melbourne australia, life sciences capital of the...

Melbourne Australialife sciences capital of the Asia-Pacific

A special supplement published by Life Science CLUSTERS Magazine

Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute

Information, Communication and Representation

Message from theMinister for Innovation

The views and opinions expressed in this publication arenot necessarily those of the publishers

Produced on behalf of the Department of Innovation,Industry & Regional Development, State Government of

Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, by Life Science CLUSTERS Magazine

avakado Ltd Global House 13 Market Square Horsham

West Sussex RH12 1EU United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 1403 220760 Fax: +44 (0) 1403 220761

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Australian Synchrotron

8 11

Case study: Mesoblast

20Case study: GSK

17Australian Regenerative

Medicine Institute

Message from the Minister for Innovation 2

Melbourne, Australia: life sciences capital of the Asia-Pacific 3

Melbourne’s Life Science Precincts 6

Australian Synchrotron 8

Parkville Comprehensive Cancer Centre 10

Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute 11

Bio21 Institute 12

Bio21 Cluster 13

Information, Communication and Representation 14

AgriBio Centre 15

Life Science Supercomputer 15

Industrial Biotechnology 16

Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication 16

Case Studies 17GSK, CSL, Universal Biosensors,Mesoblast, Biota, Acrux, Hexima

Focus for life sciencesin the Asia-Pacific

Melbourne, Australia has emerged

as the leading centre for life

sciences in the Asia-Pacific.

The Victorian Government has

made unprecedented investments in science,

technology and innovation infrastructure to

ensure we are well placed to deliver solutions

to many of the challenges facing Victoria and

the world.

These investments mean Victoria remains an

attractive location for investors and for

commercialisation of our world-class research

breakthroughs.

Melbourne, the capital city of the State of

Victoria is home to many successful companies at

the leading-edge of research. For example in the

area of influenza and vaccine research and

development, Melbourne is home to:

• CSL — one of the world’s top 10 life sciences

companies recently developing the first H1N1

(swine flu) influenza vaccine and;

• Biota and GlaxoSmithKline producing RelenzaTM

for the treatment of flu.

Melbourne is also home to the World Health

Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for

Reference and Research on Influenza, one of only

five WHO collaborating centres for influenza.

Melbourne’s life science capabilities are built

on world-class research infrastructure including

the Australian Synchrotron, the largest stand-

alone piece of scientific infrastructure in the

southern hemisphere; and the world’s most

powerful supercomputer dedicated to life

sciences research, to be completed by 2013.

Collaboration and innovation across

Melbourne’s life science precincts, research

organisations and industry sectors create a

dynamic environment that welcomes new players.

Melbourne offers a host of opportunities with

an impressive array of facilities in established life

science precincts that foster close relationships

between hospitals, health service providers,

research organisations, clinicians and industry.

We have successfully pursued international

alliances to generate new opportunities for our

companies and researchers. We have also

worked hard to become Australia’s leader in

providing biotechnology-related education,

training and skills development.

Earlier this year, we launched the Victorian

BioPortal – the gateway to the largest

biotechnology sector in Australia. The BioPortal

serves as a central hub of information on the

biotechnology industry in Victoria.

The extensive database housed on the

BioPortal provides links to every Victorian-based

company and research institution presently

developing and applying bioscience to solve

today’s most urgent challenges in health,

agriculture and environmental sustainability. I

encourage you to take a look at the BioPortal by

visiting www.vicbioportal.org.

Melbourne offers a competitive and dynamic

business environment that is strategically located, a

skilled and innovative workforce, world-class

infrastructure that is globally connected, along with

an enviable lifestyle and a supportive government.

I hope you find this supplement to Life

Science Clusters both enjoyable and informative

as we work together to deliver a better quality

of life for Victoria and the world through an

innovative and dynamic life sciences sector.

Gavin Jennings MLCMinister for InnovationState Government Victoria

“Collaboration and innovation acrossMelbourne’s life science precincts create adynamic environment that welcomes newplayers”.Gavin Jennings, Minister for Innovation

2 www.vicbioportal.org



Overview

3www.vicbioportal.org

Melbourne is the capital

city of the State of

Victoria, located in the

temperate, fertile

south-east corner of Australia. It is

home to life sciences companies that

have successfully commercialised

many innovations from the swine flu

vaccine to the bionic ear, and is the

international headquarters for CSL —

one of the world’s top 10

biopharmaceutical companies.

Victoria is Australia’s leading

biotechnology location with strengths

in cancer, neuroscience, stem cells,

infectious disease and immunity, and

agricultural biotechnology. With its

clusters of world-class universities,

teaching hospitals and research

institutions alongside industry, the

state continues to advance in its aim

to become one of the top five

biotechnology locations worldwide.


invested more than A$4 billion in

science and innovation over the past

10 years — creating a dynamic,

internationally competitive and

globally connected environment for

134 biotech companies, 47 private

companies, 13 major medical

research institutes, 10 teaching

hospitals and nine universities.

InternationalcollaborationToday, Victoria is home to a mature

biotech research sector and profitable

biotechnology firms that employ

around 22,000 people. The market

capitalisation of Victoria’s listed

biotech companies in 2009 was

A$23.8 billion — which has tripled

since 2001-02 — and total annual

expenditure on biotech-related

research and development in Victoria

exceeds A$1 billion.

Strong support and leadership

from the Victorian Government has

enhanced the capacity of researchers

and firms, and attracted international

partnerships and investment. Industry

continues to grow, with Victoria

exporting A$1 billion of

biotechnology and pharmaceutical

products each year.

Victoria fosters strong international

alliances through programmes

including the A$7 million Victoria-

California Stem Cell Alliance and the

A$6 million Victoria-Israel Science

and Technology R&D Fund (VISTECH).

Through the Victoria-California Stem

Cell Alliance, four Victorian research

groups were the first in the world to

be joint-funded to deliver projects in

collaboration with the Californian

Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Another example is the A$28

million agreement between BASF

Plant Science in Germany and the

Molecular Plant Breeding Cooperative

Research Centre based in Victoria.

This agreement will deliver one of the

most advanced programmes in the

world for the development of

drought-tolerant crops.

Last year the largest-ever

international agricultural

biotechnology research partnership

was established — an alliance with

Dow AgroSciences to develop new

plant varieties that will meet the

growing global demand for food,

livestock feed and energy.

SkillsVictoria is now Australia’s leader in

providing biotechnology-related

education, training and skills

development, ensuring a skilled

workforce available for research and

industry, and demonstrating a long-

term commitment to the ongoing

growth of the sector. Australia has

more graduates at PhD levels in

biotechnology-related disciplines per

head of population than the USA,

Canada and Japan.

Research excellenceThrough partnerships with

universities, research institutes and

private biotechnology companies, the

Victorian Government has made

significant investments in science and

technology to advance discoveries in

water availability, sustainable energy,

environmental preservation,

preventative healthcare, and

competition through productivity.

Melbourne’s frontline research

institutes have made numerous

medical breakthroughs with the

potential for far-reaching impacts,

most recently in the treatment of

infectious diseases, breast cancer,

neuroscience, malaria and multiple

sclerosis (MS). Examples include

Capital city of the State of Victoria, Melbourne is located in the temperate, fertile south-east corner ofAustralia, and was named the world’s third most liveable city in a recent survey. Victoria is Australia’sleading biotechnology location with strengths in cancer, neuroscience, stem cells, infectious disease andimmunity, and agricultural biotechnology.

Melbourne, Australia: life sciencescapital of the Asia-PacificMelbourne is the heart of what has emerged as Australia’s most dynamic biotech state with a persistentlystrong economy and sound employment figures. The world’s third most liveable city1, Melbourne offersa global reputation for biotech R&D, cutting-edge infrastructure and a supportive government.

1 - Source: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2010


identification of a critical step in the

malaria parasite lifecycle (Burnet

Institute, Walter and Eliza Hall

Institute of Medical Research (WEHI)

and Deakin University); identification

of a new stem cell behind the most

dangerous forms of breast cancer

(WEHI); and the discovery of genes

linked to a susceptibility to MS that

may help to identify the causes of MS

and other auto-immune diseases

(Florey Neuroscience Institutes).

Victoria remains at the leading

edge of influenza research and

vaccine development, with

companies like CSL developing the

first H1N1 (swine flu) influenza

vaccine, Biota/GlaxoSmithKline

producing RelenzaTM for the

treatment of flu, and BioDiem

developing leading flu vaccination

technology.

Melbourne is an international

leader in agricultural biotechnology.

Research strengths include high-

nutritional pasture grasses, dairy

genetics and freshwater aquaculture.

As one of the world’s largest dairy

producers, Victoria keenly pursues

advances in dairy industry innovation.

Global dairy companies including

Fonterra and PGG Wrightson have

chosen Melbourne as a partner for

their dairy R&D activities. Just last

year, an A$128 million Dairy Futures

Cooperative Research Centre was

opened in Melbourne’s north,

demonstrating Victoria’s leadership in

dairy bioscience research.

InfrastructureMelbourne offers an attractive, cost-

competitive environment with

internationally recognised

researchers and a full range of

services and facilities.

Access to world-class infrastructure

is a critical element of Victoria’s

success. Investment in high-tech

facilities includes the Australian

Synchrotron and the Victorian Life

Sciences Computation Initiative.

• Australian Synchrotron — the

largest stand-alone piece of scientific

infrastructure in the southern

hemisphere, critical for modern drug

development, and for medical and

other fundamental research.

• The Victorian Life Sciences

Computation Initiative — the

world’s most powerful

supercomputer dedicated to life

sciences research, which will

establish a system of over 800

Teraflops.

In May 2009, the Victorian

Government and the Australian

Government announced joint

funding for a new A$1 billion cancer

centre in Melbourne — the Parkville

Comprehensive Cancer Centre

(Parkville CCC). The purpose-built



Overview

Victorian biotechnology companies continue to increase theirinvestment in R&D – one sign of a mature, confident sector.Corporate R&D expenditure totalled A$653 million at June 2009, anincrease of almost 150 per cent since June 2002.Source: Blake Industry and Market Analysis P/L

Clinical trial activity of Victorian biotechnology companiescontinues to rise, with 12 Phase III programmes underway atOctober 2009 (compared to three in 2005) and 39 Phase IIprogrammes underway (compared to 21 in 2005).Source: Blake Industry and Market Analysis P/L

Victoria’s medical research institutes have nearly tripled theirincome over the past eight years – from A$148 million in 2000 tomore than A$400 million in 2008. The state’s medical researchmaintains a higher than 40 per cent share of national researchfunding grants.Source: DIIRD Operational Infrastructure Support Programme

Victoria’s biotechnology sector has demonstrated remarkableresilience in a challenging global environment. Market capitalisationof Victoria’s listed life sciences companies has almost tripled since2001, and at 31 December 2009 was A$23.6 billion.Source: Blake Industry and Market Analysis P/L (2005-2009) and Deloitte BiotechIndex (2002 and 2001)


centre will be complemented by a

powerful new collaboration between

six world-class cancer research

organisations — the Ludwig Institute

for Cancer Research, the Peter

MacCallum Cancer Centre, the

University of Melbourne, the Walter

and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical

Research (WEHI), Melbourne Health

and the Royal Women’s Hospital. It

will focus on innovation and

collaboration in cancer research and

treatment, bringing together the

nation’s best researchers, clinicians

and educators, and giving them

access to state-of-the-art

technologies. The centre will also

provide the highest standard of care

and treatment for cancer sufferers.

