In Case You Missed It: Here’s What The MTPConnect Team Has Been Up To in October
10 November 2022
Pictured: MTPConnect CEO Stuart Dignam and COO Lisa Dubé, Boston Scientific's Professor Ian Meredith, Global Victoria's Carolin McCaffrey and MTPConnect's Libby Pearce at the 2022 MedTech Conference in Boston.
Team Australia Takes on The MedTech Conference in Boston
The MTPConnect team and 18 companies in the Australian delegation wrapped up a week of activities at the 2022 MedTech Conference in Boston, with the Australian Pavilion exhibit proving to be a popular meeting place to do business. The mission was an opportunity to showcase Australia’s outstanding innovative medical technologies and unique capabilities and build valuable connections into international markets. The delegation kicked off with a visit to JLABS in @ Washington DC. We held a welcome reception with special guest Professor Ian Meredith from Boston Scientific, and hosted a breakfast seminar with Medical Alley, MassMEDIC, Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment, the Consortia for Improving Medicine with Innovation & Technology (CIMIT) and a briefing with Austrade, The Australian Embassy and Advamed. Another highlight of The MedTech Conference was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Medical Alley Association of Minnesota with a commitment to work closely together to support the growth of medtech companies.
Minister Butler Announces $13.9M Funding Awards for CTCM and TTRA Projects
MTPConnect and the Minister for Health and Aged Care, The Hon. Mark Butler MP, announced $6.7 million funding for nine diabetes and cardiovascular disease research projects through the Targeted Translation Research Accelerator (TTRA) program and $7.2 million for new medical device projects through the Clinical Translation and Commercialisation Medtech (CTCM) program. The CTCM and the TTRA programs are funded by the Medical Research Future Fund initiative delivered by MTPConnect.
REDI Sponsors The Bridge Program
The Bridge Program announced MTPConnect’s Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry (REDI) initiative will be the new sponsor of its successful Australian pharmaceutical commercialisation training program delivered by Queensland University of Technology (QUT). REDI is delivered by MTPConnect via the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).
Podcast Features Inventia Skin and CSIRO Kick Starts Singular Health
The Podcast features two new episodes, including an interview BioMedTech Horizons (BMTH) program awardee, Inventia Skin about developing a skin printing robot to improve wound repair and a look at how the the CSIRO Kick Start Program is helping to bring R&D expertise to early-stage start-ups like WA’s Singular Health.
MTPConnect Supports AusBiotech 2022 Conference in Perth
MTPConnect sponsored the CSIRO-led panel session ‘Sovereign talent – Australia’s regulator science workforce’. Our Chair, Sue MacLeman, was part of the discussion where she spoke about the impact of our REDI program on filling critical skills gaps and providing training, fellowships and internships for our future workforce. MTPConnect team members travelled to the 2022 AusBiotech Conference in Perth, attending a range of sessions and networking with sector colleagues. Our team at the WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub organised the well-attended ‘The All Aboard WA Biotech Tour' which included 16 presentations from WA-based innovators at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research.
National Finalists in the 60th Annual Export Awards
The Minister for Trade and Tourism and Special Minister of State Senator the Hon. Don Farrell announced the list of 84 businesses as national finalists across 13 industry categories in the 60th Annual Export Awards. The Awards recognise Australian exporters for their achievements, innovation and resilience as they strive to grow and expand their global footprints. MTPConnect is throwing its support behind the Awards’ International Health Category. The finalists include, Avance Clinical, Little Green Pharma, Pharmako Biotechnologies, SDI Limited and Selbourne Biological Services. Our Chair, Sue MacLeman will present the winning award at Parliament House in Canberra in late November.
Minister Mark Butler highlights BMTH-awardee ARIA Research on World Sight Day
Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon. Mark Butler, highlighted World Sight Day by promoting ARIA Research’s world-first glasses being developed to help vision-impaired people see through sound. ARIA Research has been awarded project funding by MTPConnect’s BioMedTech Horizons Program, made possible by the Medical Research Future Fund.
REDI-backed GSK Graduate Researcher Program Opens 2023 Applications
GSK Australia is seeking applications for the 2023 cohort of the GSK Graduate Researcher Program. This industry-hosted initiative has been developed to help bridge the skills gap between academia and the pharmaceutical industry. The program aims to provide participants with a diverse range of development opportunities, hands-on experiences, and exposure, with a view to improving Australia’s success, capacity, and capability in terms of the translation and commercialisation of health and medical research. The program is supported by our REDI initiative, funded through the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).
