On June 10, 2026, at the Palais Montcalm in Québec City, the Gala des Grands Prix Desjardins brought the 28th edition of Défi OSEntreprendre to a close. The competition received 1,619 applications and awarded $500,000 in prizes. Based in the Laurentians, Clinical Factory Solutions became the first company to earn three national distinctions.
The company won the Coup de cœur Faire affaire ensemble award, the Chief Scientist’s national favourite award, as well as first prize in the Technological and Technical Innovations category, presented by Videotron Business, which aims to support the growth of entrepreneurs.
On June 10, 1993, exactly 33 years earlier to the day, Daniel Couillard, CEO and founder, won the Devenez entrepreneur·e award for the launch of his first company, InnuScience. The Concours québécois en entrepreneuriat was the predecessor to OSEntreprendre.
This year, the judges once again recognized Daniel Couillard’s ingenuity, this time for his project of mobile medical micro-factories capable of producing medical IV solutions directly at the point of care, particularly in remote or hard-to-reach regions. A major civilian and humanitarian contribution, both in Québec and around the world.
Accessibility and decentralization of the supply chain
During the lockdown, Daniel Couillard closely monitored supply data within the healthcare network, notably through his contacts in the field. One finding struck him deeply: IV solutions, among the most essential products used in hospitals, depended on manufacturing plants that could no longer meet demand or had to cross oceans before reaching Québec hospitals. “To avoid shortages, we were forced to import our IV solutions from China and England. Water and salt at exorbitant prices. Come on, our fellow citizens deserve better than that,” says Solutions Clinical Factory CEO Daniel Couillard.
Price followed scarcity. In some cases, the cost reached as much as $600 per litre, with deliveries arriving only in limited quantities. Since then, some hospitals have rented storage space to build up safety reserves that they may never use because of expiration dates.
For Daniel Couillard, the shortage echoed a much older reality: that of his native village, as well as the challenges still faced by many Indigenous and northern communities across Canada. “I come from Parent, a small northern village near the Gouin Reservoir. We had no services; sometimes people died because of the remoteness,” he recalls. Isolation made supply chains difficult and, at times, impossible.
He had, however, left the business world behind. Founder of InnuScience in 1992, a professional hygiene company built on bacterial fermentation and exported to 37 countries under his leadership, he retired in 2019.
While others might envision a more traditional retirement, Daniel Couillard says this new venture has given fresh meaning to this stage of his life. “I knew I had the biggest, most beautiful, most important idea on the planet,” he wrote on LinkedIn. He then dedicated himself fully to adapting his hyper-concentration concept to medical IV solutions and dialysates, with the goal of developing a groundbreaking innovation in the healthcare sector.
Prototype/concept of Clinical Factory’s MicroFactory, a compact unit designed to enable the local production of medical solutions as close as possible to the point of care.
A solution that streamlines complex, fragile, and bulky logistics
IV solutions are primarily made of water, and hospitals consume hundreds of litres of it each year. Transportation and storage are expensive—even more so in remote regions, disaster-stricken areas, or during military or space missions.
Clinical Factory Solutions is turning things around: rather than shipping water, the company ships a sterile concentrate reduced by 97%, in durable, shock-resistant bottles, dividing shipping, handling, and storage needs by 40. An automated unit installed at the point of care then reconstitutes the solution using locally available potable water, producing 80 litres of solution from each litre of concentrate.
“My goal is to ensure that each hospital and each region has its own micro-factory, and that our healthcare system no longer needs to rely on external supply chains. We need to be hyperlocal in manufacturing these essential products,”
- Daniel Couillard, CEO and founder of Clinical Factory Solutions.
Challenges and opportunities
The first challenge was probably going back to university his early 60s. Daniel Couillard wanted to refresh his knowledge of the business world to gain a better understanding of the current drivers of the economy and innovation.
However, he quickly made a name for himself and was admitted to Centech Montréal’s Propulsion program, in the Medtech and Digital Health areas. This intensive 24-month program supports high-potential companies in their development and marketing stages.
In collaboration with a research centre specializing in medical engineering research, Daniel Couillard then funded his own functional prototype, a $1.5 million investment, dipping into his retirement fund—an opportunity he didn’t have when he founded InnuScience when he finished school.
This investment now allows him to highlight the performance of his technology and its potential for worldwide deployment.
“With my prototype, you can produce the solution of your choice in under 45 seconds, in a sterile, fully automated manner,” he sums up. A concrete demonstration resonates with both healthcare professionals and future financial partners.
He also joined forces with Phare Medica, a Québec-based pharmaceutical company that already has sterile bottling capabilities in a plant accredited by Health Canada and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US. This strategic partnership is sure to help accelerate the product’s market entry and reassure investors.
Regulatory approval is the next step. “Another major challenge for me is navigating the regulatory landscape. In the pharmaceutical industry, this is an extremely costly and complex process,” says the entrepreneur. A Canadian regulatory affairs specialist originally from Ukraine connected with him on LinkedIn and volunteered to help navigate the regulatory process, with the goal of eventually bringing the product to her country of origin.
Too good to be true? Daniel Couillard says he can recount a dozen similar stories of people who seemingly “fell from the sky.” Those serendipitous encounters have become the foundation of his growing team, for whom he feels tremendous pride and deep gratitude.
Défi OSEntreprendre: an incubateur for good ideas
Daniel Couillard once again thanks the entire OSEntreprendre team, highlighting their invaluable contribution to the strength and dynamism of Québec’s entrepreneurial community.
Although no system has yet been deployed in the field, doors are opening for the company. Several discussions are already underway, and interest has been strong. Among those interested:
- The Canadian Red Cross and the Canadian Armed Forces
- Doctors Without Borders
- The Canadian, European, and American space agencies
- Santé Québec and several CIUSSS
- Leaders of Indigenous communities
“Everyone is interested in this project. I’ve never seen this kind of traction before,” says the CEO.
The visibility offered by Défi OSEntreprendre has amplified this momentum. After the award winners were announced, two new recruits joined the team, La Presse featured the project in an interview, and an American group reached out for a meeting after learning about the project on LinkedIn.
What’s next? NASA has already met with the team to discuss an adapted prototype, and another promising avenue is beginning to emerge. Daniel Couillard is exploring the concept of recycled, highly concentrated oxygen, an innovative approach that remains largely uncharted in the medical field.
His goal? “To save even more lives where it was once impossible,” he concludes.
Défi OSEntreprendre: your turn!
Each year, the Défi OSEntreprendre supports students and entrepreneurs across Québec’s 17 administrative regions. A partner since 2013, Videotron Business is proud to contribute to the growth of inspiring, visionary entrepreneurs such as Daniel Couillard of Clinical Factory Solutions, as well as Armand Bahabi and Elya Quesnel of Myo Devices Myo Devices in the Technological and Technical Innovations category.
Dare to put your ideas forward! Look out for registrations for the 29th edition of the challenge.
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September 2026, By Videotron Business