The powerful alliance created by the

Parkville CCC will accelerate the

development of new cancer

treatments, leading to earlier

detection, innovative therapies,

individualised care and — ultimately

— an increase in survival rates and

quality of life.

Other world-class facilities in

Melbourne include:

• The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute

of Medical Research (WEHI) —

Australia’s oldest and largest

research institute, which focuses on

cancer, immunity and infectious

diseases research.

• The University of Melbourne's

Bio21 Molecular Science and

Biotechnology Institute — a

multidisciplinary A$140 million

research centre, specialising in

medical, agricultural and

environmental biotechnology.

• The Burnet Institute — Australia's

largest infectious disease research

institute.

• The A$153 million Australian

Regenerative Medicine Institute

(ARMI) at Monash University,

including the largest zebrafish facility

in the southern hemisphere.

• The A$230 million Victorian AgriBio

Centre, which will create a world-

class centre for agricultural

biosciences R&D, specialising in

animal and health genomics, plant

pathology, animal health and

agricultural sustainability.

• The Melbourne Centre for

Nanofabrication — a new multi-user

research facility operating the largest

purpose-built cleanroom complex in

the southern hemisphere. Current

expertise is provided in the areas of

advanced materials and

biotechnology, leading to the

development of a wide range of

customised sensors, actuators, and

devices applied to areas from

biomedicine and energy, to

nanoelectronics and the

environment.

Victoria continues to transform

local industries into a forward looking

bioeconomy — an economy that

applies bioscience and agri-bioscience

discoveries and technology to solve

health, industrial and environmental

sustainability challenges.

Government strategiesThe Victorian Government sets out

and delivers various programmes and

strategies which contribute to

Victoria’s strong biotechnology sector.

The Victorian Science, Technologyand Innovation Initiative and

Victoria’s Science Agenda are two

key programmes that have driven

innovation and scientific excellence

in Victoria.

The A$637.6 million Science,Technology and Innovation Initiative(STI) represents the largest sustained

investment in science, technology

and innovation by an Australian

State Government.

This investment has already

delivered substantial net benefits to

Victoria’s innovation sector and the

wider Victorian community. Since

1999-2000, the initiative has funded

135 projects that will generate the

equivalent of 7600 full time jobs and

an additional A$1.7 billion in Gross

State Product.

The A$41 million Victoria’s ScienceAgenda Investment Fund (VSAIF) is a

competitive grants programme that

began in 2009. The VSAIF supports

market focused collaborative projects

between business and research

organisations. These projects

strengthen Victoria’s science and

technology capabilities and deliver

tangible outcomes (for example;

products, services and solutions) to

improve productivity, sustainability

and/or health. Projects being funded

include pharmaceuticals, agricultural

biotechnology, health management,

diagnostics and therapies.

At a sectoral level, the

Biotechnology Strategic

Development Plans — three-year

strategic plans implemented by the

Victorian Government in partnership

with industry and researchers, have

had a major influence on the growth

and sustainability of the sector.

Since 2001, the plans have provided

a substantial investment in the

sector, strengthened Victoria’s

capabilities in key areas, and

fostered international partnerships.

Earlier this year, the Victorian

Government issued the first action

plan for small technologies. The

Victorian Action Plan for SmallTechnologies aims to increase the

development of innovative products

and services in Victoria — reinforcing

Victoria’s leadership in science,

technology and innovation, and

helping Victorians to capture the

substantial health and environmental

opportunities being created by

nanotechnology and

microtechnology.

The Victorian Government

supports the sustainable use of its

natural resources, including

biodiscovery. This commitment is

reflected in the release in 2008 of the

policy document, Biodiscovery inVictoria — framework for managingaccess to and use of our nativebiological resources. The policy

provides a framework to ensure the

conservation of biological diversity,

sustainable use of its components,

and fair and equitable sharing of the

benefits arising from the use of

genetic resources.

Other Victorian Government

strategies include the AgBio 21Strategy, which sets out strategic

initiatives to develop Victoria's

biotechnology research base in the

agricultural production and food

processing (AgriFood) sector; the

A$205 million Future FarmingStrategy and Actions, which aims to

build resilient rural communities, able

to deal with rapid change by helping

Victorian farmers and farm

businesses become more productive,

competitive and sustainable; and

Driving Growth: A Road Map and

Action Plan for the Development ofthe Victorian Biofuels Industry, which

invests in driving industry-critical

infrastructure development.

The combination of skilled and

committed researchers and

companies working in close

collaboration with a supportive and

innovative State Government is

driving strong growth ‘down-under’

in one of the world’s leading life

science hubs.

[email protected]



Overview

AgriBio — Victoria’s new agricultural biosciences research centre —is taking shape in Melbourne’s North Biotechnology Precinct at LaTrobe University’s Bundoora campus. The new A$230 million AgriBioCentre will bring together up to 400 biosciences researchers andstaff from the Victorian Government Department of PrimaryIndustries and La Trobe University, including scientists, students andsupport workers, and is set to put Victoria at the forefront of globalagricultural research.

Melbourne’s Life Science Precincts


Biotechnology capabilities built onworld-class research infrastructure

Collaboration and innovation

across Melbourne’s biotech

precincts has created a

dynamic environment,

producing cutting-edge research. Four

individual cluster precincts are

identified – Central, South East, South

West and North. In the following

pages, many of the facilities mentioned

in this article are described in more

detail, demonstrating the key role

which Melbourne plays in the state,

national and global life sciences sector.

Central PrecinctThe Central Precinct is well recognised

for its health biotechnology strengths.

The precinct comprises three

universities (The University of

Melbourne, RMIT University and

Swinburne University), nine hospitals

and some of Australia’s oldest and

most renowned medical research

institutes, all in very close proximity.

The Central Precinct includes

Melbourne’s historic Parkville Precinct

— a globally recognised hub of

excellence in healthcare, research and

education. The University of

Melbourne, at the heart of the

precinct, has a long tradition of

excellence in life science research and

is ranked thirteenth in the world in

the Times Higher EducationBiomedical Rankings.

The Parkville Precinct includes

Bio21, the Austin Biomedical Alliance

and St Vincent Hospital’s Eastern Hill

Precinct, as well as the Western

Hospital and the Peter MacCallum

Cancer Centre. It is also home to

Australia’s leading programme in

medical bionics research — the A$42

million Bionic Vision Australia bionic

eye project.

Within the Central Precinct, a

number of key research facilities are

conveniently located within or near

major tertiary hospitals, providing

the opportunity for a ‘laboratory

bench to hospital bed’ approach to

medical research.

In addition, the relationships

between universities, major teaching

hospitals and research institutes in the

precinct provide the basis for further

developing, housing and trialling

cutting-edge technologies and

treatments that flow from international

and interstate developments.

Over A$5 billion has been invested

in this precinct in the last decade and

further investments are underway.

New initiatives include:

• The A$1 billion world-class Parkville

Comprehensive Cancer Centre. Due

for completion in 2015, the centre will

house 1400 cancer researchers and

will have the largest concentration of

cancer clinicians and researchers in the

southern hemisphere, ranking it

among the top 10 cancer centres in

the world.

• The A$225 million Australian

Centre for Neuroscience and Mental

Health Research, which will bring

together the Florey Neuroscience

Institutes, the Mental Health Research

Institute and neuroscientists from The

University of Melbourne.

• The A$210 million Peter Doherty

Institute for Infection and Immunity.

This new institute will create a new

world-class capability in infectious

diseases by integrating teaching,

training, research and public health

activities at The University of

Melbourne and the Royal

Melbourne Hospital.

• The A$150 million expansion of the

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of

Medical Research, Australia’s oldest

and largest medical research institute.

The expansion will almost double its

research contingent from 600 to over

1000 staff.

• The A$100 million Victorian Life

Sciences Computation Initiative (VLSCI)

will deliver one of the world’s five

largest life sciences supercomputers.

The first computer cluster is now

online, and the initiative’s Stage 1 (an

IBM Blue Gene supercomputer) is due

online mid 2010.

• The Victorian Government has

committed A$94 million to date to

the purpose-built Olivia Newton-

John Cancer and Wellness Centre.

South East PrecinctMelbourne’s South East Precinct has a

strong translational focus in health

research, industrial biotechnology and

nanotechnology. The precinct is home

to Monash University, Southern

Health, the Monash Health Translation

Precinct and AMREP (the Alfred

Medical Research and Education

Precinct) and Australian Synchrotron.

The South East Precinct is centred

around Monash University,

Melbourne’s second university in the

Times Higher Education BiomedicalRankings top 25. The precinct

includes a number of closely aligned

research bodies, companies and

high-tech infrastructure facilities such

as Australia’s largest stem cell

research cluster.

The South East Precinct also

incorporates AMREP, a research and

educational partnership between

Alfred Health, Baker IDI Heart and

Diabetes Institute, Burnet Institute and

three universities. AMREP is home to

significant translational activity in the

health biotechnology area. The Baker

IDI is dedicated to reducing ill health

and mortality caused by the effects of

cardiovascular disease and diabetes,

while the Burnet Institute focuses on

infectious diseases (hepatitis,

influenza, malaria and tuberculosis),

cancer and autoimmune diseases. The

work in both institutes extends from

the laboratory to wide-scale

community studies at the national and

international level with a focus on

diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

At the heart of the precinct,

Monash University achieved Australia’s

first IVF births from frozen embryos in

1980, led the earliest research on

differentiation of human embryonic

stem cells, and now leads research at

the intersection of stem cells and

immunology. Monash researchers also

created Australia’s first human-

induced pluripotent (iPS) cell lines.

