Message from the CEO

Dear , 

Science has been on the agenda this month, with Senator Sinodinos launching the inaugural National Science Statement in an address to the National Press Club last week, as part of National Science Week. The Statement provides an important vision to engage and enrich our society through science, applying a future lens that will guide long term investment and decision making. We welcome the statement and Senator Sinodinos’ focus on the importance of researcher, industry and government collaboration, and look forward to working with the government and the medtech, biotech and pharma sector to ensure a flourishing ecosystem through ongoing and stable support.

We are excited to see fruitful collaborations developed as part of our Project Fund Program already having impact, with expressions of interest open for The Bridge Program – providing face-to-face and online training to boost the commercial outputs of Australian pharmaceutical research – and the project led by Vaxine and Mylexa beginning to establish a community linking researchers and industry. You can learn more about both below and view the 2016 projects on our website. 

We have a big month ahead, hosting representatives of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA, United States), Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA, United Kingdom), and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA, Australia) to engage directly with the Australian sector on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). CSIRO will also be launching their 25-year MTP Roadmap, complimentary to our SCP, continuing important work to boost the Australian MTP sector well into the future. Details for both are below.

Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter to stay up to date - I look forward to sharing the details of some exciting international engagements and updates on the 2017 MTPConnect Project Fund Program, with a full rundown in the next newsletter.

Kind regards,
Sue MacLeman

CEO and Managing Director of MTPConnect

MTPConnect and sector news

Blog: MTPConnect GMs 're-program' their brains and hearts in Adelaide 
MTPConnect General Manager International & Government, Dr Sandhya Tewari, shares thrills from her exciting and fruitful visit to our South Australian Hub at Flinders University with General Manager Stakeholder Engagement, Dr Alfredo Martinez-Coll.

“As we got out of the taxi, we saw a huge sign in front of an almost kilometre square area that said ‘MAB’ and I excitedly nudged Alfredo and said – we are at the right place. I know that SA was a manufacturing hub for biopharmaceuticals, but even I was blown away with this size of what I assumed was a manufacturing plant for Monoclonal Antibodies (MABs as I was taught at Uni). It was only much later that we discovered that MAB meant the ‘Main Assembly Building’ of the Mitsubishi manufacturing plant in Tonsley..”  Read the full blog on our website.

Blog: Collaboration rife at Science Meets Parliament 2017 
MTPConnect General Manager of Education, Skills and Events, Dr Mel Thomson, jetted up to Canberra last week for the 18th annual Science Meets Parliament event, aiming to elevate visibility, awareness and understanding of STEM in Federal Parliament and Federal Government departments.

"After thanking the Prime Minister for putting science back on the agenda, I presented him with a copy of our Sector Competitiveness Plan and explained how I had ‘answered the call’ of the National Innovation and Science Agenda by joining MTPConnect, to facilitate deeper links between academia and industry, and grow the ecosystem for our sector."  Read the full blog on our website.

Expressions of interest open for pharmaceutical commercialisation training
Expressions of interest are now open to take part in The Bridge Program—face-to-face and online training in the scientific, legal, financial, clinical, regulatory and reimbursement disciplines that contribute to research translation and the commercialisation of medicines.

As part of the MTPConnect Project Fund Program, The Bridge Program—involving a consortium of 14 pharmaceutical companies, universities and industry associations—will select 100 participants annually from across Australia to take part in the first round of the training program, with participants also benefitting from direct exposure to networking opportunities with top pharmaceutical companies operating globally. Find out more.  

Callout to connect the Australian vaccine community
Vaxine Pty Ltd and Mylexa Pty Ltd in partnership with MTPConnect are seeking to better link the Australian community involved in vaccine research, development, production and sales. This project aims to expand Australian vaccine networks and connections, making it easier to find and source vaccine research collaborators and industry partnerships.

If you are interested in completing an online survey to assist in the establishment of this community and to become a potential member, email Sharen Pringle at sharen.pringle@sa.gov.au with the subject "Vaccine Survey", including your organisation / department / university, and your postal address. You will receive a link to a short online survey being used to identify vaccine related activities in Australia, and compiled into a web accessible database for use by the Australian vaccine community.

If you have any recommendations concerning persons within the field of vaccines that you believe should be made aware of this vaccine community, feel free to include their relevant contact information in your email to us or alternatively forward this email on to them.

National Capability Audit for the Medical Countermeasures Initiative
The Defence Science and Technology Group (DST Group) in collaboration with d3 Medicine, a Certara Company, invite the sector to participate in an audit of Australia’s capability and capacity to support Medical Countermeasures (MCM) product research and development.

