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

11 January 2021

Launching the REDI Industry Fellowship Program

This month we opened applications for our REDI Industry Fellowship Program, which is providing grants of up to $250,000 for industry to secure one of up to 40 industry Fellows. This unique workforce initiative is giving industry the opportunity to select a researcher, academic, clinician or technology transfer professional to collaborate on distinct projects involving discovery, translation and commercialisation. We also held a REDI Industry Fellowship Program Information Session webinar which can be viewed as an on-demand video here.

Round One REDI Contestable Program Closes

Round One of the REDI Contestable program closed this month with proposals now under review. The Program called for suitably qualified organisations to submit proposals for new training programs to address priority skills gaps identified in the REDI Skills Gaps Analysis Interim Report. We expect to announce the successful recipients in the New Year.

First Round of Bridge & BridgeTech REDI Fellows Announced

A group of 20 Australian researchers who are alumni participants from the Bridge and BridgeTech Programs, were awarded a $10,000 fellowship for placement in the pharmaceutical or medical device industry to commercialise their work. The Bridge and BridgeTech Industry Fellowship REDI Program, supported by MTPConnect’s REDI program, involves placements of up to six months with partner companies and technology incubators to enhance understanding and skills. The fellowship recipients will advance commercialisation of research in areas including cancer, cardiac disease, autoimmune disease, infection, dentistry, antimicrobial properties of implants and tissue regeneration.

Season 2 of the MTPConnect Podcast Wraps Up

Our weekly podcast series has wrapped up for 2020, with 48 episodes released this year featuring 150 guests from across the sector sharing their stories of innovation and entrepreneurship and pandemic resilience. Australian medical and health innovation stories reached 55 countries. December episodes take you to our MD & CEO Dr Dan Grant’s keynote presentation at MTAA's Cyber Security Forum in November, and a chat with DMTC's Dr Felicia Pradera about Australia’s medical countermeasures program and future pandemic preparedness.

Presentation at AAMRI Convention

Dr Dan Grant spoke about the Australian medical research commercialisation landscape at the AAMRI Convention, connecting with 52 member organisations behind Australia’s leading medical research institutes.

Download the FY2020 Annual Report

The 2020 MTPConnect Annual Report is now available to download at our website. It provides a snapshot of the impact of our Industry Growth Centre activities for the 2020 financial year. In FY2020, MTPConnect had $161.9 million in sector support funds under management, across five strategic initiative funding programs. Across those programs, a total of $78.2 million was committed to support 103 projects as at 30 June 2020, leveraging a further $229.1 million in industry contributions and external investment.

Artyra is on the pulse

We regularly publish case studies sharing progress and successes from projects that receive our research funding. In December, we shared Artrya’s story as they aim to redefine how the risk of heart disease is detected in patients, supported by our BMTH program. The WA based medtech start-up has developed a way to more accurately analyse CT coronary angiograms using deep learning algorithms and artificial intelligence. Currently, specialists use an invasive coronary angiogram to detect arterial abnormalities but the Artrya solution is non-invasive. Artrya recently received TGA regulatory approval to launch the product in the Australian market. Read more….

Sector Supported Events

This month, MTPConnect sponsored the ACTA 2020 Summit, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute’s (BDI) annual virtual pitch showcase and the MTPConnect WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub supported WestTechFest 2020 in Perth.

Catch up on latest Webinars on our Website

As our Seminar Series launched this year and pivoted to a webinar format, you can now watch many of these sessions on our YouTube Channel as videos on-demand on our website.