Monash Immunology & Stem Cell

Laboratory (MISCL) is located in the

Monash Science Technology Research

and Innovation Precinct (STRIP). Also

on this site is the new A$153 million

Australian Institute of Regenerative

Medicine (ARMI), rapidly becoming

one of the world’s largest regenerative

medicine and stem cell research

centres, and headquarters for the

European Molecular Biology

Laboratory Australia Partner Lab.

Nearby facilities include the

Biomedical Materials Research group

of Australia’s Commonwealth

Scientific and Industrial Research

Organisation (CSIRO) Molecular Health

Technologies Division. The division has

Melbourne offers a host of opportunities in life sciences with world-class facilities in establishedbiotechnology precincts, fostering close relationships between hospitals, health service providers,research organisations, clinicians and industry.


a strong track record in translating

research in novel biomedical materials

to successful clinical and commercial

outcomes. It develops and evaluates

new materials and devices for tissue

repair, replacement and

regeneration. This includes bioactive

scaffolds and adhesives,

biomanufacturing (including stem

cells) and ophthalmic biomaterials.

The Monash Institute for

Nanosciences, Materials and

Manufacture has a wealth of

nanoscience capabilities and the new

Melbourne Centre for

Nanofabrication will provide state-of-

the-art fabrication facilities.

The South East Precinct is also

home to Australia’s newest major

national research facility, the A$220

million Australian Synchrotron. The

3GeV synchrotron is the largest

facility of its kind in the southern

hemisphere and provides world-class

x-ray and infrared imaging and

analytical techniques for R&D and

commercial purposes. Its upgraded

medical and imaging facility,

scheduled for completion in 2012,

will be the most advanced instrument

of its type in the world.

The South East Precinct will

continue to grow, with an additional

investment of A$103 million

committed for expansion.

South West PrecinctThe South West Precinct is clustered

around Deakin University in Geelong

and is known for its industrial

biotechnology and large scale

manufacturing capability. Deakin

University is also home to one of

Victoria’s three medical schools.

The precinct has strengths in health

and industrial biotechnology,

functional foods, nanotechnology,

biomaterials and manufacturing. The

precinct’s location in the regional city

of Geelong, about an hour from

Melbourne, provides opportunities for

large-scale enterprises and industrial

scale infrastructure.

Geelong hosts the Geelong

Technology Precinct (GTP), a facility

for research aimed at industry

cooperation and research application.

The GTP has been developed to

provide an 11,000 sq m research and

commercial facility together with

existing biotechnology and other

research capabilities on site.

Research consortia such as

BioDeakin and the Victorian Centre

for Advanced Materials

Manufacturing (VCAMM) are based at

the GTP. BioDeakin builds on existing

strengths in biomedical and bio-health

sciences, plant and aquatic biology,

biotechnology and bioethics. Most

recently, VCAMM has been funded by

the Victorian Government to establish

and operate the world’s first pilot

scale carbon fibre research and

development facility, in collaboration

with Deakin University, at the GTP.

The Australian Animal Health

Laboratory (AAHL) located in the

South West Precinct is a major facility

of the CSIRO and is the national

centre of excellence in disease

diagnosis, research and policy advice

in animal health. AAHL is one of the

most sophisticated laboratories in the

world for the safe handling and

containment of animal diseases.

AAHL’s high-biocontainment facility

contains modern animal facilities that

can house a range of animal species

up to physical containment level four

(PC4), the highest level available.

North PrecinctThe North Precinct, centred on the

suburb of Bundoora, represents a

significant agribiosciences cluster and

is home to the Victorian

AgriBiosciences Centre and several

Cooperative Research Centres.

The North Precinct is currently

undergoing significant expansion

with a number of developments in

progress. The A$230 million AgriBio

Centre at La Trobe University will be

a world-class facility for agricultural

biosciences research and

development, bringing together up

to 400 researchers and staff. The

AgriBio Centre will specialise in plant

and animal genomics, plant

pathology, animal health and

agricultural sustainability. The AgriBio

Centre is also home to the new

A$128 million Dairy Futures

Cooperative Research Centre. The

centre brings Australian dairy

research together in one location and

includes 16 partners from industry,

research organisations and

government. The centre will boost

research into improved dairy farming

practices, and will help develop more

productive pastures, improve the

selective breeding of cattle, and

reduce methane production. New

pasture varieties and farming

systems developed at the centre will

assist the dairy industry to adapt to

climate change and reduce its

environmental impacts.

Another key agribioscience project

Melbourne’s Life Science Precincts

being undertaken in the North

Precinct is the A$28 million

collaboration programme between

BASF Plant Science (Germany) and

the Molecular Plant Breeding

Cooperative Research Centre. This

seven-year drought-tolerant wheat

project is one of the most advanced

in the world and produced Australia’s

first field trial of drought-tolerant GM

wheat plant.

The A$97 million La Trobe Institute

for Molecular Sciences (LIMS) will be a

leader in molecular science,

biotechnology and nanotechnology

research and research training.

Students of different disciplines

(biochemistry, chemistry, genetics,

molecular archaeology) will

intermingle in shared work-space to

achieve aims that would not be

possible in traditional academic

settings. Postgraduate students and

postdoctoral scientists will work in an

environment in which basic research

findings are pursued, but also

successfully translated into commercial

products. Acting as a hub, LIMS will

provide infrastructure for collaborative

projects involving partners that include

the Cooperative Research Centres for

Biomarker Translation and Cancer

Therapeutics, and the AgriBio Centre.

Both the AgriBio Centre and LIMS

are expected to be fully operational

by 2012.





Australian Synchrotron – abrilliant light on life sciences

Although it has been

operating for just two

years, the Australian

Synchrotron is already

transforming Australia's scientific and

industrial research capacity and

enhancing Melbourne’s status as a

world-leading location life science

centre. Bringing the best scientists to

Melbourne and accelerating scientific

discovery, the Australian Synchrotron

is a crucial tool to support

development of new biotechnology

techniques and processes, and drive

the genesis of innovative products.

Rapidly attracting the largest

number of users of any scientific

facility in the southern hemisphere,

the Australian Synchrotron now

serves Australia’s researchers across

the spectrum of bioscience and other

areas of research endeavour.

Providing immensely bright photon

beams, from infrared to hard x-rays,

and using some of the world’s

newest and most advanced

beamlines, it is speeding up drug

target identification, enabling

groundbreaking research, and

advancing work on new medical

therapies that would be impossible

using conventional techniques.

Enhancing national science

The Australian Synchrotron currently

has nine beamlines, and potential to

expand to 38. The synchrotron is a

unique capability in Australian

science, drawing together

researchers from diverse disciplines

to enhance the national science

effort. Current beamlines are

dedicated to:

• high-throughput macromolecular

crystallography

• micromolecular crystallography

• imaging and medical therapy

• small and wide angle

x-ray scattering

• soft x-ray spectroscopy

• x-ray fluorescence microspectroscopy

• x-ray absorption spectroscopy

• powder diffraction

• infrared microspectroscopy and far

infrared and high resolution

infrared.

The Victorian Government’s

determination to establish Melbourne

as a major international focus for life

sciences and biotechnology is

evidenced by its A$157 million capital

contribution to constructing the

A$221 million Australian

Synchrotron. Victoria also provides

half the facility’s operating costs,

with the other half being funded by

the Australian Government and

additional operating support from

the Government of New Zealand.

An exciting upgrade to the

Australian Synchrotron’s imaging and

medical beamline, achievable

through the generous support of the

Australian Government,

demonstrates national support for

scientific excellence. This upgrade,

due for completion in 2012, will

make this beamline the world’s most

advanced instrument of its type.

With such a large range of

advanced research techniques, the

Australian Synchrotron is a mini-cluster

on its own. The Australian Synchrotron

promotes collaboration and exchange

of exciting new ideas across major

branches of research, including:

• biomedical R&D

• pharmaceutical discovery and

development of new drugs and

delivery systems

• environmental science

• agricultural and food science

• forensics.

Opened in 2007, the Australian Synchrotron is the most significant piece of national research infrastructureto be constructed in Australia in decades. The Victorian Government, recognising the opportunity toenhance the state’s leadership in scientific endeavour, stepped forward and chose to build this world-classfacility, which has strengthened Victoria’s reputation as the innovation and science capital of Australia.

Pinpointing drug targetsSynchrotron crystallography beamlines are the workhorses of twenty-first century drug discovery. Australian protein chemists and drugdevelopers can now use synchrotron light to quickly analyse large numbers of target proteins and screen candidate drug compounds, withouthaving to take fragile samples or equipment overseas. Two recent breakthroughs include the structure of a key malarial enzyme that lays thefoundation for a new class of antimalarial drugs, and valuable new knowledge about the ‘cell suicide’ mechanisms that some viruses hijack sothey can continue to replicate and spread. Rapid access is available to researchers with an urgent need to beat international competitors orstrengthen their intellectual property position. Remote access and robotic loading capabilities mean that eligible researchers can use thesebeamlines from the comfort of their own laboratories.

The Australian Synchrotron is a crucial tool to support developmentof new biotechnology techniques and processes, and drive thegenesis of innovative products.





The exciting range of cutting-edge

science performed in this versatile

facility provides new opportunities for

intellectual exchange and synergy

across a huge range of very diverse

R&D and scientific disciplines.

The Australian Synchrotron has

strong links with leading universities

in Melbourne and Australia-wide, the

nation’s premier government

research organisations, Melbourne’s

internationally renowned medical

research institutes, plus national

Centres of Excellence and

Collaborative Research Centres.

These key relationships boost the

global competitiveness of Victoria’s

thriving biotech sector.

The educational experience of

Australia’s outstanding early career

life scientists is enhanced by their

ability to be part of research teams

using beamlines hands-on, and to

participate in major international

conferences attracted to Australia by

the Australian Synchrotron,

including several prominent

bioscience-related meetings.

InternationalcollaborationopportunitiesThe Australian Synchrotron’s capacity

to promote collaboration is enhanced

by remote beamline access, and

international partnerships are a key

focus of the work undertaken at the

facility. The synchrotron welcomes

leading international research teams,

and has formal collaboration

agreements with other synchrotrons

in Europe, Asia and the USA.

The Australian Synchrotron also

actively supports international

researchers. For example, the

Australian Synchrotron recently

facilitated a workshop between

researchers at Elettra (Italy) and

Australia with a specific focus on the

development and use of synchrotron

technology for medical and materials

science. The workshop yielded a

number of important scientific

outcomes that impact the work

undertaken at the Australian

Synchrotron and Elettra, with a

particular focus on detection and

safety systems.

