Medical Research Future Fund team visits WA-based BMTH awardees
15 March 2024
Recently, the WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub has been hosting site tours to WA-based companies that received funding through the BioMedTech Horizons (BMTH) program – Advanced Genetic Diagnostics, OncoRes Medical, Proteomics International, VitalTrace, Artrya, Cortical Dynamics, and ClearDrum, for WA-based team members of the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).
Launched in 2017, the $45 million BMTH accelerator program was an initiative of the MRFF designed and delivered by MTPConnect to support early-stage medical device developments to move towards commercialisation. The program funded 49 innovation projects across four funding rounds, with the first phase – BMTH1 – concluding on 29 October 2021 and the second phase – covering rounds 2, 3 and 4 – concluding on 30 June 2023.
The BMTH Impact Report, released to coincide with the conclusion of the program’s second phase in 2023, highlighted Western Australia’s standout performance, with the state coming in third position for funding awarded but excelling in successfully converting EOIs submitted to receiving funding. Applicants from WA had the highest success rate.
MTPConnect Director Stakeholder Engagement WA, Dr Tracey Wilkinson said that the achievements from WA’s BMTH awardees are testament to the strong health and medical life sciences ecosystem in the state.
‘The WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub was established to build on the state’s history of medical research and innovation and support the growth of a future key economic priority sector. The state’s success in the BMTH accelerator demonstrates the high quality, high impact innovation happening- and staying- in WA’s burgeoning medtech sector.
‘Combatting the tyranny of distance requires constant and consistent engagement to ensure WA voices are heard and is a priority for us at the WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub. It has been wonderful to work with the MRFF team and then for them to connect to some of our WA medtech innovators to share insights and learnings from their experiences- and showoff our medtech sector!’
Read more about these innovative WA-based companies:
Advanced Genetic Diagnostics (AGD) is working to identify cardiovascular disease risk sooner than current methods allow, to enable earlier management and potentially disease prevention. AGD is applying its breakthrough genetic technology to develop tests that can predict a person’s individual risk of suffering various cardiovascular conditions.
With a focus on improving the accuracy of breast conserving surgery, OncoRes Medical is driven by a mission to eliminate repeat operations after breast conserving surgery by translating a surgeon’s sense of touch into a handheld diagnostic device.
Proteomics International is recognised as a leader in the field of proteomics, developing and commercialising diagnostic tests for chronic diseases including its PromarkerD test, which predicts chronic kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes up to four years in advance.
Committed to empowering obstetricians and midwives to deliver the greatest outcomes for their patients, VitalTrace is developing a highly accurate biosensor to improve the safety of mothers and babies during childbirth.
Artrya is set on improving clinical outcomes for those at risk of heart attack through its Artificial Intelligence-based tools to analyse coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) images.
Cortical Dynamics has developed a next-generation medical brain monitor. Its core product, the Brain Anaesthesia Response Monitor (BARM™), is used in surgical theatres to provide anaesthesiologists with an objective measure of the depth of anaesthesia and, for the first time, an objective measure of pain – enabling them to keep patients optimally anaesthetised and pain free.
Clear Drum (based within Ear Science Institute)
Clear Drum is addressing chronic middle ear disease (CMED) through a mechanically and acoustically optimised silk-based implant that is the first of its kind to mimic the real properties of a natural eardrum, one that will hopefully provide effective long-term solutions for patients.