NSW Feature: United they stand

Biotech in NSW doesn't appear to depend on fancy government packages, but new infrastructures are changing the face of bio in the First State.

Dr Shanny Dyer, NSW branch secretary for industry association AusBiotech, is one of the best-connected people in the local biotech business community, with a network ranging from research to venture capital.

Her view of how biotech works in the First State is perhaps the most lucid - not a whole lot of infrastructure support from the State government, but not a whole lot has been needed.

"Biotechnology companies in NSW are getting on and doing their business anyway, without making a song and dance," she says.

"In other states, biotechnology companies make a lot more noise to attract attention and support from their State government. In NSW, we have many companies that we don't hear about." Until recently there was not a lot of support to be gained.

But in recent years, there have been increasing calls from around the sector for proactive government initiatives - projects and strategies to accelerate the growth of the industry.

And it appears that the government has listened. Prof John Rosta, director of the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) at Newcastle, is one of its beneficiaries.

"Over the past few years the State government has been very supportive in setting up the infrastructure for a research hub in the Hunter region," he says.

Two and a half years ago the region, through the NSW Department of Health, was boosted to the tune of $1 million to create an infrastructure - a Biohub, in government-speak - to link six major health and medical research institutions, including hospitals and universities.

HMRI is the umbrella organisation, Rosta says - a company set up by the University of Newcastle, Hunter Area Health Services and the local business community to assist in commercialising the IP generated by more than 300 researchers. There are two spin-off companies so far.

"NSW is leading the pack in infrastructure support for hospital-based clinical research," Rosta says.

There's little doubt that the sector looks healthy. While Melbourne's famous Parkville precinct seems to have a cohesiveness that is rare in sprawling Sydney, a conscious effort on the NSW government's part to strengthen existing research relationships is paying off.

The Office of Western Sydney recently launched its BioWest directory, which demonstrated the effectiveness of research relationships in the area.

The Westmead BioHub links four major research institutions - the Westmead Millennium Institute, the Children's Medical Research Institute, Westmead Children's Hospital and Westmead Hospital. More than 600 researchers and 200 PhD students are within 10 minutes' walking distance of each other, and some groups are now becoming involved in collaborative efforts and sharing access to expensive research instruments.

More than 200 biotechs and biotech-related companies are listed in the BioWest directory, and researchers are hoping to lure industry to a proposed Biotechnology Park and Centre for Emerging Industry to commercialise IP.

Another cluster, BioMed North, is an umbrella linking universities, medical research organisations, local hospitals biotechnology companies and multinational pharmaceutical companies, as well as CSIRO researchers and government laboratories. Dr Carol Pollock, who has driven the BioMed North initiative, says there are more than 700 potential members who see value in belonging to the hub. "We will begin taking in members soon, before its launch," she says.

Still a not-for-profit networking group, the BioMed North initiative will rely on support from the NSW Health Department and the Department of State and Regional Development. Its CEO was appointed only three months ago, so it's early days.

"We may end up partnering with Westmead and Garvan Institute," Pollock says. "It's too small an industry for everyone to be competitive, so it's better if we maximise the research economic benefits."

A more ambitious plan along the same lines is the brand new BioLink, a scheme for linking all the research efforts in NSW to create a shopfront that will look more attractive to investors both locally and overseas.

"It's competitiveness through cooperation," says Dr Jonathan Izant, business development manager at the prestigious Garvan Institute and co-author of the BioLink strategy. "The real competition is the international groups."

Izant says BioLink was designed with core partners in eastern and western Sydney and regional NSW, and was presented to the State government last August.

As one of the people behind BioLink, Izant is wary of sounding too eager about its inspirational business concept until NSW government support has been confirmed.

BioLink isn't intended to be a bureaucratic enterprise, Izant says - it is to be privately owned by its participants, and the State government only lends its support, not management.

"The structure will be such that anyone can participate, but they will have to put in the cash," he says. "BioLink will not fund research, but it will provide support for patenting through to international marketing efforts. It complements the [government's] BioFirst initiative."

BioFirst is the umbrella name for the $69 million scheme launched last September by Premier Bob Carr and Health Minister Craig Knowles, with built-in support for professional development programs to assist the community in the commercial aspects of their business.

Dyer has put in her bid to run a one-year professional development and management program under the auspices of BioFirst.

"They haven't put the dollars in yet," she says. "It's all words so far. We are looking forward to the implementation of [the BioFirst] initiatives, and we are hoping they will support our training programs, such as the professional development program." Later this year the 'developing your bio-product program' will probably look for support.

Izant says other states' longer-running coordinated biotech programs have had "an obvious impact" on biotech competition in Australia.

But, he says, NSW is trying to establish itself and is focusing on international markets, not just interstate profile competition.

Sydney - Australia's venture capital?

Most of Australia's venture capital firms reside in Sydney. But does that translate into more VC funding for local ventures?

Dr Mike Hirshorn of Nanyang Ventures says numbers of VCs alone don't necessarily relate to the amount of venture capital invested into NSW biotechnology companies compared to those in other states.

"The majority of venture capital firms invest nationally," rather than on a state basis, he says. "Investments are mostly going to companies in Victoria and Queensland, more than to NSW."

But Kelvin Hopper, principal of Sydney-based bioconsultancy Aoris Nova, says the city's strong financial community has been a driving force in helping the local biotech industry to grow.

NSW is flourishing in devices, IT, engineering, physics and manufacturing, Hopper says. "The companies in NSW have products that are going into the market and not so much the early-stage discoveries that take longer to market."

Hopper says it's important for governments to provide help for early-stage research, and control competition for funding within the state. "The competition should be between overseas organisations, not amongst ourselves," he says.

On the whole, he says, the state provided a good atmosphere for biotech business, despite not being "on the front pages".

"NSW has been quietly going about building [biotech] businesses and making them move ahead," Hopper says. 'It just hasn't had quite the publicity of other states.

"But BioFirst is on track and spending money and I think it's going well."