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

09 June 2022

Pictured: MTPConnect’s Jo Close chaired the panel 'Global Competitiveness of Australia’s growing Manufacturing Hubs' at AusMedtech 2022 in Melbourne.

Eighteen New REDI Fellows Announced
Eighteen high-skilled Australian researchers, clinicians and professionals from the medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector have secured sought-after industry placements under the REDI (Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry) Fellowship program. The new fellows who were selected from the November 2021 round are from New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia and will be working for up to 20-months with small, medium and international companies based in Australia and Europe.

REDI Announces New Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program Partner
MTPConnect is pleased to announce its partner for the REDI supported Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program (CEP) – the University of Melbourne and University of Western Australia Partnership, which also includes more than 20 other associates, of which five are major hospitals.

REDI Fellowship Program Re-opens – Call for Industry Sponsors to Apply
The REDI Fellowship program re-opened to provide further grants of up to $250,000 to industry to secure a limited number of fellowships in the medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical (MTP) sector. The REDI Fellowship program gives industry the opportunity to select a researcher, academic, clinician or technology transfer professional to collaborate on priority medical research projects involving discovery, translation and commercialisation. Applications close 27 July 2022.

Announcing New REDI Training Partners to Boost Medical Product Commercialisation
Continuing the REDI initiative’s commitment to addressing workforce skills gaps, five consortia have been awarded contracts through Round Three of the Contestable program to deliver training and education programs – ARCS Australia Consortium, PRAXIS Australia Consortium, IntelliHQ Consortium, Centre for Biopharmaceutical Excellence Consortium and Wrays Consortium.

New REDI Brochure Launches 11 New Industry Training Programs for 2022-23
Our Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry (REDI) Initiative launched 11 new industry training courses/programs with seven new industry partners for 2022-23. An updated edition of the courses brochure is available online.

BMTH Round 4 Awardees Announced
Three important medical technology projects in Victoria and Western Australia were awarded nearly $900,000 in funding 
through the fourth round of the BioMedTech Horizons (BMTH) program delivered for the MRFF. Congratulations to Atmo Biosciences, Cortical Dynamics and Proteomics International.

Podcast Episodes Showcase Rapid Response Revival and BTB’s Dimerix Biosciences Project
This month's episodes featured the story behind CellAED - a life-saving portable defibrillator for use in homes, workplaces and community spaces being developed by Sydney start-up Rapid Response Revival. We also chatted with Dimerix Bioscience's Dr Robert Shepherd about their BTB-supported project, investigating a potential treatment for patients with lung complications from COVID-19.

TTRA Research Centre ACADI officially launched to unite in the fight against diabetes complications
The newly established Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations (ACADI) led by A/Prof Elif Ekinci from the University of Melbourne aimed at improving the lives of people living with diabetes was officially launched. Established by MTPConnect’s Targeted Transition Research Accelerator (TTRA) Initiative, the ACADI Research Centre was awarded $10 million over four years from the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and $13.3 million in cash and in-kind contributions from 70 partners across the country. 

AAMRNet Calls for New Pilot Fund for Antimicrobials
With antimicrobial resistance (AMR) widely acknowledged as one of the biggest threats to global health, a new position statement issued from the Australian Antimicrobial Resistance Network (AAMRNet) highlights innovative strategies for bringing new antibiotic treatments to market. The Position Statement is set to spur action on pricing and funding of novel antimicrobials in Australia and includes a call for a new pilot fund that re-thinks our approach to valuing these life-saving medicines.

REDI News: GSK Australia announces new cohort of Graduate Researchers
GSK Australia announced the second year of its Graduate Researcher Program, welcoming a new cohort of six PhD graduates who are working across GSK projects, following the success of the inaugural program last year. All six Graduate Researchers from 2021 have now been employed in industry or received industry placements after the completion of their program. The GSK Australia Graduate Researcher Program, supported by our REDI initiative, looks to bridge the skills gap between academia and the pharmaceutical industry.

CEO Stuart Dignam takes guest spot on Health Industry Hub’s podcast
Following the release of MTPConnect’s 2022 Sector Competitiveness Plan, CEO Stuart Dignam was invited onto the Health Industry Hub’s podcast – taking a deep dive into the highlights of the medtech, biotech and pharma sector performance, the megatrends shaping the future of health, and the policy landscape necessary to drive the integration of innovation in Australia.

WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub Spotlights Brandon Capital
At our monthly Spotlight event in Perth, Brandon Capital’s Dr Helga Mikkelsen spoke with Dr Tracey Wilkinson about Brandon BioCatalyst, CUREator and opportunities for female leaders in the #MTP sector through the Wild for Stem program. The popular event is now organised as an in-person event with a virtual registration for those who cannot attend due to COVID restrictions.

Case Study: Epichem’s Formula for Success and WA Connections
Our May case study highlighted West Australian company Epichem, formed in 2003 to provide services in synthetic and medicinal chemistry to the drug discovery and pharmaceutical industries. The company has found it beneficial to connect with the MTPConnect WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub.

MTPConnect supports ANDHealth’s Digital Health Summit
MTPConnect sponsored ANDHealth’s Digital Health Summit, an AusMedtech satellite event held in Melbourne. Our Chair, Sue MacLeman, stepped in to chair the panel, ‘Face-Off: Regulation vs Revenue-Which Path to Take’.

Supporting WA’s Science on the Swan
MTPConnect’s Dr Tracey Wilksonson chaired a panel alongside local MTP innovators at Science on the Swan 2022. The WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub was a sponsor of this years’ event.

MTPConnect supports ARCS Annual Conference in Sydney
REDI Director Jarrod Belcher was part of the panel, ‘Addressing Workforce Capacity and Capability in the MTP Sector’ at the ARCS Annual conference held in Sydney. Director Stakeholder Engagement NSW and ACT Dr Duncan Macinnis also presented on skills gaps and careers in the MTP sector. MTPConnect was pleased to be involved as a Session Stream sponsor.

MTPConnect supports AusMedtech 2022
With AusMedtech kicking off in Melbourne, our Director Adelaide Intermediary Program Jo Close chaired the session, ‘Global competitiveness of Australia’s growing manufacturing hubs’, which was sponsored by MTPConnect. Our Senior Director TTRA Program Lauren Kelly appeared as part of the session hosted by Illumina, 'Lunch & Learn - Accelerators & Incubators Reverse-Pitch'. The popular AusBiotech event provided an opportunity for MTPConnect team members to catch up with sector stakeholders face to face.

MTPConnect Appoints New Chief Operating Officer
Lisa Dubé was appointed as MTPConnect's new Chief Operating Officer based in Melbourne. Lisa’s strong management background in the biotech sector, has included roles as Deputy and Acting CEO at the Cancer Therapeutics CRC (Collaborative Research Centre) where she oversaw a highly successful collaboration that successfully licensed two drug candidates to multinational pharmaceutical companies in an historic deal.

MTPConnect Expands the Team 
Our CTCM team welcomed Dr Michelle Lam as the Senior Program Manager for our Clinical Translation and Commercialisation MedTech (CTCM) Program. The Adelaide Intermediary Program has also expanded, following the appointments of Dana Bell as Innovation and Translation Intermediary and Pia Vogrin as Engagement and Communications Manager. Tori Mynard joined the BioMedtech Horizons Program as an intern for a short-term project.

MTPConnect team joins Connecting Women’s Lunch
Part of MTPConnect’s Melbourne-based team came together with stakeholders across the sector for the BioMelbourne Network’s Connecting Women’s Lunch, at The Sofitel, Melbourne.