Victorian AusBiotech branch strengthened

The Victorian branch of AusBiotech has been given a $AUD96,000 boost by the Victorian Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development (IIRD), allowing it to appoint a full-time dedicated project officer to coordinate the activities of the state branch.

Announcing the initiative at an AusBiotech function in Melbourne this week, the director of IIRD's Biotechnology division, Amanda Caples, said that the grant would allow the branch to develop and implement activities for the Victorian biotech industry sector, raise public awareness, strengthen biotech training at the secondary and tertiary levels and represent the concerns of the state's industry to the state and federal governments.

In addition, the Victorian branch of AusBiotech would help strengthen biotechnology in rural Victoria, maintain a compendium of commercial lab space available in the state and organise regular CEO meetings in conjunction with the BioMelbourne Network.

Caples said that considering Victorian members constituted 40 per cent of AusBiotech's membership, it was not appropriate to use the head office's resources for the state branch's activities.

AusBiotech executive director Tony Coulepis said that the initiative recognised that both the state government and AusBiotech had similar goals to promote and support Victoria's biotechnology industry.

"If the other states took a chapter out of Victoria's book in allowing AusBiotech to help implement strategies then you'd have so much more powerful and dynamic industry involvement," he said.

In fact, Coulepis said, the Western Australian government had expressed a desire to put a dedicated resource into the WA branch of AusBiotech, while the NSW and SA government are pledging in-kind support.

In addition, Tasmanian members of the industry organisation have approached the head office about formulating a Tasmanian state branch, and similarly the Northern Territory government has identified a need for a branch there too.

"If we have branches in all states and territories that will drive us forward even more," Coulepis said.

Focus groups

The Victorian branch of AusBiotech is growing in strength with a record-breaking 29 nominations for committee members last year. The new committee is co-chaired by Virax business development manager Larry Ward and AgGenomics managing director Glenn Tong.

Ward, who also spoke at this week's AusBiotech function in Melbourne, said that the new committee members represented all facets of the biotechnology industry. The sheer number of nominations, he said, has meant that the committee has adopted a structure comprising six focus groups representing major areas of concern for members.

The focus groups include product development, international and regional alliances, career and professional development, finance and funding, commercialisation, and a key projects group which will have a roving brief to concentrate on important areas such as agbiotech.

IDG Life Sciences Group, publisher of Australian Biotechnology News, is a corporate member of AusBiotech. However, journalists employed by the Group are not permitted to be individual members of the organisation.