In Case You Missed It: Here's What The MTPConnect Team Has Been Up To in August

04 September 2020

Pictured (L-R): Cicada Innovations' Dharmica Mistry, Perx Health's Scott Taylor, Spokle's Elisabeth Yunarko, Loop+'s Kath Hamilton, MTPConnect's Dr Duncan Macinnis and Coviu's Silvia Pfeiffer, presenting at the August Monthly Buzz.

MTPConnect Chair Appointed to Key Government COVID-19 Advisory Group

The Prime Minister, Hon. Scott Morrison MP, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Hon. Karen Andrews MP and Minister for Health, Hon. Greg Hunt MP, announced the formation of a COVID-19 Vaccines and Treatments for Australia - Science and Industry Technical Advisory Group. Our Chair, Sue MacLeman, has been appointed to the group of medical and industry experts, which will provide advice to the Australian Government on the purchasing and manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

New Appointments at MTPConnect

The MTPConnect team is growing as we begin delivering our newest initiatives, the $32 million Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry (REDI) and $47 million Targeted Translation Research Accelerator (TTRA) programs. This month, we were pleased to announce that Jarrod Belcher had joined us as Director of the REDI initiative and Dr Tracey Wilkinson also came on board as Director Stakeholder Engagement for Western Australia. Lauren Kelly, who was Director of the BTB program, has been promoted to the role of Senior Director of TTRA along with Libby Pearce who been promoted to TTRA Senior Manager, Operations & Events. Following Lauren’s move, Danielle Shand has been promoted to Director of the BTB program.

Announcing the new Guest of the Chair

MTPConnect was delighted to announce that Dr Emma Ball was selected from an extremely strong field of candidates as our second Guest of the Chair. This unique workforce initiative is aimed giving emerging sector leaders exposure to a range of board-level activities. Dr Ball, the Director, Strategy & Business Development; Head of Search & Evaluation for CSL Limited, will be attending MTPConnect Board meetings over the next twelve months, engaging with our Chair, directors and senior management and gaining new perspectives on how boards operate.

COVID-19 Impact Report - Quick Read

Back in June, we published our research undertaken in partnership with L.E.K. Consulting, exploring the impacts of the pandemic lockdown on organisations across the different parts of the MTP value chain and how companies have responded to the crisis. A concise version of that report is now available as a quick read.

APR.Intern joins REDI

MTPConnect is pleased to announce APR.Intern, Australia’s only national PhD internship program, has joined the REDI initiative as a partner. REDI is helping APR.Intern to fund 20 new MTP industry placements for PhD researchers for the remainder of 2020. If you’re looking for a STEM intern for your team, make contact.

Sector Supported Events

We continue to support collaboration throughout the sector with various sponsorships and virtual events to keep you connected. MTPConnect supported Cicada Innovations’ held its August Monthly Buzz event which featured digital health founders and their stories. We also continued support for PRAXIS Australia’s COVID-19 clinical trial webinar series. In WA, we sponsored UWA’s Quantitative Imaging Workshop in Perth.

ANDHealth Winter Summit

To preview the research report soon to be launched on ‘Adaptive Regulation for Digital Health’, Dr Dan Grant was involved in the panel session on the topic  with Dr Lisette Pregelj from The University of Queensland, Tracey Duffy from the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Dr Peter Kambouris from CSIRO Health and Biosecurity and ANDHealth’s Bronwyn Le Grice.

Listen to the Stories of the Australian MTP Sector

Our podcast keeps you connected to the people behind the science and research in our sector and this month we produced some great episodes. We spoke with pandemic vaccine development expert Professor Nikolai Petrovsky from Vaxine in South Australia about his quest for a COVID-19 vaccine. The VCCC’s Executive Director Professor Grant McArthur and Head, Education and Training Development Michelle Barrett discussed their clinical trial internships program supported by our REDI initiative. We also explored the pathways of a regional founder with PharmOnline’s founder Anna Barwick and the University of New England (UNE) Director Smart Region Incubator, Dr Lou Conway. This month, we held another ‘Seminar Series’ webinar, ‘How the R&D Tax Incentive Helps to Grow Your Business’ featuring experts from AusIndustry, the Australian Taxation Office and Access RnD Tax Solution.

Opportunities to join our team

Would you like to join our program teams of the TTRA, BTB and REDI initiatives? Please check out our website for further details about various new roles, with applications closing 14 September 2020 at 5pm AEST.

Apply to Microscopy Australia’s Technical Voucher Fund

Are you a medtech startup / SME looking to access affordable microscopy and technical services for your medical research? Microscopy Australia’s Technical Voucher Fund supports Medtech R&D by providing easy and discounted access to Microscopy Australia’s sophisticated instruments and expert technical. The Fund is an MTPConnect Growth Centre funded project and remains open for applications until 30 September 2020. Contact Dr Jenny Whiting for more information.