Asia's wealthiest tycoon, Li Ka Shing, is poised for a major foray into the Australian biotechnology sector with the top brass from his newly floated biotech interest CK Life Sciences meeting with senior Victorian government officials in Beijing this week. [ + ]

RMIT research fellow Dr Gary Rosengarten is one of six recipients of this year's Victoria Fellowships, awarded to emerging leaders in science, engineering and technology. [ + ]

Sydney biotech Sirtex Medical has opened its fifth US-based cancer treatment centre since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the company's SIR-Spheres cancer therapy in March. [ + ]

Norwood Abbey has been issued two more US patents for its proprietary drug delivery platform. [ + ]

Meat and Livestock Australia has launched a $15 million sheep genomics project to identify genes and develop tests for immunity to internal parasites and early diagnosis of Ovine Johnes and other diseases, increased efficiency of muscle growth, and improved reproduction. [ + ]

An $800,000 infusion of new equipment has boosted proteomics research capacity at Western Australia's State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre. [ + ]

Sydney-based platform technology company Proteome Systems has announced the first results from its chemical inkjet printer (ChIP) program, with a paper published in the journal Molecular and Cellular Proteomics. [ + ]

A $1.5 million Biotechnology Fellowship Fund, launched last week by the South Australian government agency Bio Innovation SA, will bring three internationally renowned scientists to South Australia's universities. [ + ]

Biota Holdings' US subsidiary Biota Inc has announced a collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to develop new drugs against Hepatitis C, using Biota Inc's proprietary Numax technology platform. [ + ]

Monash University researchers have identified an enzyme that is largely responsible for the abnormal blood clotting that underlies heart attack and stroke, offering hope that a drug that effectively prevents these blood clots from forming will be available within 10 years.

A new breed of 'destroyer drug' which only targets diseased cancer cells is in the first stages of development by the Oxfordshire-based biotechnology company Avidex.

Infectious disease detection test developer Cellestis has posted a greater than fourfold jump in revenue to end the full year at $583,000. [ + ]

Perth based medical devices company Xcell Diagnostics has signed a letter of intent to acquire German company Visiomed in a deal that includes a combination of shares, options, cash and royalties. [ + ]

Database company Oracle Corp is enhancing life sciences-oriented data mining and data analysis features in upcoming versions of its flagship database product. [ + ]

DNA databases should not be in the hands of the police, and they should contain DNA profiles of all members of the population, according to Prof Bob Williamson, director of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. [ + ]