This versatile hub for fundamental

and applied research attests to the

foresight of the Victorian Government

and the vision to develop the

Australian Synchrotron as a major

national and international asset for

research, innovation, education and

economic development.

www.synchrotron.org.au

Shining a new light on diseaseThe new imaging and medical therapy beamline is a crucial addition

to the armoury of scientists researching faster disease detection and

new treatments. The Australian Synchrotron makes visible the

minute changes in tissue development, at many times the resolution

of conventional x-ray CT scans. Researchers will use the facility to

examine many serious human diseases and help develop more

effective treatment methods. Their work will address a wide range of

health conditions, including major cancers such as breast cancer,

cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, cystic fibrosis, neonatal lung

function and development, and many others. Due for completion in

2012, the Australian Synchrotron’s upgraded imaging and medical

beamline will be the world’s most advanced instrument of its type.

Photons fighting painScientists have used the infrared microspectroscopy beamline at the

Australian Synchrotron to investigate minute chemical changes that

precede any visible sign of cartilage damage in rheumatoid arthritis.

Investigating how antibodies to collagen affect rheumatoid arthritis

in mice, the group is collaborating with Swedish researchers who

have identified where these antibodies bind to collagen in mouse

cartilage. This work suggests that the damage done by the

antibodies occurs before inflammation, and could help lead to new

drugs or more effective early diagnosis.

Better broccoliThe Australian Synchrotron’s x-ray fluorescence microscopybeamline has been used to map selenium in broccoli after regulatedfeeding. ‘Booster Broccoli’ is now available in Australiansupermarkets and provides at least 40 per cent more antioxidantsthan existing stock. The techniques used to examine the broccolisamples will be applied to nutrient levels in other vegetable crops,benefiting consumer health, and helping vegetable growers toimprove their competitiveness on global markets.

Microbeams for major cancersLeading cancer researchers recently performed the first microbeam

radiotherapy (MRT) experiments on the imaging and medical therapy

beamline. In November 2009, the team used MRT to treat laboratory

mice with malignant tumours. They found MRT significantly reduced

tumour growth with minimal damage to normal tissue. Although

MRT research is still in the experimental stage, researchers hope it

will lead to more effective treatments for aggressive cancers such as

gliomas. The Australian Synchrotron is one of only four facilities

around the world that can do MRT studies.

The Victorian Government’s determination to establish Melbourne as a major international focus for lifesciences and biotechnology is evidenced by its A$157 million capital contribution to constructing theA$221 million Australian Synchrotron.

Parkville ComprehensiveCancer Centre




New centre offers world class cancer research,diagnosis, treatment and care

In 2003, the Victorian Government

embarked upon an ambitious

cancer reform programme

underpinned by A Cancer ServicesFramework for Victoria, focussing on

the need for supporting

multidisciplinary and supportive care

across the cancer spectrum and

reducing unwanted variations in

practice. Importantly, the Frameworkalso delineated the need for

redevelopment of the current Peter

MacCallum Cancer Centre.

This commitment was strengthened

in late 2008 with the release of

Victoria’s Cancer Action Plan (2008-11). The A$150 million Plan outlines a

medium to long-term vision for cancer

reform including developing three

major metropolitan cancer `hubs’; the

Parkville Comprehensive Cancer

Centre (Parkville CCC), the Olivia

Newton-John Cancer and Wellness

Centre at Austin Health in the north

east of Melbourne, and the recently

formed Monash Comprehensive

Cancer Consortium in the south east.

Each hub will extend the State’s

leadership in cancer research and

innovation and will work closely with

other cancer services and researchers

throughout Melbourne and in regional

centres to improve outcomes for

people living with cancer in Victoria.

The Parkville CCC will make a

major contribution to key outcomes

of the Plan, with its strong focus on

translating cancer research into better

health outcomes.

The vision for the Parkville CCC is to

save lives by driving the next

generation of improvements in the

prevention, detection and treatment of

cancer. The Parkville CCC will achieve

this through the integration of

research, education and patient care. It

will be a centre of excellence that

facilitates the rapid translation of

ground-breaking discoveries from

‘bench to bedside’, attracting the best

and brightest researchers and clinicians,

and drawing international investment

and research collaborations.

Facilitating innovation andintegration in cancer careThe A$1 billion Parkville CCC will bring

together world-leading health

research, education and clinical

organisations: the Peter MacCallum

Cancer Centre, Melbourne Health

(which includes the Royal Melbourne

Hospital), Ludwig Institute for Cancer

Research (Melbourne branch), The

University of Melbourne, Walter and

Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

and the Royal Women’s Hospital. All

six partners have established the

Parkville CCC as an incorporated joint

venture to facilitate the innovation and

integration in cancer care, research

and education and to achieve a world

leading cancer centre and workforce.

The Parkville CCC will bring together

around 800 existing cancer researchers

working closely with outstanding

cancer clinicians and providing facilities

for more than 1400 clinicians and

researchers. The Parkville precinct is

already acknowledged as a world-class

precinct for biomedical research,

clinical care and education, with

research institutes, hospitals and a

major university all located within a 10-

minute walk of each other.

Education and training will also be

a key part of the collaborative effort

of the Parkville CCC. Melbourne,

along with London and Boston, is one

of only three cities in the world with

two universities in the global top 20

biomedicine rankings1. This capacity

will leverage the Parkville CCC as a

world-class centre of excellence,

equivalent to the designated

comprehensive cancer centres in the

United States and comparable

facilities elsewhere in Europe and

Asia. The Parkville CCC will attract

increased investment in biomedical

research into Victoria and Australia.

A well-trained research and clinical

workforce is essential not only to

delivering the vision of the Parkville

CCC, but also to contributing towards

ensuring that every cancer centre in

Victoria, including rural and regional

Victoria, has trained cancer specialists,

and therefore that all Victorians have

access to the best possible cancer care.


committed A$426.1 million to the

project over five years, which has been

generously matched by the Australian

Government to realise the enormous

value of this important project. The

remaining funds will come from the sale

of surplus land, partner contributions

and philanthropic donations.

Victoria’s other cancer hubsThe Victorian Government has

committed A$69 million in the 2010-11

State budget towards stage two of the

Olivia Newton-John Cancer and

Wellness Centre, taking the

commitment to date to A$94 million.

The purpose-built, dedicated cancer

centre will provide the latest medical

treatment and wellness care to

patients from across Victoria and will be

home to many important clinical trials

enabling researchers to turn important

discoveries into better outcomes for

patients. This investment will deliver

new, expanded and internationally

significant translational research

facilities for the Ludwig Institute for

Cancer Research branch at the Austin

Hospital, the Ludwig’s global centre

for cancer clinical trials and

translational research.

The third cancer hub in

Melbourne’s rapidly expanding south

east region is the Monash

Comprehensive Cancer Consortium

(MCCC). This developing entity links

the significant clinical, research and

academic institutions and services in

the south east to support expanded

translational research collaborations

and provide the highest quality care

for cancer patients. The MCCC

includes: Monash University; the

Alfred Hospital; Cabrini Hospital;

Monash Medical Centre and Peninsula

Health, as well as the Southern

Metropolitan Integrated Cancer

Service, and internationally renowned

research institutions: the Burnet and

Prince Henry’s institutes and the

Australian Synchrotron.

The Victorian Government has nominated cancer as one of its top priorities and is committed to ensuring that allVictorians have access to the best possible cancer care, informed by world-class research. The A$1 billion ParkvilleComprehensive Cancer Centre will bring together world-leading health research, education and clinical organisations.

1 www.vicbioportal.org/Biotechnology-in-Victoria/Biomedical.aspx

Parkville CCC provides key cancer focus for Victoria and Australia

The Parkville CCC will be a research and training knowledge resource, notjust for Victoria but for Australia and beyond. It will enable Victoria andAustralia to save lives and improve quality of life by:

• discovering tomorrow’s cancer treatments and diagnostics throughtranslational research

• studying and quickly implementing the latest local and overseasadvances in cancer diagnosis and treatment

• improving care for patients with rare tumours and other forms of cancer• improving patient access to cancer clinical trials• ensuring best practice by advanced training of cancer clinicians

and specialists• creating facilities to attract and retain the best cancer clinicians and

researchers from around the world• developing a unique research, training and knowledge resource• attracting increased investment in Victorian biosciences.

Australian Regenerative Australian Regenerative Medicine InstituteMedicine Institute



Understanding the mechanismsunderlying regenerative processes

Regenerative medicine

explores the processes that

restore damaged or

degenerating tissues, often

by recapitulating original embryonic

development.

ARMI’s research aims to understand

the mechanisms underlying

regenerative processes, and enable the

prevention, halting and reversal of

damage to vital organs due to disease,

injury or genetic conditions. Conditions

such as neurodegenerative disorders,

diabetes, arthritis, musculo-skeletal

and cardiovascular diseases are

investigated at the ARMI facility.

The Institute integrates research in

three key platforms: structural

biology (molecular level); cell biology

(cell level); and regenerative biology

(organism level).

Central to ARMI’s capabilities is the

development of state-of-the-art research

facilities. ARMI is home to FishCore, the

largest zebrafish facility of its kind in the

southern hemisphere, housing 6200

tanks and more than 300,000 zebrafish.

ARMI’s GeneCore transgenic

services are unique in Australia,

utilising cutting-edge genetic

manipulation technology. The facility

provides specialised modification of

genomic material from multiple

organisms, including DNA targeting

and transgenic constructs. This

includes the generation of new

research models of disease for use by

Australian and international scientists.

ARMI works collaboratively with the

Monash Micro Imaging (MMI) facility,

a microscopy and imaging research

support facility co-located at Monash

University. MMI staff expertise and

equipment are available on a

collaborative basis. The MMI facility

includes optical and fluorescence

microscopy, confocal microscopy, live

cell imaging, electron microscopy, cryo

methods for tissue preparation, and

digital imaging and image analysis.

Established model fordevelopmentARMI is also the headquarters for

EMBL Australia and its Partner

Laboratory Network (PLN) with

potential new laboratories to be

developed at nodes located

throughout Australia. The PLN is based

on the philosophy and principles

successfully established at EMBL, and

guarantees the provision of basic

research resources to outstanding

young researchers competitively

selected from an international talent

pool. The EMBL Australia model gives

these scientists the freedom to pursue

discovery-based research and positions

them to become tomorrow’s scientific

leaders. The first Group Leader in the

EMBL Australia PLN at ARMI was

announced in March 2010.

The EMBL Australia PLN attracts

high calibre international scientists to

Victoria and develops sustainable links

with leading research centres in

Europe. The network also provides an

incubator for training and, by

producing outstanding young career

researchers, amplifies research

quality and outputs.

