Queensland to build drug scale-up facility

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has committed $7m in state funding to build a new scale-up manufacturing facility for pharma and biotech companies to produce experimental drugs for pre-clinical and clinical trials.

Beattie said the new facility, to be funded through a partnership between government, public institutions and industry, would fill a gap in Queensland's - and Australia's - capacity to take drugs from research bench to clinic.

He said both the state's recent report 'Springboard for Opportunities', profiling the pharmaceutical industry, and a Federal government report, had identified a need for more scale-up manufacturing capacity in Australia.

The report found that 50 new Queensland biotechs have started up in the past six years, most dealing with medical biotechnology.

The few companies in Australia offering scale-up services were already running at capacity, and $60 million in business was being lost offshore each year, adding to Queensland biotech companies' costs.

The scale-up facility, to be built over the next five years, would enable local companies to do more of their work in Queensland.

Beattie said $5 million in funding would come from this year's State budget, while the Department of State Development and Innovation will provide $2 million. The government's contribution was aimed at encouraging international and national investment in the facility.

The government had been working to plan the facility with the Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, IMBCom (the commercial arm of the Institute of Molecular Bioscience), Progen Industries, the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Q-Pharm, and Research Directions.

"This new facility will build on the government's previous investments in the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, TetraQ and the Queensland Clinical Trials Network, and will create a fully-integrated environment for these firms to grow."

Beattie's government will unveil the second stage of its new Smart State Strategy today. Last week the Premier announced a $1.4 million funding commitment over the next four years to establish Australia's first investment 'pipeline' to help biotechs attract venture capital and sell their products on the international market.

The Queensland Biotechnology Commercialisation Pipeline, to be run by State Development and Innovation, will be based in Brisbane, with hubs in Townsville and the Gold Coast.

Beattie said lack of private-sector investment was restricting the biotech industry's growth, and the pipeline would encourage biotech investment and help fledgling biotechs move their ideas from the laboratory into the marketplace.

It would reduce risks for investors, and make it easier for companies to package their intellectual property to appeal to potential investors. Members would be able to take advantage of programs such as workshops on capital raising, and pitching a business case to investors.

The pipeline would give biotechs access to the business-management skills, networks and experience of 'business angels', and help companies avoid capture by international pharma companies before they could negotiate more favourable terms.

Beattie said that despite the brilliance, innovation and energy of the biotech research sector, it struggled to attract capital, especially in the early stages.

In the past five years, the Queensland Capital Raising and Commercialisation Pipeline had helped 70 businesses attract $64.5 million from private investors, and had been so successful that South Australia and the ACT had established programs based on the Queensland model.