Message from the CEO

With three weeks and counting until the BIO International Convention in San Diego, we are delighted to welcome CSL as the premier sponsor of the Australian BIO 2026 Dinner in San Diego.

As Australian and global biotech sector leaders gather in San Diego from around the world, the celebratory reception and dinner will be held on Sunday 21 June at The Pendry in the heart of San Diego’s historic Gas Lamp Quarter.

It’s great to have CSL’s support for this high-profile international event hosted with the American Australian Association, which is all about connecting the people who shape the world’s life sciences sector. For those travelling to San Diego, we hope you can join us!

We are putting the finishing touches on the Australian Pavilion (booth #5335) and finalising the program for our annual two-day, pre-conference site visit program (18-19 June). It’ll be a unique deep dive into the San Diego and California innovation ecosystem and a great way to add value to your attendance at BIO. 

And tickets are selling fast for MTPConnect’s 4th women’s leadership event (23 June), focusing on network system activation for business leaders and supported by Moderna. Led by US-based Dr Kate Liebelt and MTPConnect’s Dana Bell, this is an official BIO affiliate event not to be missed.  

Looking locally, we just celebrated the second cohort of our popular Pathway to Market procurement program at the AMMA Medtech Showcase in Melbourne. Featuring 180 delegates, 21 local exhibitors and seven Pathway to Market pitches, the Showcase tackled this conundrum - how do we get more Australian medtech innovations adopted into our own health system? You can hear more from some of these procurement-ready companies in an upcoming episode of the MTPConnect Podcast - Better Health Made Here.

Last week, we were delighted to hear WA Minister for Science, Innovation and Medical Research Hon Stephen Dawson MLC announce that funding for the WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub has been extended for another four years. As a foundation partner with the Government of Western Australia and the University of Western Australia, MTPConnect has contributed expertise, funding, resources and networks to support the growth of WA’s life sciences sector, and we’re thrilled to be able to continue that work into the future!

Good news with LimmaTech Biologics, a Swiss clinical-stage biotech that’s backed by Australian investor Tenmile, an AAMRNet supporter organisation, announcing agreement to be acquired by Lilly. LimmaTech is developing vaccines against bacterial pathogens for which rising antimicrobial resistance is steadily closing therapeutic options, including Staphylococcus aureus, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis. The acquisition also marks a success for CARB-X, also a partner organisation of AAMRNet, which has supported LimmaTech with non-dilutive funding for almost 10 years.

We’ve also just seen the release of the National Health and Medical Research Strategy detailing a 10-year vision to strengthen Australia’s health and medical research sector. It’s pleasing to see MTPConnect’s work called out; we wholeheartedly agree about the importance of better research-industry integration and think there’s plenty of merit to “recommencing” our REDI workforce and skills initiative, as it recommended in the report!  

Combined with the Ambitious Australia report, which highlighted ‘Health and Medical’ as one of the six national innovation pillars, we have a powerful blueprint for the revitalisation of Australia’s innovation ecosystem, with life science translation and commercialisation at its centre. Now for its implementation.

It was also terrific to see the Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations Research Centre (ACADI) securing $14.6 million in funding from the MRFF. Established through MTPConnect’s Targeted Translation Research Accelerator (TTRA) initiative, their valuable work helping to translate research into real-world outcomes for people living with diabetes can continue and our congratulations to Professor Elif Ekinci and the team at ACADI. 

In staff news, this month we farewell Louise Maloney, as she takes up a new opportunity. Lou has made an invaluable contribution to MTPConnect’s activities through the Australian Clinical Entrepreneurs Program and our work as an Industry Partner Organisation for the Industry Growth Program, and she will be missed.

Thank you for connecting with us and you’ll find below more details about events and opportunities coming up over the next few months.

Hope to see you in San Diego!

Kind regards,

Stuart Dignam
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

MTPConnect & Industry News

The countdown is on for BIO 2026! There is less than a month to go to join MTPConnect's premier activities in San Diego from 18-25 June 2026. Register now!

• 18–19 June: MTPConnect’s BIO 2026 Site Visit Program
  This highly anticipated program for interested BIO delegates will include site visits to multinational and industry organisations, insight keynotes and exclusive networking events. 
   
• 21 June: CSL Australian BIO 2026 Dinner hosted by MTPConnect & American Australian Association
  Join members of the American Australian Association, international delegates and biotechnology luminaries along with Australian BIO delegates, including business leaders, Government officials, scientists and venture capitalists, at our CSL Australian BIO 2026 Dinner, a high-level networking event formally kicking off a hectic BIO 2026 week.
  
  We are delighted to welcome CSL, as premier sponsor of the Australian BIO 2026 Dinner, and thank them for their generous support. 
  Individual tickets, and tables, can be purchased, and this event will sell-out.
   
• 23 June: Women in Life Sciences Leadership Breakfast
  Co-hosts MTPConnect’s Dana Bell and US-based Dr Kate Liebelt, life sciences executive and angel investor, are bringing you something different this year. Not another networking event. Not a panel. A network system activation! Sponsored by Moderna. 

We are also taking EOIs for our delegation to Boston for The Medtech Conference – and October is not far away.

