Biomedical Translation Bridge Program

What is the Biomedical Translation Bridge?

The Biomedical Translation Bridge program is an initiative of the Medical Research Future Fund that provides funding to help eligible organisations fund and nurture early stage health and medical research to reach proof-of-concept stage with potential to attract further capital and support.

Background

The $22.3 million BTB Program is an initiative of the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF). The BTB program will identify and develop high quality projects and support their translation to proof of concept stage with potential to attract further capital and support. The projects will lead to new therapies, technologies, medical devices and preventative interventions to improve the health of Australians. They will also generate commercial returns, helping create the high paying jobs of the future and drive economic growth in Australia.

The BTB program is led by MTPConnect, the Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals (MTP) Industry Growth Centre, in partnership with BioCurate (The University of Melbourne and Monash University), UniQuest (University of Queensland through its drug discovery initiative QEDDI), the Medical Device Partnering Program (MDPP, led by Flinders University) and the Bridge and BridgeTech programs through the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

Objectives

The BTB program aims to address key national gaps in Australia’s research sector and support three goals:

Increased commercialisation focus and expertise in early stage research and decision-making across Australia
Accelerated development, and improved success, of early stage research that has commercial potential so that it can ultimately be commercialised into products and services that improve the health outcomes of Australians as well as contribute to the Australian economy
Helping to identify existing and new sources of capital investment to bolster awareness and interest in early research investment opportunities.

Funding

Research ventures that are successful for funding under the BTB Program will enter into a partnership with MTPConnect and receive up to $1 million over a period of up to two years. Research ventures will be required to provide one-to-one matching funding (cash) to be eligible.

Eligible Projects

The Biomedical Translation Bridge program will fund:

Research and development projects to achieve proof-of-concept
Development to progress novel therapeutics or medical devices. There must be a clear value proposition for the proposed drug candidate or medical device product and differentiating features from currently available solutions.

Commonwealth Funding provided through the BTB program can only be spent on eligible expenditures incurred on eligible activities during the term of the grant and in accordance with the Commonwealth Terms & Conditions for Standard Funding Agreement (March 2015);

Examples of the eligible expenditures include, but are not limited to:

Salaries and consumables are considered in-kind contributions unless salaries and consumables directly attributed to the delivery of the project outcomes
Accessing specialist professional services including IP attorney firms, regulatory consultants, manufacturing and product development firms
Access to and acquisition of specialist equipment, hardware and software
Accessing or protecting intellectual property rights
Prototyping and development of a Minimum Viable Product
Market research/testing and engaging with major customers, and end-users including clinical trials
Data procurement and efforts to obtain regulatory approval.

Eligible Applicants

To be an eligible organisation you must:

have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
be registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
be incorporated in Australia,

and, in accordance with s24 of the Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015, you must be one of the following eligible bodies:

a medical research institute
a university
a corporate Commonwealth entity
a corporation (including businesses and not for profits).

Timing

Applications close 06 March 2020.

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