SA State-wide Capabilities Connected to Secure Funding to Boost Emerging Cancer Treatments
MTPConnect’s SA Team led a South Australian approach to the Medical Research Future Fund National Critical Research Infrastructure grant opportunity.
When the Australian Government announced its National Critical Research Infrastructure grant opportunity in 2022, MTPConnect’s Adelaide Intermediary Program was called upon to support South Australian applications.
Backed by the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), the three-stream funding program was created to help organisations and researchers collaborate on research infrastructure projects that could potentially solve complex health problems in areas of unmet need – the end goal being to deliver health benefits to Australians and to improve the sustainability of the nation’s health system.
Grants of up to $3M were available under Stream 1 and 2, or up to $10M under Stream 3.
Coordinating a state-wide approach
The Office for the Chief Scientist of South Australia (OCSSA) identified the grant initiative as a pathway to attract infrastructure that would underpin future research programs and industry opportunity. By taking a state-wide, coordinated approach to apply for funding, it hoped to build upon and connect the state’s strengths and set a plan for the future – formulating an exciting state agenda that would position South Australia at the forefront of innovation.
As such, the Adelaide Intermediary Program – together with the OCSSA, Health Translation SA (HTSA) and Adelaide BioMed City – set out to identify promising collaborative teams and support their efforts to submit compelling funding proposals.
The team assembled an advisory group of senior leaders in the South Australian health research and translation ecosystem to provide guidance on strategic alignment, state strengths and potential focus areas, and convened a feedback panel to offer suggestions for strengthening draft applications.
Progressing innovation
Through a series of one-on-one consultations, meetings and workshops, the Adelaide Intermediary Program and its partners engaged with 115 stakeholders and supported three grant proposals, two of which were submitted and targeted Stream 3 of the funding program.
The first proposal supported was a national application led by New South Wales-headquartered AdvanCell. This successful grant set out to establish a $26M Australian Research Network for Translation of Targeted Alpha Therapies, providing infrastructure for research and manufacturing of small molecule radioligand therapies for cancer.
AdvanCell was awarded $9.8M MRFF funding as part of the $26M Australian Research Network for Translation of Targeted Alpha Therapies. The amount awarded for investment in South Australia will fund expansion of infrastructure utilised by local network partners including the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), the Molecular Imaging and Therapy Research Unit (MITRU), the Clinical and Research Imaging Centre (CRIC), and the University of South Australia. It is also likely to increase R&D business contracts for the development of new radiopharmaceuticals; already, the application alone has strengthened South Australia’s relationship with key national stakeholders across the nuclear medicine sub-sector.
The vision for the second project application was to create a comprehensive state-wide biobank that accelerates discovery. Building on the state’s existing capabilities, this efficient, data-rich and connected biospecimen facility would collect, store and process biospecimens, creating data linkages within SA and other administrative datasets. While this application did not receive grant funding, valuable connections were made through the process that have resulted in new commercial and research partnerships, outside the scope of this grant opportunity.
Sharing knowledge and fostering connections
To strengthen the applicants’ proposals and improve their chances of a positive funding outcome, the Adelaide Intermediary Program established a working group comprised of representatives from partner organisations. This group was responsible for guiding project direction, stakeholder engagement, contributing to workshop facilitation and streamlining communication between the groups.
The Adelaide Intermediary Program supported applicants in an assortment of other ways, too. The team facilitated connections with partner organisations, so project teams could leverage their knowledge and experience; HTSA, for example, shared expertise in consumer engagement, while OCSSA provided insights from past strategic working groups in health and beyond. Insights from MRFF were sought and shared around the nuances of what they were seeking from the grant proposals. Similarly, consumer engagement frameworks were shared with applicants as a guide, and a consumer engagement process was coordinated by HTSA, which shaped the biobank proposal. An application project plan and checklist was created and shared with the applicants, and university MRFF support personnel were connected to the project teams to provide additional strategic and practical support for the submissions.
Beyond supporting grant proposals, the Adelaide Intermediary Program engages nationally with government organisations, universities and companies – strategically positioning ‘Team South Australia’ to drive further collaboration and knowledge transfer. With AdvanCell, for example, looking to engage further in South Australia, the Adelaide Intermediary Program is facilitating discussions with a range of local stakeholders to build a connected radiopharmaceuticals ecosystem. An opportunity has likewise been identified for real estate to accommodate scaling of the proposed state-wide biobanking facility, so the Adelaide Intermediary Program has connected the commercial developer with The University of Adelaide and the Adelaide Biobank.
Jo Close, Director of the Adelaide Intermediary Program, explained the team’s mission is to support organisations in bringing their innovations to life.
“Our team is focused on growing South Australia’s health and medical industry sector by fostering collaboration, strategically building capacity and attracting new opportunity across the research, innovation and translation value chain.
"We congratulate AdvanCell and the project team. It was great to see South Australian leaders collaborating and complementing this exciting proposal which will build Australia’s radiopharmaceuticals capability to deliver new diagnostics and treatment options for people living with cancer. The project will support new research and development capability, expand necessary infrastructure and create high-value jobs,” said Jo Close.
Reviewing the opportunities
To be eligible for Stream 1 funding, projects needed to address an area of unmet need by promoting the development and implementation of new research methodologies or applications – including ‘omics’-led approaches and enhanced infrastructure linkage strategies – by supporting development and/or expansion of research enablers such as biobanks, tissue repositories, novel platforms and secure health data environments.
For Stream 2, projects were required to develop and translate into practice digital therapeutics, artificial intelligence-enabled interventions and technologies (such as wearables), or applications or other software for use in clinical practice.
Meanwhile, Stream 3 targeted projects that utilised co-investment with the research sector, state and territory governments and industry in significant critical research infrastructure (such as facilities and equipment) to support the development of research capacity, to boost capability and/or effectiveness in an area of need, or to increase access to facilities and platforms for the wider research community, including within industry.
Over 10 years, the National Critical Research Infrastructure initiative will deliver $650 million in grants to Australian projects that align with one of the above three streams.
Seek support
If you are in South Australia, learn how you could improve your odds of making a successful application for funding opportunities, and book a one-on-one session with a member of the Adelaide Intermediary Program team via adelaide@mtpconnect.org.au
For organisations in other states looking for guidance or feedback on preparing a grant application, please connect with MTPConnect’s Stakeholder Engagement team by email to info@mtpconnect.org.au