ARMI opened in April 2009 at the

Clayton campus of Monash University

and is a joint venture between Monash

University and the State Government

of Victoria, with additional support

from the Australian Government.

Funding for ARMI’s research

programme is currently provided by

the National Health and Medical

Research Council, Australian Research

Council and private philanthropy.

Key research themesARMI researchers come from 16

different countries and are leaders in

the field of regenerative medicine.

Key research projects currently being

undertaken include:

• Investigating the biological

mechanism controlling heart and

skeletal muscle during development,

ageing and degenerative disorders.

• Identifying new clinical targets to

improve cardiac muscle regeneration

and repair following damage from

ageing or heart attack.

• Characterising the molecular

switches present in animals such as

salamanders to regenerate limbs and

other body parts.

• Examining the role of the immune

system in the regeneration process and

how it may be used to prevent the

scarring that occurs during wound

healing in mammals.

• Developing better methods to

identify and grow stem cells

responsible for different tissues types

and methods for allowing the growth

of tissues such as skeletal muscle,

nerves and the retina.

• Determining the molecular signals

guiding the growth of nerves in the

visual system and identifying how

those signals may be controlled

following damage to the visual

nerve pathway.

• Revealing the molecular and

cellular mechanisms that regulate

morphogenesis and tissue growth

during embryonic development.

• Characterising the regulatory

mechanisms by which different

muscle cell types are determined and

the process by which different

muscle fibre types are precisely

organised during development, using

various animal models.

• Understanding the cell biological

and developmental mechanisms that

underlie common muscular

dystrophies and the degeneration

of the musculoskeletal system

during ageing.

www.armi.org.au

Modelled on the renowned European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the AustralianRegenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) at Melbourne’s Monash University takes amultidisciplinary, collaborative approach to regenerative sciences.

ARMI is home to FishCore, the largest zebrafish facility of its kind inthe southern hemisphere, housing 6200 tanks and more than300,000 zebrafish.



Bio21 Institute


Cutting-edge science, technology and innovation hub

The Bio21 Molecular Science

and Biotechnology Institute

(Bio21 Institute) is a flagship

multidisciplinary research centre

specialising in medical, agricultural

and environmental biotechnology.

Completed in 2005 with an initial

capital investment of over A$140

million, the Bio21 Institute is located in

the heart of the prestigious Parkville

Biosciences Precinct, one of the major

educational, biomedical research and

clinical precincts in the world.

Recognising the opportunities and

challenges presented by the life

sciences revolution, the University of

Melbourne harnessed research

strengths across science, medicine and

engineering disciplines. Supported by

the State Government of Victoria,

together with the Australian

Government and philanthropy, a

physical and intellectual environment

was created to inspire and motivate

scientists to conduct innovative

multidisciplinary research.

The Bio21 Institute aspires to be a

world leader in the basic and strategic

interdisciplinary research and

biotechnological innovation that

underpins the life sciences sector.

Fundamental to the Institute’s strategy is

the alignment of research programmes

focusing on three thematic areas:

• Structural Biology, which provides

an understanding of the

organisation of complex biological

systems and molecular processes

that underpin normal cellular

development and disease;

• Chemical Biology, the small molecules

that impact on biological systems and

environmental ecosystems or can be

used to manipulate biological processes

to provide the basis of novel

therapeutics and insect control

agents; and

• Nanobiotechnology, which brings

together the physical and life sciences

with engineering, working at the

sub-nanometre scale, to provide a

new level of health, agricultural and

environmental research.

Today more than 500 research

scientists, students, administrators and

industry partners are co-located within

the complex, making the Bio21 Institute

one of the largest biotechnology

research centres in Australia.

Key platform technologiesTo complement the physical and

intellectual environment, the Bio21

Institute has built critical mass in key

platform technologies that enhance

contemporary biotechnology research,

minimise duplication and strengthen

opportunities for researchers across

the broader scientific community. This

includes significant investment in

nuclear magnetic resonance, mass

spectrometry for proteomics and

metabolomics, high resolution

electron microscopy and

bioinformatics.

Establishing these enabling platform

technologies, with in-house technical

expertise and know-how, provides

researchers with access to state-of-the-

art facilities that help them understand

the composition, structure and

networks of interaction of molecules

and then use this knowledge of

fundamental biological processes of

life in biotechnological applications.

Leveraging the networkDeveloping strong industry networks

and partnerships has been a priority of

the Bio21 industry engagement

strategy. By facilitating these links, the

Institute fosters an environment that

nurtures opportunities to help bridge

industry and academia, providing the

potential to add mutual value, benefit

and opportunities, particularly for the

development of young researchers as

future innovators and industry leaders.

Today, the Bio21 Institute

accommodates a number of

companies ranging from large

biopharmaceutical to small emerging

biotechnology companies.

The Bio21 Institute’s premier

location in Parkville’s life sciences

precinct allows for opportunities to

leverage from the cluster of

neighbouring research organisations,

their capabilities and expertise. With

more than 10,000 researchers,

including 6500 research staff and

3500 postgraduate research

students, surrounding the Bio21

Institute, research collaboration and

training is flourishing.

Recent and ongoing investment

around the Parkville precinct provides

exciting new developments in the

areas of high performance computing,

data storage and bioinformatics that

will revolutionise Victoria’s life sciences

sector and aid Bio21’s future

development and growth. Working

with the local and international

molecular science and engineering

communities, the Bio21 Institute will

continue to foster innovative health-

related biotechnology research, and

the translation of promising

opportunities into significant

economic and community outcomes.

www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au

The University of Melbourne’s Bio21 Molecular Science and BiotechnologyInstitute was officially opened in 2005 with the vision ‘Improving healththrough biotechnology innovation and dynamic industry engagement’.Five years on, the evolution has been impressive.

The Bio21 Institute is an

interdisciplinary merit-based centre

of research excellence and

innovation of world standing that:

• achieves biotechnology innovation

through world-class

interdisciplinary research in

biomedical, agricultural and

environmental biotechnology

• establishes core platform technologies

available to a wide cross-section of

the science and industry community

• translates research into

educational, economic and

community benefits

• enhances research and training

programmes

• provides a forum for debate.

Centre of research excellence

The University of Melbourne’sBio21 Institute is located in theheart of the prestigious ParkvilleBiosciences Precinct, one of themajor educational, biomedicalresearch and clinical precincts inthe world.

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Bio21 Cluster




Collaboration to accomplishhigh performance

The Bio21 Cluster, a not-for-

profit public company in

Melbourne’s central Parkville

precinct, is the facilitating

body for a 21 member biomedical,

health and biotechnology research

cluster. Comprising universities,

tertiary health services, medical

research institutes, the Australian

Commonwealth Scientific and

Research Organisation (CSIRO) and

other member-based organisations, it

encompasses international strengths

in biomedical research, healthcare

and education.

Members of the Bio21 Cluster

include many of the most highly

ranked research institutions and

universities in Australia. Members’

research ranges from child mental

health research, through to

biomedical information and

communication technology. Cancer,

neuroscience, diabetes, obesity, and

infection and immunity disease areas

have the highest research

concentration.

The Bio21 Cluster facilitates

collaborative projects and

translational research, shared

technology platforms, business

development and education

programmes, and advocates on

behalf of all its members. It provides

a unique means to foster strategic

and collaborative innovation from

basic science through translational

research to deliver social and

economic benefits.

Bio21 Cluster boasts a strong

commercial record, with Bio21

Cluster members spinning out 15

biotech companies with $A273

million worth of combined

commercial activity in the 2008-09

financial year. This included 169

invention disclosures, 92 provisional

patents and 67 international patents.

During the period, 64 projects were

in preclinical development, with 29,

33, 30 and one project(s) in phase I,

II, III and IV clinical trials respectively.

There were 107 service contracts,

805 research contracts and 66

licensing deals.

AchievementsEstablished in 2001 with assistance

from the Victorian Government, the

Bio21 Cluster has made contributions

in diverse areas, across multiple

disciplines and via various

mechanisms.

Key achievements of the Cluster

and its members include:

• Molecular Science and

Biotechnology Institute (also known as

The Bio21 Institute, University of

Melbourne) — The major

development initiative of the original

funding agreement with the Victorian

Government, the Bio21 Institute is a

multidisciplinary research centre,

specialising in medical, agricultural

and environmental biotechnology.

• BioGrid Australia — A federated

platform that integrates health and

research data across multiple

databases and institutions providing a

flexible and secure method for

interrogating a wealth of research and

clinical data. Now a not-for-profit

company, BioGrid supports research

for improved health outcomes in over

13 different cancer types, diabetes,

cystic fibrosis, epilepsy and other

neural diseases (www.biogrid.org.au).

• Bio21 Collaborative Crystallisation

Centre (also known as Bio21:C3) —

Provides the infrastructure to support

expertly driven high-throughput

protein crystallisation across multiple

nodes. C3 underpins the protein

structural research essential for drug

design and discovery.

• Enhanced technological capability in

high-throughput screening and

medicinal chemistry — One of only a

few academic facilities worldwide that

enables high-throughput testing of

several hundred thousand compounds

against a single target or cell line, a

key process in drug discovery. The

platform is a joint development with

the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of

Medical Research (WEHI).

• Victorian Cancer Biobank — A

consortium of tissue banks providing

researchers with high quality tissue

samples and data in order to facilitate

cancer research discoveries. The

Biobank was seeded through the

Bio21 Cluster Scientific Advisory

Council.

www.bio21.com.au

Research clusters generate a local critical mass in research facilities, expertise and professional networksand enhance research productivity, innovation and efficiency. The advantages are clear, and thetransition from research ‘silos’ to more integrated networks in research clusters continues globally.

With the focus on research clusters, there is a trend to establishcentralised platform (or core) facilities providing specialised equipmentand expertise. A platform technology is “a technique or tool thatenables a range of scientific investigations”. The use of researchplatforms can improve outcomes, both in quality and efficiency, as theyare run by experts proficient in the use of the technology and familiarwith the many tricks-of-the-trade necessary to produce consistentquality results.

The Victorian Platform Technologies Network (VPTN) was establishedin 2009. It is a network of 99 facilities (and growing) which include thoseoffering expertise and services ranging from high performancecomputing, to basic biological discovery through to advanced drug

development and clinical trials services. It is the most comprehensivebiomedical cross-disciplinary network in Australia. Sixty five platformsare coordinated through the Bio21 Cluster.

The VPTN website (www.platformtechnologies.org) is tailored to themanagers of platform facilities and provides information on workshops,local events, opportunities and network information.

