NSBI Nova Scotia Business inc.

Dr. Abdullah Kirumira

Internationally-Recognized Inventor, Life-Saver

Call him the Robin Hood of Nova Scotia’s biotechnology industry. Dr. Abdullah Kirumira, founder and CEO of Windsor, NS-based BioMedica Diagnostics Inc., has developed a unique business model that redistributes wealth and medical diagnostics technology from the world’s richest countries to its poorest.

As a kid growing up in Uganda, Dr. Kirumira heard from his elder siblings – most of whom are physicians – the challenges of practicing medicine without affordable diagnostics support.

So as a biochemistry professor at Acadia University in Wolfville, Dr. Kirumira focused his research on developing diagnostics tools for some of the most pressing health problems on his native continent. With a team of student researchers, he ultimately developed the world’s first rapid acting HIV test.

His firm, BioMedica Diagnostics, develops and sells reagents used for diagnosing such illnesses as thrombosis and heart disease. The proceeds of this line of reagents offsets the costs of his “Lab in a Box” and “Medical Village” technology – complete diagnostics tools for cash-strapped clinics in developing countries of Africa and South America.

Dr. Kirumira says locating in Nova Scotia has been central to his success. “Business development partners such as NSBI support the growth of technology companies like mine,” he says. “We also have access to well-educated staff who can contribute to an entrepreneurial firm from the start.”