The rapidly changing global landscape and Australia’s unique global position highlight a need to be strategic about national MCM advanced development and manufacturing requirements. With the recent announcement of the Defence Department’s Next Generation Technology Fund (NGTF), Australia has an opportunity to strengthen its MCM preparedness.

Results of the 2012 survey, highlighting internationally networked medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector with pockets of MCM development excellence, leveraged $7 million in funding to support a number of collaborative projects and provided evidence for MCM products to be included in the NGTF.

The 2017 audit now seeks to understand how the medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector has changed since 2012. It will determine where MCM assets, capabilities and capacities lie, helping to shape an MCM Business Plan under the NGTF.

Take part in the survey - audit closes on Monday 10 April 2017.

Events

International Regulatory Convergence for MTP Good Manufacturing Practice
4 April 2017 | Melbourne, Australia

MTPConnect’s International Regulatory Convergence for MTP Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) will provide manufacturers with an opportunity to directly engage with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA, United States), Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA, United Kingdom), and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA, Australia), as well as industry leaders and government representatives.

Presenting on industry perspectives and innovations in regulatory compliance, the representatives will provide updates and guidance on future regulatory direction in their respective markets, present on international GMP hot topics such data integrity and quality metrics, as well as provide insight into opportunities for closer alignment and convergence of regulatory systems to allow for more effective and streamlined processes.

Register now to join representatives from the MTP manufacturing sector to share learnings, best-practice, and successes. Read more>>

BioBreakfast – A Roadmap for the Medtech and Pharma Industry
4 April 2017 | Melbourne, Australia

In this breakfast launch event, CSIRO and MTPConnect outline the key findings of the Medtech and Pharma Roadmap; its alignment to MTPConnect’s Sector Competitiveness Plan, and the future directions of CSIRO’s Health Portfolio.

A key strategic action of CSIRO’s Strategy 2020 was to deliver and act upon market and technology roadmaps to support national challenges and industry innovation. CSIRO has worked with MTPConnect, industry and academia to develop a Medtech and Pharma Roadmap, complementing the MTP Sector Competitiveness Plan. Read more>>

The Tech Transfer Summit
27 April –28 April 2017 | Brisbane, Australia

The Tech Transfer Summit promotes research commercialisation in Australia’s life science sector, offering delegates exclusive access to world-class science and strengthening connections between researchers and industry.

Part of a global initiative designed to help build expertise and relationships, the Tech Transfer Summit enables successful tech transfer officers to sign deals and licensing agreements. Join our General Manager of Stakeholder Engagement, Dr Alfredo Martinez-Coll at this AusBiotech event. Read more>>

Get involved—To see what industry events are happening near you, check out our events page.

Are you are hosting an event? Share your events with the MTP sector by emailing: news@mtpconnect.org.au

MTP Success Story Showcase: Health Horizon

New innovations in health are appearing every day. What was an industry dominated by large companies producing drugs and devices is now diversifying with products and outputs including wearables, guidelines, apps, AI, cloud services, and more. Clinician inventors are on the increase - practitioners on the ground producing innovations that, if they were accessible, could be saving lives across the globe.

To this end, the Health Horizon project aims to perform a complete re-mapping of the health innovation ecosystem. From ad-hoc communication and relying on hearing random news, to a persistent, online listing of every health innovation in the world, on the understanding that investors, practitioners and the public have an important role to play in supporting innovations and ensuring right ones enter our lives.

Learn more about the challenges faced and outcomes produced by Health Horizon.

Want to showcase your good news story? Email news@mtpconnect.org.au to submit a case study.

Opportunities

The CRC for Developing Northern Australia is calling for short-term industry-led research collaborations to address tropical health and medicine.  

The Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science are Australia’s most prestigious and highly regarded awards for outstanding achievements in scientific research, research-based innovation and excellence in science teaching.

Sector profile: Hydrix

Hydrix is a leading Australian MedTech Commercialisation partner. The company has been involved in the product development of several products that have gone on to clear FDA Class II, including the product development for the only FDA cleared machine learning algorithm for a diagnostic.

Hydrix consists of the core product development capabilities of an ISO13485 certified product development house with two core initiatives that will aim to extend the growth of MedTech sector in Australia. Learn more >>

List your organisation on the MTPConnect Sector Directory.

mtpconnect.org.au

Have you visited the MTPConnect website? Our mission is to build on the sector's achievements and collaborate to boost the innovation, productivity and competitiveness  and we hope you will help us by joining our network online.

On our website, you will get:
·    Early access to industry insights and information
·   Industry news, briefings and events
·   Opportunities to provide input on the strategic direction of the MTP sector
·   Opportunities for cross-sector collaboration

Head to our website now to sign up as an MTPConnect Network Associate.