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 tri |