Nextec sets up incubator for early-stage biotechs

Melbourne-based Nextec BioSciences has established an incubator facility for aspiring and early-stage biotech companies.

The Melbourne Biotechnology Business Development Centre (MBBDC), located within Nextec's Collins St offices, will provide access to mentors and financial advisers, exposure to Nextec's investor network and business planning advice for budding biotech companies.

"Basically it is office space for really early-stage companies," said Nextec CEO John Grace. The idea, he said, was to provide a low-cost environment enabling companies to start getting themselves together, write business plans, meet potential investors and advisers, and so on.

"We're in the stage of finalising the first tenant of the centre," Grace said. He noted that the facility would be able to handle about four to six tenants at a time, and expected that companies would require about three months maximum in the facility.

Grace said that Nextec stood to receive several advantages from the arrangements.

"It's a medium-term investment for Nextec, as hopefully tenants will use Nextec's investment bank services. It also will provide recognition in the biotech space for Nextec," he explained.

While Nextec staff would provide assistance to the tenants, Grace said that it would be more in the form of advice than services like business plan writing.

"From my point of view, we'd provide more strategy advice to them, scrutiny of their business plan, things like that," he said.

The MBBDC has been supported by the City of Melbourne, who has provided a start-up grant of $80,000 from its Business Development Fund.

Guidelines for the MBBDC are available on Nextec's web site.