TTRA Program Funding Enables Formation Of Spin Out Companies To Accelerate Translation
Pictured: from left, co-founder of Endo Axiom, Dr Nicholas Hunt; founder of Torch Recruit, Associate Professor Jo-Anne Manski-Nankervis; and Professor Steven Wise from Nanomedx.
Formation of a spin out company from an academic institute is an important step for commercialisation of a product or solution. A spin out company provides a commercial vehicle, a greater level of agility with respect to research and development and partnerships, and a foundation with which to attract venture capital and other forms of external investment.
The Targeted Translation Research Accelerator (TTRA), a Medical Research Future Fund initiative delivered by MTPConnect, is supporting new research approaches to improve the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and their related complications.
For three TTRA Research Projects funded through Rounds 1 and 2, the structure of the funding and the support offered through the program enabled them to spin out from their respective universities to take advantage of these substantial benefits. This corresponds to 27 per cent of the academic-led projects funded through Rounds 1 and 2, further exemplifying the commercialisation springboard that is the TTRA program.
Capacity and capability building is hardwired into MTPConnect programs
Nanomedx, Torch Recruit and Endo Axiom are clear examples of how funding focused on translation and the capacity and capability building that is hardwired into the programs that MTPConnect delivers, can accelerate commercialisation and translation of medical products.
For all three companies, the founders felt that spinning out from the academic environment was the most efficient way to enable further translation of their products and the commercial activities necessary to move them towards clinical use. Founding the companies also facilitated access to new external investment sources leading to a combined raise of over $4 million in seed and Series A funding.
Importantly, operating as a spin out company has allowed each of the projects a greater level of agility, accelerating development of the products to a pace beyond that experienced in the academic setting, and to engage with new skill sets in business development and medical technology commercialisation.
Connecting with industry experts and forming partnerships
For Nanomedx, adding expertise in medtech regulation and clinical development through engagement with consultants has meant the company has been able to connect with industry experts in a way that it found more difficult when within the academic system. Nanomedx co-founder, Professor Steven Wise, puts much of this down to the commercial mentality and experience of CEO Ashish Mitra.
Torch Recruit had a similar experience and found that the new expertise gained through spinning out has allowed the company to focus on optimising the software product, forming partnerships and developing the business and pricing models.
For Endo Axiom, the youngest of the three companies, spinning out has allowed for greater engagement with industry to guide future research and development and has provided greater scope to work with different partners.
The three projects have all deeply engaged with the support offered through the TTRA program and see different aspects of this support as providing valuable learnings that were able to be applied during the company formation process.
Nanomedx – developing a new therapy to treat peripheral artery disease
Professor Steven Wise of Nanomedx found the support provided by the TTRA Partners to be of significant value, starting with the consultation phase of the application process. The interactions with MDPP and UniQuest highlighted gaps in the dataset and the best approaches to fill these, leading to a re-frame of the project. Formation of Nanomedx began shortly after notification that the funding application was successful, but the process was not straightforward. Legal negotiations to assign the background IP to Nanomedx and then licence to the University of Sydney to facilitate the TTRA funded activities threatened to be drawn out, but the support from MTPConnect acted as a catalyst to expedite the process.
Professor Wise said, “I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to found Nanomedx and have it supported through the early stages by MTPConnect and TTRA Partners MDPP and UniQuest. We are much further down the commercialisation path than I thought possible, thanks to the TTRA program. The ultimate goal of our research is to help patients with peripheral artery disease and the commercial activities enabled through Nanomedx will allow us to progress beyond the lab
Torch Recruit – accelerating clinical trial recruitment in general practice
For the formation of Torch Recruit, founder Associate Professor Jo-Anne Manski-Nankervis took learnings from the TTRA program reporting process, which compelled the spin out to focus and reflect on progress and future planning. This body of reporting was able to be used to demonstrate progress in terms of engagement, media and the program of work to build Torch Recruit. Further to this, Torch Recruit also drew on MTPConnect’s knowledge and relationships in the clinical trials space.
Associate Professor Manski-Nankervis said, “Torch Recruit aims to accelerate recruitment for clinical trials, providing opportunities to people in the community to participate in studies that may lead to new innovations to benefit health. The TTRA program, powered by MTPConnect, provided key funding and support to grow our business.”
Endo Axiom – using nanotechnology to develop oral insulin
For Dr Nicholas Hunt, co-founder of Endo Axiom, the TTRA Research Projects application form itself provided valuable insight that could be applied to the formation of the company. The questions in the application form apply an investor lens and are framed around what is typically included in a business plan. Dr Hunt felt that the application helped refine the business plan for Endo Axiom, with the plan eventually adopted for the company having a high degree of similarity to their responses in the original application.
Dr Hunt said, “Company formation and leading translation are strong areas of interest for me. I have been working on this technology for 6-7 years and it has always been geared towards translation. Getting oral insulin to the clinic is central to why we developed this technology to address challenges we saw in our hospital. Our current program of work is now beyond academic basic science research, in the so called ‘valley of death’ funding gap. The TTRA program kickstarted the $2-3 million investment need to bridge this gap, with the formation of Endo Axiom taking us the rest of the way.”
Well-defined examples of funding and support at the right time
Nanomedx, Torch Recruit and Endo Axiom are strong and well-defined examples of what can be achieved with funding and support at the right time. With many of the research projects supported directly through the TTRA and through the Research Centres - ACADI and ASHRA - still in the early phases of research and development, it is expected that many more of the commercially focused projects will benefit from spinning out to form companies.
MTPConnect and its partners will continue to provide the crucial support to enable spin out formation, where appropriate, to accelerate translation of new products and solutions for diabetes and cardiovascular disease into the clinic.
You will find further information about the TTRA initiative, including the two national Research Centres established – the Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations (ACADI) and the Australian Stroke and Heart Research Accelerator (ASHRA) – and the 22 individual Research Projects funded, in the recently published report: ‘Transforming health outcomes for diabetes and cardiovascular disease in Australia – Interim report on impacts of the first Targeted Translation Research Accelerator’.