National biotech incubator announces $17m in project funding

Australia’s national biotech incubator, CUREator, has announced it is providing $17.4 million to projects aiming to tackle global health concerns including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. The incubator supports and accelerates the development of Australian biotech innovations, and has funded 23 projects across six states and territories.

The oversubscription of round one of the three-year incubator highlights both the deficit and demand for early-stage funding and research translation support to nurture the next generation of Australian biomedical discoveries.

“We launched CUREator late last year and now, with the announcement of round one awardees, I’m delighted to share what we have long known about Australian research translation, which is that great opportunities abound and, with the right support, we can accelerate their path to commercial inflection and clinical impact,” said Dr Simon Wilkins, CUREator Head of Operations.

“We had huge national interest from the who’s who of the sector. This cohort is working on amazing treatments across many different therapeutic areas with differentiated approaches to treating disease, and we are privileged to be able to accelerate that process for them. However, the broader demand showcases the need to continue to bridge the gap between where research grant funding finishes and where companies are able to attract further investment.”

CUREator’s round one funding awards $8.5m to 17 preclinical biomedical technologies to guide promising research through proof-of-concept stages towards being investment-ready. Successful applicant Phrenix Therapeutics received funding to develop new treatments for schizophrenia, while RAGE Biotech received funding to develop a new treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Round one also provides $8.9m to support the clinical development of novel, clinical-stage drug therapies to treat disease, with Liperate awarded funding for its phase one project validating a novel treatment for type 1 diabetes.

“CUREator was deliberately designed with two streams of funding to address the critical gaps in existing support: firstly at proof of concept, when projects need experimental validation to be ready for seed investment, and secondly during clinical development where additional capital is needed to accelerate translation and commercial success,” Wilkins explained.

The incubator was established with $40m investment from the federal government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and is run by Brandon BioCatalyst; companies that successfully go through the incubator program may also be eligible for follow-on investment from the Brandon BioCatalyst’s $800m life sciences fund. CSIRO also provided $3m in funding to CUREator to support Australia’s health security and protect against emerging infectious diseases and pandemics.

“Witnessing the quality of applications for the first round of funding demonstrated the strength of medical research in Australia and its potential to positively impact global health if the right support is put in place to support translation of this great research into the marketplace,” said Brandon BioCatalyst CEO Dr Chris Nave. “The level of demand for this program, where grants are provided with the discipline of an investor, clearly demonstrated the need for this type of targeted funding, but also that more needs to be done.

“CUREator acts as much more than just funding, with successful applicants having access to expertise from across the industry and with each project structured with clear go/no-go milestones and defined outcomes that are directed research translation and commercialisation. In many ways, this may prove to be the blueprint for the way government provides funding in the future.”

Expressions of interest for round two of CUREator are now open and will close on 29 August at 5 pm AEST. For more information and to apply, visit www.cureator.awardsplatform.com.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/freshidea

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