Stakeholder Visits for Diagnostics National Action Plan
The ADAPT team continued on a busy travel schedule around Australia, visiting industry stakeholders in Brisbane and Perth to gather insights and information for a National Action Plan for developing and manufacturing innovative diagnostic tests in Australia.
Additional TIA AARMNet Pipeline Accelerator Voucher Announced
An additional Therapeutic Innovation Australia (TIA) AARMnet Pipeline Accelerator Voucher was awarded to Dr David Leaver at Charles Sturt University. He will be collaborating with Professor Forwood and Compounds Australia to research new treatments for drug resistance gonorrhoea. The Pipeline Accelerator funding supports research projects targeting antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Tonsley Innovation District Tour for MTPConnect
MTPConnect’s Stakeholder Engagement team gathered in Adelaide for two days of strategic planning and activities. Our CEO Stuart Dignam and COO Lisa Dubé also joined the meeting and took a tour around the Tonsley Innovation District, to find out more about the leading-edge research and innovation sector situated within 10 km from Adelaide.
ANDHealth Launches Awakening Giant Report in Sydney
ANDHealth launched its State of the Industry report: ‘The Awakening Giant’: The Rise of Australia’s Evidence-Based Digital Health Sector’, and our Chair Sue MacLeman and MTPConnect’s Director Stakeholder Engagement NSW & ACT Dr Duncan Macinnis were in Sydney for the event. Based on the broadest and deepest database of 550 digital health SMEs in Australia, The Awakening Giant report highlights the enormous potential of Australia's fast growing, evidence-based digital health sector.
Visits to BioMedTech Horizons Projects
Our BMTH team visited several awardee projects in NSW and Queensland during October for in-person, on-site catch ups. On the itinerary were site visits to IntelliDesignin Brisbane – to check out the prototype development of a Low Field portable MRI instrument for patient bedside imaging, and to WearOptimo in Woolloongabba – to follow progress on development of the hydration and cardiac microwearables to use in clinics that aim for real-time, minimally-invasive personalised diagnostics.
MTPConnect Supports MTAA’s MedTech22 Annual Conference
The Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA) hosted Australia’s premier medical technology industry conference in Sydney bringing together leaders and influencers from across industry, government and academia to discuss the key areas affecting MedTech. Our COO Lisa Dubé joined a panel discussion on 'Engaging with the Local Research, Innovation & Product Development Ecosystems' along with MTAA’s Stuart Anderson, ANFF’s Dr Jane Fitzpatrick, IDE Group’s George Sidis and Evolution Surgical’s Jack Lancaster.
REDI support for National Healthcare Datathon
Our REDI Initiative supported the IntelliHQ & ANZICS National Healthcare Datathon, which was held concurrently in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. The immersive two-day workshop, attended by clinicians, data experts, scientists and students, aims to solve unique healthcare challenges with big data analytics and AI-ML tools on real-world healthcare datasets. The event culminated in a National Pitch night where teams presented their solutions to a panel of expert judges for a list of prizes.
BMTH Case Study: Ingestible Capsule Set To Revolutionise Gut Health Diagnosis
Our October case study highlights Melbourne-based BMTH awardee Atmo Bioscience, a Melbourne-based digital health company developing a sophisticated gas-sensing technology which is paving the way for better understanding of gut health. Atmo Biosciences developing the Atmo Gas Capsule System*: a world-first gas-sensing capsule that, when swallowed, travels through the gut and detects gases in real time from known GI locations. Clinicians hope to use these biomarkers to diagnose gut-related conditions such as SIBO, and consequently provide targeted treatment to patients.
New Appointment for Dr Amelia Vom
Congratulations to Dr Amelia Vom who has been appointed as MTPConnect’s Director of Health and Biosecurity Strategy, based in Melbourne. In her new role, Amelia will focus on connecting Defence and National Security agencies with researchers, clinicians and industry to enable greater coordination, collaboration, integration and scale of targeted initiatives. Amelia joined MTPConnect in November 2020 and previously held the role of Senior Program Manager of Biomedical Translation Bridge program.