Biocomm names Canadian as chief operating officer

Melbourne-based life science commercialisation company Biocomm Services has appointed former Calgary Innovation Centre (CIC) executive director Lawrence Bremner as its new chief operating officer.

At the CIC, Bremner was responsible for the development of more than 40 new bioscience, IT and engineering companies, Biocomm said, and he was also president of the Calgary Association for Medical Products, an adviser to the Canadian Technology Network and acting biosciences officer for the City of Calgary.

Bremner said Biocomm was the fifth model with which he had been involved where government funding was used to create a commercial biotechnology industry.

He said his role at Biocomm was to make sure the company's operations were appropriately designed to be as effective as possible.

"We're asking 'how can we put our shoulder to the wheel?'," he said. "I think there are things we can do at Biocomm to enhance [the industry], like mentorship and improving human capital."

Bremner said he saw similarities between the opportunities available to the Australian biotech industry and those in Quebec, roughly six years ago: "it's the beginning of something really good."

Canada has the second largest number of biotech companies in the world, Bremner said, and there were cultural similarities between Australia and Canada.

"Sure, you can do business with Canada," Bremner said when asked about stronger ties between the two biotech communities, "but Canadians don't think about doing business with Canada - 80 per cent of our trade is south of the border."

Biocomm CEO Dr Andy Gearing said Bremner's arrival added a "significant capability" to the Biocomm team. "Lawrence brings a wealth of experience in working at the interface of the research, financial and commercial communities to form new technology companies," Gearing said in a statement.

Stan Yakatan, Biocomm's executive chairman, said the appointment would give Biocomm more clout in its ties with the North American and European markets. "Biocomm aims to generate commercial benefits for the life sciences community in Australia through licensing transactions with international partners and the structuring and funding of new life science companies," Yakatan said.

Biocomm was formed with support from the Victorian government's Technology Commercialisation Program. At the recent Bio 2002 conference in Toronto, Victorian Premier Steve Bracks announced the formation of Biocomm's $11.5m capital pool to seed new life science companies, raised from Macquarie Bank, Biotech Capital, Rothschild Biosciences and Queensland Investment Corporation.

Biocomm provides business development support to Victorian universities and research institutes. Its members currently include Austin Research Institute, Baker Heart Research Institute, Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health, Melbourne Health, Mental Health Research Institute, Monash University, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Neurosciences Victoria, Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research, RMIT University, St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research University of Melbourne and Victorian College of Pharmacy.