Trans-Tasman biotech collaborations sought

New Zealand's political leadership is declaring the Land of the Long White Cloud open for collaborative ventures with Australia's biotech sector.

A delegation led by NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark and 'Minister for Everything' Pete Hodgson toured Australia's eastern states last week to spread the word.

Hodgson, who heads or is an associate head of 10 NZ government ministries, invited gatherings of Australian bioindustry representatives to think "with some particularity" of opportunities for collaboration.

The tour was an "exploratory, relationship-building exercise" paving the way for future collaborations, Hodgson said in an interview.

He singled out Queensland-based expertise in tropical marine biotech and NZ's skills in temperate marine systems as evidenced by its recent domestication of the green-lipped mussel as a potentially promising linkage.

New Zealand claims to have approximately 30 biotech companies with a market capitalisation of about $NZ1 billion.

The country's historic strengths in primary production and agriculture form one launch pad for biotech entries. Another area of strength is its "surprisingly strong capability in medical research," according to Jim McLean, business development head of Genesis Research and Development, one of NZ's most successful biotechs.

The NZ government has addressed the monetary challenge by creating an $NZ300 million venture fund chaired by Australian financier John Grant, co-founder in 1984 of private equity specialist Hambro-Grantham Ltd (now Colonial First State Private Equity).

The fund has been split into six $NZ50 million seed capital funds of which two are likely to focus primarily on biotech ventures and another three will have some biotech interests.

One box that remains to be ticked concerns strategic alliances to create initiatives with enough critical mass to compete on world markets. In that area, it is sensible for Australia and New Zealand to work together in cases where they have synergistic technologies, Hodgson said.

What NZ has yet to decide is whether it should negotiate its collaborative efforts through Canberra or at the level of individual states. Hodgson downplayed suggestions that hardline opposition to genetically-engineered organisms by coalition partner the Green Party will cause short-term damage to bioindustry.

Although the moratorium permits contained trials of GM organisms, "we have not had one application for a GM release in the six years it (the regulation) has been in place," Hodgson said.

The Greens last weekend confirmed their absolute support for a continued moratorium. That puts them a collision course with their Labour coalition partner in the run-up to an election which could be held as early as July or August.

Hodgson signalled he would be adopting a tough stance when the debate with the Greens was engaged this week, and painted the group as "a protest party parading as a political party."

Melbourne visit

About 100 people attended AusBiotech's industry breakfast with the Hodgson and representatives of the NZ biotechnology industry in Melbourne last week.

As well as Hodgson, Ian McCrae from NZ health informatics company Orion Systems International and William Rolleston from South Pacific Sera made short presentations.

Hodgson drew several parallels between Victoria and New Zealand and emphasised the strong applied science base in both locations. "It's clear that in Victoria biotech is going places, and in New Zealand it will be going places too," he said.

Rolleston, who is also chairman of the Life Sciences Network and former chair of NZ bioindustry group Biotenz, explained that while NZ's biotechnology industry was not on the same scale as Australia's, there were niches it could exploit, based on its strong base in the rural sector and unique flora and fauna.

New Zealand's major market was overseas, Rolleston said, and collaborations with international groups were an important aspect. "We want to network with Australia," he said.

- Melissa Trudinger