Up to $3M is available from MTPConnect to boost the innovation, productivity and competitiveness of Australia’s medical technology, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical (MTP) sector.
MTPConnect
MTPConnect is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to accelerate the rate of growth of the medical technologies, biotechnologies and pharmaceuticals sector to achieve greater commercialisation and establish Australia as an Asia-Pacific hub for MTP companies. It was formed in November 2015 as part of the Federal Government’s $248 million Industry Growth Centres Initiative.
Background
The Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Industry Innovation Growth Centre, MTPConnect, was formed as a not-for-profit company in November 2015 as part of the federal government’s $248 million Industry Growth Centres Initiative. The organisation was established to champion an industry-led approach to the development of the MTP sector and to drive innovation, productivity and competitiveness by focusing on areas of competitive strength and strategic priority.
Objectives
As an Industry Growth Centre, MTPConnect’s mandate is to focus on four key objectives:
- Improving coordination and collaboration between research and industry, and within industry, to achieve stronger commercialisation outcomes
- Improving management and workforce skills necessary for sector growth
- Identifying opportunities to address regulations that are unnecessary or overly burdensome and impede growth
- Improving capability of the sector to engage with international markets and access global supply chains
Funding
The minimum grant is $100,000, however it is expected that the projects that address sector constraints and barriers to productivity and competitiveness will require substantial funds. The maximum grant is $3 million per year for a maximum of two years, unless agreed by the Program Delegate in exceptional circumstances.
Funds disbursed per successful project will be dependent upon the quality of the EOI, the amount of funding sought and the funds available from the Commonwealth.
Eligible Applicants
MTPConnect will only fund collaborative partnerships involving multiple industry players across the medical technologies, biotechnologies and pharmaceutical value chain. The Consortium must include at least two organisations (ie companies or other legal entities carrying on business in Australia or principally in Australia), and should also include any one or more of the following:
- research organisations
- universities
- Government
- other agencies or associations
Consortiums must clearly demonstrate a sector barrier they are unable to resolve with their individual internal capabilities and show a link between the barrier and their proposed project.
Eligible Projects
MTPConnect Project Funds may be used to pay for the construction, renovation or extension of facilities such as buildings or laboratories, but only where the primary purpose of those facilities is to achieve the outcomes of a Project. It is expected that any such facilities would provide benefits to the wider industry sector beyond the Consortium (eg a facility that could be accessed by other businesses in the sector to test or pilot new or improved processes). Projects must be market-driven and can be a development, process design and/or scale up.
Timing
Applications close 31 August 2017.
2017 Recipients
| Project Title | Description | Lead Participant | Other Participants | Value | Sector Growth Priorities | ||
| Establishment of an MTP competency based, manufacturing skills development facility/training hub and early stage clinical trial manufacturing facility | Establishment of a manufacturing and hands-on training facility to facilitate the translation of innovative pharmaceutical products for early stage human clinical trials by providing the necessary infrastructure, equipment and manufacturing systems. | Translational Research Institute (TRI) | TRI, PharmOut, Eurofins AMS | MTPConnect Grant$500,000 | |||
| Australia-China Life Sciences Partnership Program | To increase awareness and opportunities for communication, collaboration and commercialisation between the life sciences sector in Australia and China. It will also deliver high quality, collaborative research and industry projects as well as valuable data analytics on commercial engagement between the two countries. | AusBiotech | Asialink Business, China BlueSky Partners, FB Rice, KPMG, King & Wood Mallesons, Therapeutic Innovation Australia | Industry Contribution$170,000 MTPConnect Grant$170,000 Total Project Cost$340,000 | |||
| AMMRF Technical Voucher Fund | The scheme will fund vouchers to support MedTech R&D by providing easy and discounted access to Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Facility (AMMRF) microscopy services, reducing existing barriers to use. | University of Sydney | University of Queensland, University of Western Australia, University of New South Wales, University of Adelaide, University of South Australia, Australian National University, Flinders University | MTPConnect Grant$250,000 | |||
| Ab-initio pharma | Formulation and GMP product manufacturing services for clinical trials in Australia | Establishment of a Ab-initio, a unique pharmaceutical product design, formulation, manufacturing and training facility that provides cost effective solutions for small-to-medium enterprises, academics, clinicians and larger pharma for early phase clinical trials in Australia. | University of Sydney | University of Sydney, Sydney Local Health District NSW, ARCS Australia | MTPConnect Grant$500,000 | |||
