UQ's UniQuest partners with global biotech company

The University of Queensland’s (UQ) capabilities in drug discovery and development are set to be strengthened by a new partnership between the university’s commercialisation company, UniQuest, and global biotech company Molecule to Medicine (MTM).

The collaboration is set to align UniQuest’s Queensland Emory Drug Discovery Initiative (QEDDI) with MTM to foster the formation of new biotech companies in Brisbane and translate academic research into new medicines. UniQuest CEO Dr Dean Moss said the collaboration will benefit both UQ and the Brisbane biotech startup space.

“MTM is renowned for bringing together the right people, funding and innovative technologies to create successful biotech companies with the capability to advance new therapies for patients that need them,” Moss said.

“This partnership brings potential treatments a step closer to the clinic, with investment from the UniQuest Extension Fund.”

The fund has invested $1 million in new biotech startup Lucia Bio, spun out from UQ’s School of Biomedical Sciences to develop a potential best-in-class anti-inflammatory treatment. Lucia Bio is the first new entity to be established as part of MTM’s expansion into Australia, and will initially focus on the potential to treat neuroinflammation in people suffering from degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and motor neurone disease.

“This is an example of the fund delivering on its mandate to foster new technologies from UQ and enable the creation of a new biotech company here in Brisbane,” Moss said.

The partnership builds on UniQuest’s longstanding relationship with MTM co-founder and Chairperson Dr Tom McCarthy, who was CEO and President of UQ startup Spinifex Pharmaceuticals when it was acquired by Novartis for US$200 million in 2015. McCarthy said that MTM will establish a presence in Brisbane based on its unique blueprint for biotech company creation, which has a strong track record in the UK.

“The quality of UQ’s research is recognised internationally, and we are keen to build on our relationship with UniQuest by collaborating to advance innovative discoveries and help bridge the translational gap,” he said.

Image caption: Dr Brian Dymock, Dr Angela Ko, Dr Dean Moss and Dr Grant Stuchbury from UniQuest/QEDDI with MTM’s Kirsty McCarthy and Dr Tom McCarthy.