Tasmanian feature: Tasmanian Tigers

Tasmania might be the smallest Australian state, but it has some advantages for the biotechnology industry that the other states can't even dream of.

"Like the island itself - small but quality," says Prof Don Chalmers, Dean of the Law School and Director of the Centre for Law and Genetics at the University of Tasmania, when asked about the state's biotech industry.

Tasmania's access to the Antarctic and the Southern Ocean is one such advantage, according to Prof Tom McMeekin, a researcher at the University of Tasmania's School of Agricultural Science and formerly program leader for Antarctic biotechnology in the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Antarctica (based at the University of Tasmania).

"There is a big opportunity for Tasmania in marine biotechnology," says McMeekin, citing the critical mass of marine scientists present in Tasmania.

Prof Andrew Glenn, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Research at the University of Tasmania, agrees: "We have a geographical advantage in terms of our Antarctic studies. This university is the major university involved in Antarctic studies," he says.

The Antarctic CRC has several biotechnology projects on the go, including a bioprospecting agreement with Cerylid Biosciences and research into some cold-adapted and cold-tolerant enzymes that may be suitable for cleaning purposes in the food industry.

In addition, McMeekin has collaborated with CSIRO Marine Research and listed pharmaceutical Clover Corp in a Fisheries R&D Corporation-funded project on the production of polyunsaturated fatty acids from marine microorganisms.

Chalmers sees two major areas where Tasmania has advantages for biotechnology.

"I think one of the key things is the health area. There has been a reasonably stable population with high-quality health records and a community that has been very supportive of medical research," he says.

David Bartlett, from Tasmania's Department of State Development, also cites the Menzies Institute as being a major strength.

"We are one of the leading places, along with places like Iceland, to do this sort of research," he says.

The other area in which Chalmers believes Tasmania has an advantage in is bioinformatics. "There's been an expertise at the university in computers, so it's not surprising the government and university, through its memorandum of understanding, are working towards developing a sound base of bioinformatics," he says.

"We have the people and the technical skills so that is the area we should be developing, rather than trying to start something new."

According to Glenn, Tasmania's clean image is another advantage.

"The environment here is very good compared to other parts of the country in terms of pollution - you don't have to allow so much for those variables here," he said.

Glenn believes that Tasmania needs to continue to focus on specialised niches of research to build strength in biotechnology.

"Niche opportunities have to be the way for us to go," he says -- he would like to see increased research in niche areas in order to attract better funding for infrastructure improvements. "Critical mass is always a key issue. To get a sufficient mass of researchers in a particular area you need the necessary infrastructure."

Glenn says the university is focusing on building up several areas of research. "One of the ways we have been going about that is by investing in quite a lot in high-performance computing and maintaining a significant degree of capability in high-performance computing and hardware for molecular biology research," he says.

"We have also made targeted investments in food safety and quality to improve critical mass and research capabilities."

The university is also working on identifying and commercialising research opportunities.

"Researchers in the lab are pretty good at doing the research but not so good at making the business connections," McMeekin says, explaining that the R&D office at the University of Tasmania was strongly encouraging links with industry and business.

"There are a lot of scientific opportunities here," he adds.

Glenn says the university is being more proactive in chasing commercial opportunities: "We have established a pre-commercialisation fund worth $2.5 million to begin to accelerate promising ideas into proof of concept, which is an area that has been missed."

The Tasmanian government has played an active role in assisting the university develop its niche areas. It has provided the Menzies Research Institute with a grant of $500,000 per year, as well as assisting the university with the establishment of a Centre for Food Safety and Quality.

In addition, the university and the state's Department of Primary Industries, Water and the Environment have jointly set up the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research (TIAR) and the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute (TAFI).

The university is also actively involved with a number of CRCs, including the CRC for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, the CRC for Sustainable Production Forestry and the CRC for Sustainable Aquaculture of Finfish.

Possibly the most exciting development, though, is the push to establish a Bioinformatics Centre of Excellence at the University as part of the "Intelligent Island" strategy.

According to Bartlett, who is assistant manager of the Technology and Innovation unit of the DSD, the Tasmanian government has started to work with the bio-IT sector. Last year it released a review of that sector was released in March last year as the Tasmanian Biotechnology Sector Analysis.

Out of that grew a science and technology policy for the state, which includes the biotech sector, Bartlett says.

"That policy basically focuses on developing our capability in terms of R&D and attracting more, and in exploiting that capability more through commercialisation, which I don't think traditionally we have been very good at in Tasmania," he explains.

He says the policy, which was launched last September, should lead to more research and formation of spin-offs. In addition, the Premier's Science and Technology Council, which met in April for the first time, has been given the job of helping to usher in the policy.

Bartlett said that the plan provides commercialisation support through the Innovation Centre, focusing on improving the skill base and networking opportunities. It has also implemented a program to provide seed grants to assist with early-stage commercialisation.

"The government has entered a partnership agreement with the University of Tasmania, and through their commercialisation program, we're working closely to ensure that academics with some IP are able to come directly to our programs," Bartlett says.

"The government's biotech strategy is really about ensuring partnerships with industry. Money comes with partnering arrangements and the whole idea is to ensure a business is viable in the long term and not reliant on government support," says the Centre of Genetics and Law's Prof Chalmers.

One group that has received substantial government support is the Menzies Research Institute. Its director, Prof Terry Dwyer, says he thinks the government is looking around for opportunities.

"They see us as a real niche advantage to Tasmania," he says.

Industry in waiting Very few companies involved in biotechnology exist at this point in Tasmania, although several research organisations and institutes are doing biotechnology R&D. One of the few companies around is Plant Biotechnologies Tasmania which specialises in commercial-scale tissue culture and plant propagation.

"There isn't really any other commercial tissue culture lab in Tasmania," says its director, Gillian Rasmussen.

"The climate is such that the types of plants you can grow here create a niche. You can still grow certain plants down here when the season is over elsewhere in Australia. We are currently working to commercialise Tasmanian natives as cut flowers, which hasn't yet been developed as much as it should be. Tasmania is considered a sleeping giant with respect to cut flowers and foliage."

Other companies with an interest in biotechnology include Tasmanian Alkaloids, which extracts opiates and alkaloids from poppies for use by pharmaceutical companies, and Botanical Resources Australia, a global supplier of pyrethrum.

Another company with ties to the biotech industry is Serve-Ag, which has been in the agricultural industry in Tasmania for 25 years.

"We're focussed very much on being a leader in the development and implementation of agricultural technology and looking at how different and new technologies integrate with each other," says Serve-Ag's CEO, Buz Green, explaining that the company approaches agricultural development from an agronomic viewpoint.

"There is a new wave of products that may come through in the biotech area and we felt we could possibly play a role, given our expertise and the unique attributes of Tasmania, such as cleanliness, isolation and a high degree of control.

"We are too small to get into the discovery of biotechnology, but we felt we could play a role in the implementation and transfer of technology."

Green says a current moratorium on genetically modified organisms in the state has halted the company's involvement with field trials of GM canola.