| Clinical Trial Assist – facilitating clinical trial recruitment in general practice | To provide funds for a feasibility study to develop and evaluate a model to support clinical trial feasibility assessment and patient recruitment in Australia by utilising a large general practice network and data set. | VentureWise Pty Ltd | NPS Medicinewise Group, Prospection, The George Institute | Industry Contribution$150,000 MTPConnect Grant$150,000 Total Project Cost$300,000 | |||
| CliniTrial Refer Australia integrated platform development | Developing a new IT platform connecting doctors and patients to recruiting trials across research networks. This project will integrate 19 ClinTrial Refer derivative apps, create one combined database, new search functions, enable electronic referrals, link to ANZCTR and build a national solution to trials recruitment. | South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD) and Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) | University of Sydney, Linear, SESLHD, SLHD, Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA), Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR), ClinicalTrials Connect, Research4Me, Amgen, Canteen | MTPConnect Grant$375,000 | |||
| The Bridge Tech Program | Providing mid-career, senior entrepreneurs and scientists with access to relevant, specific commercialisation training, medtech conferences and internships. The program will be delivered by companies, universities and industry operating in the sector through online mediums, residential training, and networking events. | Queensland University of Technology | QUT, Siemens Healthcare, Stryker, Cook Medical, Hydrix, IDE Group, Flinders University, Magnetica, Cicada Innovations, Ellume, The Actuator, Immunexpress | MTPConnect Grant$300,000 | |||
| Certara-Monash University Industry Fellowship Program | The Certara-Monash University Industry Fellowship Program will identify and develop the next generation of industry-experienced drug development pharmaceutical scientists with real world drug development experience through training in clinical pharmacology, pharmacometrics and regulatory science, who will help shape the future of the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. | Certara Australia Pty Ltd | Monash University | MTPConnect Grant$750,000 | |||
| Building clinical trial capability and capacity to grow the MTP sector | The MTP clinical trials sector is constrained in growth through lack of appropriately skilled and experienced workforce participants. This project aims to train and connect graduates with MTP clinical trial companies to equip them with job ready skills to meet this MTP sector gap. | ARCS Australia Ltd | Clinical Network Services (CNS) Pty Ltd, George Clinical Pty Ltd, Monash University, Novotech Ltd, OnQ Recruitment Pty Ltd, Pharma to Market Pty Ltd, PPD Australia Pty Ltd, QuintilesIMS Pty Ltd, Seerpharma Pty Ltd, SPHERE, St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, University of Sydney, UNSW, Sydney | MTPConnect Grant$250,000 | |||
| Enabling Precision Cancer Clinical Trials: A molecular profiling platform for the Australian clinical trials industry | This project will enable Australian SMEs to enhance clinical trials through access to the Garvan Institute’s molecular profiling platform; including a clinically-accredited tumour genomic test, an analysis platform, and patient-matching capabilities to facilitate recruitment and optimise treatment. | The Garvan Institute of Medical Research | NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, NSW Early phase Clinical Trials Alliance (NECTA), Genome.One , Linear Clinical Trials, Illumina Technology | MTPConnect Grant$400,000 | |||
| Training Programs for the Biologics and Biomedical-based Industry Sector | The design and creation of training programs for companies associated with the R&D and advanced manufacturing of biologic medicines and biomedical sciences. The training program will improve the knowledge and skills base necessary for advancement of Australian industry in this sector. | Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland (QUT) | Abbvie, Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS), ACYTE Biotech, Avipep, CSL Ltd, LuinaBio, Patheon Biologics | MTPConnect Grant$110,000 | |||
| The Healthy Living Design Hub | Funding to work with medtech companies to create customer-focused health solutions, offering real life testing for new health technology products and services. Programs focus on user-centered interactive design, translating ideas from concept to prototype with clear paths to market and long-term product development planning. | Swinburne University of Technology | Swinburne University of Technology, Central Queensland University (CQU), Cairns Taipans (NBL), CSIRO, Thermal Hyperformance Pty Ltd, Richmond Football Club Ltd, Planet Innovation Pty Ltd and a major transport operator | MTPConnect Grant$500,000 | |||
| Installation of robotic sterile finished product clinical trial manufacturing capability | Support for Pharmaceutical Packaging Professionals to add a fully robotic, sterile vial-filling line to manufacture Phase II and III products, to their facility, which can then be used by Australian companies to locally produce product for clinical trials. | Pharmaceutical Packaging Professionals Pty Ltd | Clinical Network Services | Industry Contribution$1,440,416 MTPConnect Grant$500,000 Total Project Cost$1,940,416 | |||