The Victorian Bioportal (www.vicbioportal.org) website is the placefor researchers to identify Victorian platforms with specific capabilities,creating a marketing space for individual platform technologies. It offerscomprehensive details on the whole Victorian biotechnology sector andis relevant to those already in Victoria and to those considering movingto Victoria.

Victorian Platform Technologies Network


Information, Communication Information, Communication and Representationand Representation


Creating Global Solutions at Asia-Pacific’spremier biotechnology conference

AusBiotech 2010 will include

a comprehensive

conference programme

together with an extensive

BioIndustry Exhibition and Business

Matching Programme. With the

theme 'Creating Global Solutions',

AusBiotech 2010 will focus on

biotechnology solutions in new

therapies, diagnostics and medical

devices, as well as agricultural and

industrial biotechnology, and how

these technologies can be applied in

answers to issues that we share

around the globe, including climate

change.

The event will bring together

representatives and professionals

from across the biotechnology

industry and the globe to produce a

world-class event. Last year the event

attracted 1423 delegates from 17

countries, and 1983 conference

participants.

Australasian Investment SummitImmediately preceding AusBiotech

2010 is the Australasian Investment

Summit. Last year's summit attracted

over 100 investors from 90

institutions from around the world,

AusBiotech 2010, Australia’s Biotechnology Conference and the premier biotechnologyconference for the Asia-Pacific region, will be held in Melbourne from 19 to 22 October 2010.

Last year AusBiotech 2009 attracted 1423 delegates from 17countries, and 1983 conference participants.

In addition to a comprehensive conference programme, AusBiotechfeatures a BioIndustry Exhibition and Business Matching Programme.

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BioMelbourne Network is the

peak industry forum for

leaders of Victoria’s

biotechnology industry, with

a focus on developing the State of

Victoria’s biotechnology industry. It

serves as a membership body,

representative of the broad

biotechnology and research sector in

Victoria. The Network provides a

critical link for the biotechnology and

research community and fosters

strong links between companies,

research organisations, financial

markets and government.

The BioMelbourne Network is

Australia’s first independent and only

state-based industry body that works

in cohesion with the science

community, business and

government. www.biomelbourne.org

Victorian BioPortal is gateway to the largestbiotechnology sector in Australia

The Victorian BioPortal allows

users to access a wealth of

information about Victoria’s

biotechnology sector — the

largest biotechnology sector in

Australia. The BioPortal is also a key

gateway to the Victorian Platform

Technologies Network (VPTN) —

designed to help connect researchers

and industry with other organisations

within the biotechnology sector.

The extensive BioPortal database

provides links to every Victorian-based

company presently developing and

applying bioscience discoveries to

solve today’s most urgent challenges

in health, agriculture, industry and

environmental sustainability.

The BioPortal also includes detailed

and regularly updated information on

current research and investment in

Victoria’s biotechnology sector. Links

to related research and development

sites are also provided.

Launched earlier this year, the

website was developed by the Victorian

Government in partnership with leading

industry organisations BioMelbourne

Network and AusBiotech.

www.vicbioportal.org

BioMelbourne Network provides industry forum

to hear from 40 selected Australian

late-stage and emerging

biotechnology companies showcasing

Australia's world-class R&D

and commercialisation.

www.ausbiotech2010.com.au

Agricultural Research




A$230 million AgriBio Centre puts Victoriaat forefront of global agricultural R&D

Located at La Trobe University’s

Bundoora campus, the new

A$230 million AgriBio Centre

will bring together up to 400

biosciences researchers and staff from

the Victorian Government Department

of Primary Industries and La Trobe

University, including scientists,

students and support workers, and is

set to put Victoria at the forefront of

global agricultural research.

AgriBio will be a world class

centre for agricultural biosciences

R&D, specialising in plant and animal

genomics, plant pathology, animal

health and agricultural sustainability.

AgriBio will play a significant role in

the new global alliance between the

Victorian Government and Dow

AgroScience. This collaboration will

share technologies and scientific

expertise to develop new plant

varieties and traits to meet the

growing global demand for food,

livestock feed and energy. Crops

targeted by the alliance will include

canola, corn and wheat, as well as

bioenergy crops.

Developing new plant varieties that

are resistant to the impacts of climate

change and that improve crop yields

will be critical to the future of

Victorian agriculture. The centre will

also play a leading role in the rapid

detection and eradication of plant

and animal disease outbreaks, and in

helping Australia’s farming sector to

meet climate change, environmental

and other challenges.

By offering state-of-the-art facilities

and well-established Victorian

expertise in biosciences, the centre

will attract leading scientists from

around the world, foster collaboration

across scientific disciplines to provide

solutions to industry problems, and

enable the sharing of technology,

equipment and facilities required for

advanced R&D.

The centre is expected to be fully

operational in 2012.www.latrobe.edu.au/agribio

AgriBio — Victoria’s new agricultural biosciences research centre — is taking shape inMelbourne’s North Biotechnology Precinct.

The University of Melbourne in

partnership with IBM will

establish the supercomputer

in stages to create a system

of over 800 Teraflops. One Teraflop

capacity enables a computer to make

one trillion calculations per second. If

built today, the supercomputer

would rank in the top six

supercomputers worldwide and be

more powerful than the

supercomputer currently used by

NASA in California.

Under the partnership, IBM will

establish an IBM ‘Collaboratory’ with

leading life sciences and

computational specialists at The

University of Melbourne. An IBM

Collaboratory is a laboratory where

IBM researchers co-locate with a

partner to share skills and resources to

achieve a common research goal. A

Collaboratory allows IBM researchers

to pursue research outside IBM’s labs

and existing business units, by

working with other institutions

around the world that have different

expertise, environments or access to

partners. This is the first time IBM has

established a Collaboratory in life

sciences anywhere in the world, and

also the first IBM research

Collaboratory in the southern

hemisphere.

Driving breakthroughsin understandingThe Victorian Government and The

University of Melbourne established

the A$100 million Victorian Life

Sciences Computation Initiative

(VLSCI) in 2008 to strengthen the

research capabilities and outcomes of

Victorian life sciences research. The

VLSCI holds great potential for

driving new breakthroughs in the

understanding of human disease and

translating that knowledge into

improved medical care.

The VLSCI is structured into three

programmes:

• The supercomputer facility to

provide world-class high-

performance computing services to

Victorian life sciences researchers;

• A Life Sciences Computation

Centre across three strategic

Melbourne locations to provide

computational expertise supporting

the researchers’ effective use of the

supercomputer facility; and

• An outreach programme to

highlight the benefits of the VLSCI to

the public, industry and government,

to develop the skills and expertise for

computational life sciences and to

assist students at the undergraduate

and postgraduate levels.

Supporting the supercomputer

and other programmes, the VLSCI

will have over 50 specialists by

2013, assisting more than 200

research teams using the VLSCI

facilities and services.

Through the VLSCI, the

supercomputer will be a powerful

tool available to Victoria’s researchers

to solve some of the biggest

challenges facing the state’s health

system and impacting its quality of

life. Access to the supercomputer will

enable researchers to process genes

to identify risk of cancer and

treatment, model brain functions to

treat brain disorders and disease, and

model and predict the threats of

infectious disease. The

supercomputer collaboration with

IBM provides a further enhancement

of Victoria’s reputation as a global

centre for excellence in life sciences

research capabilities.



Supercomputer

World’s most powerful life sciencesupercomputer being built in MelbourneThe world’s most powerful supercomputer dedicated to life sciences research is being built at theUniversity of Melbourne in the prestigious Parkville science precinct.



Industrial Biotechnology


Victoria moves to lead in industrial biotechnology

Industrial biotechnology activities

in Victoria are focussed on two

major life science precincts,

located to the south east and

south west of the city of Melbourne.

South West PrecinctAbout an hour south west of

Melbourne, Deakin University in

Geelong and the associated South

West Precinct is a Victorian industrial

biotechnology hub and large scale

manufacturing capability, providing

opportunities for large-scale enterprises

and industrial scale infrastructure.

Deakin University’s biotechnology

strengths include biomaterials and

manufacturing, along with functional

foods and nanotechnology.

Geelong also hosts the Geelong

Technology Precinct (GTP), a facility

for research aimed at industry

cooperation and research application.

The GTP has been developed to

provide an 11,000m2 research and

commercial facility together with

existing biotechnology and other

research capabilities on site.

Research consortia such as

BioDeakin and the Victorian Centre for

Advanced Materials Manufacturing

are based at the GTP. BioDeakin is a

multi-disciplinary group of scientists

with a goal to generate and transform

knowledge from biotechnology into

practical solutions, which will advance

health, social, environmental and

economic development. The main

areas of research include:

• Industrial biotechnology and

bioprocessing involving the

development of new processes and

technologies that can be applied to

industrially useful projects; and

• Biomaterials to develop clinically

useful bone and cartilage products or

prostheses derived from a

combination of novel materials.

The recently announced Australian

Carbon Fibre Research Facility, will be

established at the GTP in

collaboration with Deakin University

and with funding from the Victorian

and Australian Governments. It will

deliver the world's first, dedicated,

pilot scale research plant capable of

producing industrially relevant

quantities of aerospace quality carbon

fibre as well as enabling research into

the chemical, mechanical and

nanoscale characteristics of the

carbon fibre product.

As part of the Victorian

Government’s Victoria’s ScienceAgenda, several new initiatives are

also establishing partnerships to build

innovation, science and technology

capabilities, including:

• RMAX: development of Expanded

Polylactic Acid (E-PLA), an

environmentally sustainable

alternative to Expanded Polystyrene

(EPS) for use predominantly in the

packaging and building industries.

The RMAX project is a collaboration

between Australia's Commonwealth

Scientific and Industrial Research

Organisation (CSIRO) and Huntsman

Chemical Co Australia.

• NEOPEC: Neopec has developed a

chamber made of a clinically-

approved biodegradable material

into which the plastic surgeon will

insert a fat pedicle containing a

woman’s own blood vessels to

construct an abundant blood supply

and allow healthy fat to grow rapidly

within the chamber. The result is a

natural breast which aesthetically

matches the woman’s healthy one.

South East PrecinctOn the other side of Melbourne is the

South East Precinct, which has a

strong translational focus in industrial

biotechnology and nanotechnology.

Nearby facilities include the CSIRO

Biomaterials Division of Molecular

Health Technologies — with over 300

staff, chemists, biologists and

physicists working together to address

key challenges in health and in a

range of industries requiring smart

materials. The division has a strong

track record in translating research in

novel biomaterials to successful

clinical and commercial outcomes.

