Innovation Park, Invest in Hamilton, Mohawk College and the Town of Oakville, along with several regional chambers of commerce.