| The Bioprint Facility for Translational Science and Medicine in the MTP Sector | This project will allow SMEs to engage with the BioPrint facility and technical experts at the University of Wollongong to establish a world first facility to enable the development of bioinks and customised bioprinting systems for targeted clinical applications. | University of Wollongong | SMR Automotive Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney Eye Bank, St Vincents Hospital Melbourne, Lincoln Consulting Group | Industry Contribution$400,000 MTPConnect Grant$400,000 Total Project Cost$800,000 | |||
| Accelerating precision therapies through digital infrastructure for adaptive trials and trial-ready cohort studies | The project is a feasibility study for the development of national digital infrastructure to support adaptive clinical trials and ‘trial-ready’ natural history cohort studies for a number of rare diseases. The digital study will improve efficiencies in drug evaluation through trial enrolment, data collection, and enabling analysis for novel trial designs. | Murdoch University | Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Linear Clinical Research, Barwon Health, St John of God Subiaco, Foundation for Angleman Syndrome Therapeutics Australia (FAST), MNDi Foundation, Princess Margaret Hospital, Cystic Fibrosis | MTPConnect Grant$200,000 | |||
| National MTP+D Live Showcase: Searchable, trackable, public pipelines for medtech, pharmaceutical and digital health innovations | Cataloguing and tracking of publicly accessible, searchable online showcase of the MTPD innovations under development in Australia. Investors, practitioners and consumers can follow the progress of any innovation as the showcase is updated in real time using a humanized machine learning system. Visit the website if you are interested in being involved. | Health Innovate Pty Ltd | Health Horizon, Hospital and Health Services IP Ltd, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Australia, ANDHealth, Health Informatics Society of Australia (HISA), Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA), Medical Software Industry Association (MSIA), Better Health, Healthcare and Treatment Global Impact Cluster, (University of Newcastle) Melbourne Academic Centre for Health (MACH), QUT Biomedical Industry Group | Industry Contribution$111,964 MTPConnect Grant$100,000 Total Project Cost$211,964 | |||
| A cloud-based AI digital health platform (hospital 4.0) applied to nationwide cardiovascular clinical decision support | Implementation of an Artificial Intelligence digital health platform to eliminate avoidable/preventable errors in health care services by automating best practice clinical guidelines and delivering real time guidance to clinical decision makers, with initial focus on cardiovascular services in rural/remote SA. | Integrated Cardiovascular Clinical Network (iICCnet), CHSA | Alcidion Corp. Adelaide, AstraZeneca Australia Macquarie Park, Cardihab Pty Ltd Fortitude Valley, Chamonix Health Solutions Adelaide, Medical Communications Associates Pty Ltd, Medi‐Map Ltd Christchurch, SysLinx Pty Ltd Adelaide, Flinders University Adelaide, University of South Australia | MTPConnect Grant$340,000 | |||
| Operationalise the Centre for Commercialisation for Regenetive Medicine Australia | Accelerating the commercialisation of Australian regenerative medicine therapies and related products, building on the 2016 Project Fund Program supported development of CCRM Australia as a hub, via training; fostering increased collaboration between industry and academia, both locally and globally; and nurturing local regenerative medicine companies. | Monash University | Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), CCRM (Canada), Bioplatforms Australia (BPA), Cell Therapy Manufacturing CRC, Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF), ReNerve Pty Ltd, Cynata Therapeutics Ltd, Regeneus Ltd, Australian Red Cross Blood Service, Therapeutic Innovation Australia (TIA), Industry Mentoring Network in STEM (IMNIS), Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science (AIMSS), Scinogy Pty Ltd, Bioforum (CCRM Israel), Ear Science Institute, CSIRO, Cell Therapies Pty Ltd, St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, AusBiotech Pty Ltd. | MTPConnect Grant$390,000 | |||
| Accelerating Australia – Stage 2 | Facilitating translation of biomedical research through entrepreneurial experience courses and support services, to improve collaborating across sectors, organisations and disciplines to identify promising biomedical products and assist in bringing them to production. | Centre for Entrepreneurial Research and Innovation (CERI) | The University of Western Australia, Monash University, University of Adelaide, The University of Melbourne, University of Technology Sydney, University of Sydney, SPARK CoLab, Orthocell, Avita Medical Ltd, Proteomics International, Murdoch University, Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Macquarie University, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Telethon Kids Institute, Lions Eye Institute, Ear Science Institute Australia, Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science Australia, St John of God Healthcare, SPARK Global USA, Linear Clinical Research, Cook Medical, Translational Research Institute, Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, RMIT, University of Newcastle, Centre for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, ASCEPT, Knowledge Translation Australia. | MTPConnect Grant$1,000,0 |