The Monash Institute for

Nanosciences, Materials and

Manufacture, also in the South East

Precinct, has a wealth of nanoscience

capabilities. The Institute is

complemented by the new

Melbourne Centre for

Nanofabrication, which will provide

state-of-the-art fabrication facilities.

Alongside Victoria’s established strengths in health and agricultural biotechnology, Victoria is movingforward to become a leader in industrial biotechnology.

The Victorian node and

headquarters of the Australian

National Fabrication Facility,

the MCN is a purpose-built

centre that draws on the knowledge

of six Victorian universities and CSIRO.

MCN combines state-of-the-art

instrumentation for micro- and nano-

scale fabrication with special

laboratories for making smaller devices.

The MCN will support and produce

research and prototypes in areas such

as environmental sensors, medical

diagnostics, micro- and nano-actuators,

novel energy sources (such as solar cells)

and novel bionanotechnology products

(such as drug delivery devices).

Wide spectrum toolboxMCN aims to fill a gap in Australia for

open access, multi-scale fabrication

infrastructure and will host a set of

state-of-the-art tools, including:

• an electron beam lithography (EBL)

system for generating patterned

structures and features on a nanoscale

• a dual-beam focused ion beam

electron microscope (FIB-SEM) for

etching nanoscale patterns

• systems for nanoimprinting and

plasma etching.

Businesses, publicly funded

researchers and students will have

access to the centre’s facilities, either

for their own use (following

induction training) or by having their

project carried out by MCN staff.

The MCN will actively encourage

multidisciplinary and multi-institutional

collaborations between the research

sector and industry with the aim of

assisting businesses and researchers to

achieve global competitiveness in

nanotechnologies for medical and

environmental applications.

Collaborative fundingThe Victorian Government has

provided A$15 million funding for

the MCN, along with A$15 million

from the Australian Government

through the National Collaborative

Research Infrastructure Strategy

(NCRIS) and A$15 million from the

MCN’s collaborating partners.www.nano.monash.edu/mcn

Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication offersmultidisciplinary open accessThe new Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN) will provide Australia’s leading scientists andengineers with the tools to build miniature devices, opening up opportunities to dramatically change theface of health care and environmental management.



Case Study: GSK


Victorian collaboration will yield newpharmaceutical export products

The story so far

GlaxoSmithKline Australia

(GSK) produces a number

of prescription medicines,

over the counter products

and vaccines for a wide range of

conditions. The company has

approximately 1500 staff in Australia,

most located in Victoria.

GSK recently announced a new

technical alliance with the Monash

Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences

(MIPS). The alliance is the fruit of a

long-standing relationship between

the two organisations, and is set to

develop and produce medicines for the

global market. The technical alliance

will concentrate on the use of blow-

fill-seal (BFS) and dry powder delivery

technology to present new product

lines for new and existing GSK

compounds. BFS technology enables

sterile liquid products to be aseptically

sealed in plastic containers and can

deliver a variety of different types of

pharmaceuticals in a range of dosage

volumes. This results in convenient

and safe products for consumers.

Victoria: the business caseGSK has a long history in Victoria.

The facility in Melbourne’s leafy

eastern suburb of Boronia was

established in 1970 and has

expanded in the ensuing 40 years

with several hundreds of millions of

dollars being invested in the site.

GSK is also opening a new office in

Abbotsford which will allow the possible

expansion of the manufacturing plant

which will remain in Boronia. This

plant is the largest GSK BFS facility in

the world and is the global GSK centre

of excellence for the new blow-fill-seal

technology.

“The operation that we have here

is part of a global supply chain, with

around 70 per cent of the production

being exported to over 70 countries

around the world. It’s a fairly

significant export business that we

have in Victoria, with pharmaceuticals

being the largest export earner for the

state in 2009”, said Dr Ashley Bates,

Head of R&D Alliances at GSK.

While the alliance will be a high-

value new asset for GSK it will also

return value back to Victoria with

research positions being created and

increased business flowing onto

supplying companies in the state, as

well as many educational opportunities

for Monash students to put theory into

practice. The pharmaceutical export

industry was worth A$1.2 billion for

Victoria in 2008-09 and GSK’s

contribution to that total will increase

with this new initiative.

Of the A$3 million funding for

this project, A$1.5 million will be

from Victoria’s Science AgendaInvestment Fund.

The futureThe research and development skills of

MIPS are complemented by GSK’s

manufacturing and distribution

expertise. “MIPS has world class

industrial pharmacy and formulation

technology skills and we have a product

pipeline”, said Dr Bates. GSK’s new

technical alliance with MIPS will

increase the local company’s

competitiveness and help secure the

future of pharmaceutical

manufacturing in the state.

“GSK has the ability to produce

high-grade pharmaceuticals and we

understand what it takes to get

products through the pipeline and to

market”, Dr Bates said.

The ultimate aim of the

collaboration is for GSK to be able to

develop new innovative and novel

pharmaceuticals with the help of the

research from MIPS. These products

will be exported to the world market,

giving employment in a high

technology industry, a platform for

excellence in education and an

increase in local Australian content.

www.gsk.com.au

GSK’s facility in Melbourne’seastern suburb of Boronia was

established in 1970. It nowhouses many of GSK’s business

functions and the manufacturingplant, which is one of the largestGSK sterile facilities in the world.

Case Study: CSL




CSL supplies vaccines for Australianand global public health needsThe story so far

CSL is one of the world’s

top 10 biopharmaceutical

companies with over

10,000 staff in 27

countries. Founded in 1916 as the

Commonwealth Serum Laboratories,

CSL became a public company in

1994 and is now a major contributor

to Victoria’s pharmaceutical export

market.

The company has manufactured

seasonal influenza vaccines for

Australia for over 40 years.

Fortunately, CSL recently performed

an A$80 million upgrade to its

influenza vaccine manufacturing

facility with the help of a Victorian

Government grant of A$2.96 million.

This upgrade was timely, as the

H1N1 (2009) influenza pandemic hit

during the 2009 Australian winter.

CSL responded to the crisis and

delivered the required quantity of

doses of the H1N1 (2009) vaccine in

record time, filling large supply

orders for the US and Australian

Governments. CSL has also pledged

to donate three million doses of the

vaccine for priority low-income

countries in the South Pacific and

South East Asia. On 23 February

2010, CSL dispatched the very first

shipment of this pledged vaccine to

Laos. Since then, further shipments

have been made to Papua New

Guinea, Fiji, Kirabati, Tonga,

Vanuatu, Maldives and the Solomon

Islands. In April 2010, arrangements

were being made for a shipment to

Sri Lanka.

Victoria: the business case

Dr Simon Green, Senior Vice

President Global R&D Product

Development, said that Victoria has a

strong history in biomedical research

and a number of Melbourne’s

biomedical institutes rank amongst

the global leaders.

“CSL works collaboratively with

Australia’s leading scientists and

leverages the biomedical specialties

that have been built up in

Melbourne as a result of the

commitment and resources provided

to the biomedical community by the

government”, he said.

As an example of the company’s

ongoing commitment to Victoria,

CSL contributed A$5.3 million and

the Victorian Government invested

A$2.7 million to the

Biopharmaceutical Formulation

Centre. This facility supports

industry by producing GMP (Good

Manufacturing Practices)

formulation of liquid

pharmaceuticals for use in human

clinical studies. The centre provides

training for students in the GMP

course at Swinburne University.

CSL also sponsors a three-year

Undergraduate Research

Opportunities Program (UROP) at

the Bio21 Cluster. This initiative was

developed in conjunction with the

Victorian Government and is now

implemented by CSL. It provides

work to biomedical students and

fosters world-class talent in Victoria.

The futureCSL is extending its commitment to

vaccines that tackle global public

health problems. Two new

initiatives build on the global

success of GARDASIL®, the

vaccine that protects women from

cervical cancer.

CSL is expanding the market for its

Australian manufactured seasonal

influenza vaccine in the US, having

recently entered into a commercial

distribution arrangement with Merck

& Co, Inc.

The company is also beginning a

collaborative development

programme for a vaccine against

severe gum disease. Over 30 per

cent of Australians are exposed to

the serious health risks associated

with the disease. If the

programme is successful, there is

potential for treatment of patients

around the world.

www.csl.com.au

Jacques Liu, CSL’s current student UROP placement working withCSL’s protein technology team at the Bio21 Institute in Parkville.

CSL’s BioformulationCentre supportsindustry byproducing GMPformulation of liquidpharmaceuticals foruse in human clinicalstudies.



Case Study: Universal Biosensors


Victorian company Universal Biosensors is at theforefront of blood glucose testing, and is ontrack to change the future of self-testingfor diabetics. New developments utilisingsmall technologies will enable point ofcare testing, community based medicineand patient self-management.

Over the past decade

leading scientists and

engineers at Universal

Biosensors, through small

technology applications, have

developed sophisticated

electrochemical cell technology to be

used as a platform for creating point

of care blood tests for patients.

The company’s first product was

launched by LifeScan (a division of

Johnson & Johnson) in January 2010.

The technology is protected by 45

patent families and more than 500

patents and patent applications. The

company is listed on the Australian

Stock Exchange

(ASX:UBI), and

operates from R&D and

manufacturing facilities in the

Melbourne area.

Versatile platform forblood assaysThe product marketed by LifeScan is

the OneTouch® Verio® blood glucose

monitor for home use, and Universal

Biosensors is now developing a

Point-of-Care System capable of

measuring other important analytes

for the doctor’s office, clinics, aged

care facilities and hospitals. All

products being developed on the

platform are based on Universal

Biosensors’ multi-layer strip with

opposing electrodes which allows for

direct application of finger stick

whole blood. Varying the reagents

within this strip results in the ability

to conduct many different types of

assays on the same platform.

Capacity and productrange expansionUniversal Biosensors’ certified

manufacturing facilities in Australia

offer flexible, reproducible and cost-

effective manufacturing processes that

have been validated and are being

used for the OneTouch® Verio®. The

present capacity allows for hundreds

of millions of strips per year, and after

implementation of near-term

expansion plans, including scaled

manufacturing for the immunoassay

platform, the capacity will approach

two billion strips per year.

Exporting its entire product range,

Universal Biosensors continues to

develop its platform and has now

embarked on feasibility studies to

detect DNA and RNA.

www.universalbiosensors.com

Universal Biosensors -changing the future of bloodglucose monitoring

Universal Biosensors’ multi-layer blood glucose strips aredesigned for use at home andare the platform technologyfor future productdevelopment.

Testing the sample forblood glucose level using

a simple electronicdevice at point of care.



Case Study: Mesoblast


Momentum builds for regenerativeadult stem cell technologyThe story so far

Mesoblast Limited is a

biotechnology company

that specialises in

regenerative treatments

for orthopaedic conditions. The

company is based in Victoria, with

staff located in both Melbourne and

the US, and a number of global

consultants and part-time staff.

The company has the exclusive

license to develop adult stem cell

technology for orthopaedic

conditions. Ms Jenni Pilcher, the

company’s Chief Financial Officer,

said that Mesoblast is currently

expanding into spinal products for

the global market, building on the

success of its knee repair technology.

“A significant development would

be the successful work we’ve done in

the pre-clinical field for intervertebral

disc repair. We are focussing on the

regeneration of discs in the spine, as

many millions suffer from low back

pain. We hope to enter Phase II trials

later this year”, she said.

Around four million people in the

USA suffer from degenerating discs

and the non-invasive treatment that

Mesoblast is developing would be a

breakthrough in an unmet area of

medical need. The company estimates

the potential revenue to be worth

more than US$2 billion per year.

Victoria: the business caseThere are a number of reasons why

Mesoblast is based in Melbourne.

Ms Pilcher said that Victoria is a

good centre for biotechnology. “We

now have some key collaborations

and support with the hospitals and

universities here”, she said. These

include world-leading institutions

such as Royal Melbourne Hospital,

Epworth Healthcare, Monash

University and The University of

Melbourne.

Ms Pilcher said that the Victorian

Government supports the

biotechnology industry in a variety of

ways that indirectly help the

company, including infrastructure,

skills development, international

promotion and appropriate

regulation.

The company has also received

direct government support with a

Biotechnology Industry Partnership

Program (BIPP) grant from the

Victorian Government, allowing

greater participation in international

events to build the company’s profile

and export opportunities.

The futureMesoblast is steadily moving towards

maturing its powerful adult stem cell

platform into leading-edge products

that will earn revenue for the company.

A number of strategies will hasten the

path to market and revenue generation.

These include moving orthopaedic

products towards registration while

simultaneously exploring commercial

strategies and initiating applications

for approval to manufacture.

Mesoblast has recently announced

the acquisition of Angioblast Systems,

Inc. (subject to shareholder approval),

a US company of which Mesoblast

currently owns 38.4 per cent.

Angioblast holds the license for the

technology in non-orthopaedic

conditions including cardiac, vascular

and bone-marrow applications. The

companies have announced a new push

to use adult stem cells to correct blood

sugar in people with Type 2 diabetes.

Success for Angioblast in these

large markets will also lead to strong

revenue for Mesoblast.

www.mesoblast.com

Production of Mesoblast's specialist adult stem cells. The company has the exclusive license to developadult stem cell technology for orthopaedic conditions.

Cell division of mesenchymal precursor cells. Mesoblast specialisesin regenerative treatments for orthopaedic conditions.

Case Study: Biota



Biota science aids the fightagainst global influenzaThe story so far

Biota is a Melbourne-based

drug developmentcompany that specialisesin anti-infective agents.

The company’s extensivedevelopment of drugs to treatinfluenza infection meant thatAustralia was well placed torespond to the H1N1 influenzapandemic of 2009.

Biota’s lead drug RelenzaTM

(manufactured and marketed bythe Australian branch of globalpharmaceutical companyGlaxoSmithKline) contributed tostockpiles to defend Australiafrom influenza outbreaks. Thismeant that from the beginningof the H1N1 (2009) (so-called‘swine flu’) outbreak, Australian doctors were able tosupply high-risk patients withprotective drugs.

The global market for anti-influenza drugs remains strong,

as governments increase theirstockpiles for the future. Analystshave forecast royalties for Biotaof between A$80 million toA$130 million in the 2010financial year.

Dr Leigh Farrell, Vice Presidentof Business Development, saidthat Biota has the competitiveedge in early-stage drugdevelopment in the area ofinfectious disease.

“That is recognised globally asour strength”, he said. “Currently,that encompasses anti-viral drugsand anti-bacterial drugs. And forthe next while, that will continueto be our focus.”

The company also completedPhase III trials in Asia for thesecond-generation anti-influenzadrug, Laninamivir. Daiichi Sankyowill market this drug in Japan.Biota has also completed Phase IIatrials for its anti-rhinovirus drug,which will reduce complicationsin at-risk patients.

Victoria: the business case

“Operations are based in Victoriabecause that’s where the sciencebehind Relenza was invented”, saidDr Farrell. Biota has its own researchlaboratories for drug discovery anda corporate office in Melbourne.The company has 65 staff inMelbourne and about 20 in the UK.

Biota sees that its location inVictoria is a matter of intellectualcapital, according to Dr Farrell.“All of our key scientists live inMelbourne”, he said.

The intellectual environment ofa knowledge capital that theVictorian Government hascreated also benefits Biota inother ways too.

“They [the VictorianGovernment] have been strongsupporters of the sector and thathas knock-on effects forcompanies wanting to dobusiness in Victoria”, he said.

“They’ve been very good aboutraising the profile of the sectorand capabilities in Victoria.”

The futureDr Farrell said that Biota isaiming to have a number ofroyalty streams in place.

“We want to have sufficientprogrammes in our pipeline suchthat, at the end of the day, wecould have pharmaceuticalcompanies selling our productsand to have three of thoseproducts in the market at anyone time”, he said. “So basicallywe can be a self-sustainingbusiness funded throughroyalties and license income onproducts that we’ve developed.”

www.biota.com.au


Biota is recognised globally as having a competitive edge in early-stage drug development in the area of infectious disease. Its lead drugRelenzaTM contributed to stockpiles to defend Australia from influenza outbreaks. This meant that from the beginning of the H1N1 ‘swineflu’ outbreak, Australian doctors were able to supply high-risk patients with protective drugs.

Case Study: Acrux



Case Study: Hexima




Drug-delivery technology enters global marketThe story so far

Acrux Limited has developed

a unique delivery system to

apply drugs through the

skin. Scientists at the

Victorian College of Pharmacy

originally invented the technology.

They discovered that mixing drugs

with oily liquids found in sunscreens

enhanced the uptake of drugs

through the skin.

The technology is superior to

competing technologies like patches

and gels. Dr Richard Treagus, Chief

Executive Officer, said the Acrux

transdermal technology accurately

delivers a variety of drugs to both

humans and animals.

“We are not a single product

company and I think that’s one of the

strengths of Acrux. We have a

technology platform that we can

exploit in various ways, in different

product applications,” he said.

The first product developed was an

estradiol spray for menopausal

symptoms that is available in the USA

and soon to be sold globally. The

hormone-replacement market is

worth US$1 billion globally and Acrux

expects that its product will achieve a

significant share of this market.

Victoria: the business caseDr Treagus believes that there is a

compelling reason for start-up

companies in Victoria to commercialise

technology on a global scale.

“Victoria generates some great

science and there’s a terrific pool of

leading science and technologies.

Acrux is a clear example of a

technology that was invented by an

academic group not far down the

road in inner Melbourne and then

successfully commercialised,” he said.

Acrux has 25 staff operating from a

self-contained complex in West

Melbourne that includes all core

business functions and a

pharmaceutical manufacturing facility.

The futureThe Acrux strategy is to take the

transdermal technology platform and

exploit it with a range of

pharmaceutical drugs.

“We’ve entered into a number of

commercial partnerships with

companies that are utilising our

technology in pharmaceutical products

and distributing those products around

the world,” Dr Treagus said.

Two more drugs in the Acrux

pipeline are expected to launch in

the next two years. Acrux has

gone into partnership with the global

giant, Eli Lilly, to distribute its

first veterinary drug.

In March of this year, Acrux

extended its partnership with Eli Lilly

and entered into a global licensing

deal for its male testosterone

replacement product, AXIRONTM. For

Acrux, this single product deal is

worth up to US$335 million plus

royalties on future product sales.

The company is continuing its

strategy to further exploit its

technology platform, making even

more transdermal products available in

the major markets around the world.

www.acrux.com.au

The story so far

AVictorian agricultural

biotechnology company is

aiming to relieve the

global food shortage

using innovative science that

increases resistance to fungal

infection in plants while reducing the

need for fungicide.

Hexima CEO, Mr Joshua Hofheimer,

said that scarcity of supply of food is a

serious global concern, with over one

billion people now going hungry.

“It’s the other GFC - the Global

Food Crisis - caused by increasing

demand for food, feed, fibre and

fuel”, he said. ”It just stresses the

importance of improving productivity

in a way that’s sustainable and in a

way that is as efficient as possible.”

The company owns one of the

world’s leading transgenic fungal-

disease resistance technologies, as

well as proprietary insect resistance

and enabling technologies,

developed at The University of

Melbourne and La Trobe University.

Hexima was founded by scientists

Professors Adrienne Clarke and

Marilyn Anderson and Dr Robyn

Heath. The company now has around

35 staff at the two universities and a

small corporate office.

Hexima matured the gene

technology and demonstrated it in the

field, which attracted the interest of

one of the world’s largest

agribusinesses, DuPont subsidiary,

Pioneer. The collaboration with Pioneer

offers a path to market for Hexima’s

disease-resistant transgenic plant

technology in two of the world’s most

valuable crops, corn and soybeans.

Victoria: the business caseMr Hofheimer thinks that being

based in Victoria is a key factor in

Hexima’s success.

For example:

• The company taps into Victoria’s

supply of top scientists.

• The company houses its scientists at

two leading universities.

• It has received grant funding from

the Australian government.

• A new state-of-the-art glasshouse

facility at La Trobe University will

enable Hexima to test its fungal-

resistance technology in corn.

• The company benefits from close

links with industry groups AusBiotech

and BioMelbourne Network.

“We’re very appreciative of the

environment that the Victorian

Government provides and the work

and effort that they put into

encouraging technology, research

and innovation”, Mr Hofheimer said.

The futureFungal infection in the US corn

market alone causes US$6 billion

dollars per year in yield losses.

Providing a solution for this market

could be worth between

$US82 million to $US260 million

dollars in annual royalties to the

technology provider.

Hexima plans to expand the

disease control platform

developed in corn with Pioneer for

use in other plants affected by

fungal disease.

The most obvious is the massive

soybean crop, for which Pioneer

will also provide a path to market.

Other potential crops include

canola, cotton and cereals.

The company seeks mutual

benefit in developing agri-biotech

capabilities in Victoria. “We want

to create an opportunity for

Victoria and for Australia”, Mr

Hofheimer said.

www.hexima.com.au

Agri-biotech to ease food crisis

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Melbourne has the skills andresources that businessesneed to succeed in achanging and increasinglycompetitive marketplace.

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