Seven medtech companies completed our 2026 Pathway to Market program, to be procurement-ready to engage with the local health system. The group pitched to a full house at the AMMA Medtech Showcase in May, where over 180 delegates and 21 exhibitors joined the packed program. 

We are working with Austrade and Biocom California to connect Australia’s clinical trial ecosystem with Californian-based life science companies -  with an exclusive seminar series, Exploring New Models of Global Clinical Trial Collaboration, to be held ahead of BIO in Los Angeles (18 June)  and the Bay Area (17 June). Bookings now open!

Listen to our latest MTPConnect Podcast episode with AUSCEP Alumni, Dr Sumedha Verna, a clinical psychologist and sleep expert, and the founder of Deep Sleep Health. Check out an excerpt of the episode

We are seeking experienced researchers to join our WA Grant Excellence Service as Expert Peer Reviewers - register your interest!

Find out how we support innovative life science companies in our latest video - Innovation to Impact Stories - from MTPConnect's CTCM and TTRA programs.

Congratulations to the Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations who have received $14.6 million from the Australian Government to help implement findings from research that will have a significant impact on diabetes research and care for Australian patients.

Great news recently for MTPConnect-supported cohort companies! CTCM awardee VividWhite’s glaucoma implant has received an IGP Commercialisation and Growth grant of $250K to complete a pivotal trial. Other IGP Commercialisation and Growth grants announced recently include, AUSCEP alumni Baymatob  receiving $1.99M to develop the Oli sensor for post partum haemorrhage, and Pathway to Market alumni Dentalife were awarded $252, 267, to develop a  biodegradable class 2b medical wipe. Read more.

ANDHealth reveals “alarming” funding gap strangling $45B digital and connected health industry According to ANDHealth’s FY2026 Industry Sentiment Survey, 92% of digital and connected health SMEs plan to raise growth capital in the next 12 months yet 86% cited “access to capital” as one of their top five key challenges. The sector has nearly doubled in the last three years, with a 55% CAGR since 2018.

Five Australian digital and connected health companies to share in up to $9 million to tackle top Australian health issues. ANDHealth+ cohort five has been announced, with Australis Scientific (NSW), Corcillum (SA), Earflo (WA), Kraken Coding (NSW but founded in NT) and MoreGoodDays (VIC) to receive funding to scale their businesses that are solving health challenges with breakthrough innovations in cardiovascular disease, urology, chronic pain, paediatric ear infections, as well as inefficiencies in clinical decision making impacting patient care.  

Sector Opportunities

• US-based Medical Alley has created two Market Access Accelerator offerings, designed to address the majority of questions they receive in a format that also allows personalised advisory from our leading content experts.  Learn more about 2026 enrolment
   

• The National Foundation for Medical Research and Innovation (NFMRI) has announced a new milestone grant to celebrate its 50th anniversary. NFMRI will award a single grant of up to $1 million over a period of up to three years to an Australian Publicly Funded Research Organisation (PFRO) (e.g. University, MRI) with Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status. Applications are capped at three applications per PFRO. This grant round opens 3 August 2026 and closes 29 October 2026.
   

• Applications for the Australian Export Awards are closing soon. The Awards recognise outstanding, innovative and inspiring exporters, providing businesses the chance to showcase their export story in Australia and on a global stage. In 2025 there were 95 national finalists from all states and territories, 34% of these businesses were first time applicants. Applications close 12 June 2026.
   

• Expressions of Interest are open for the Translational Innovation Research Fund. The opportunity will focus on innovative, translational research that drives the development of novel approaches to pelvic pain. Projects will be chosen based on their clear potential to advance understanding, improve care, or meaningfully change outcomes. EOIs close 8 June 2026.
   

• Applications are open for the Strategic Program for Advancing Research Commercialisation (SPARC), delivered by Cicada Innovations. Breakthrough T1D’s program is to accelerate the translation of type 1 diabetes (T1D) research into real-world solutions. Workshop dates - 24-25 June. Find out more
   

• Australian–Swiss Joint Research Programme (2026 call) -  a new funding opportunity jointly implemented by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Submit before 17 June 2026
   

• Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) is seeking applications for novel chemistry plans against known antimicrobial resistance (AMR) targets, during its 2026 Funding Round, which opens in April 2026. The aim is to unlock innovative starting points for therapeutics to address dangerous, drug-resistant bacterial infections. More information here
   

• Here is a tip - subscribe to gemaker's monthly newsletter to stay up to date on commercialisation, innovation and research news, plus jobs, funding, awards, events and more

Events​

• 17 June 2026 - Exploring New Models of Global Clinical Trial Collaboration, Austrade, MTPConnect, Biocom California (Bay Area, San Francisco)
• 18 June 2026 -  Exploring New Models of Global Clinical Trial Collaboration, Austrade, MTPConnect, Biocom California (Los Angeles)
• 8–18 June 2026 - HLTH Europe & ANDHealth Delegation to UK & EU Markets, ANDHealth (UK & Amsterdam)
• 17–25 June 2026 - Grant Development Workshop for Clinician Researchers, WAGES (Online)
• 18–19 June 2026 - MTPConnect Pre-BIO Site Visit Program, MTPConnect (San Diego)
• 21 June 2026 - CSL Australian BIO 2026 Dinner hosted by MTPConnect & American Australian Association (San Diego)
• 22–25 June 2026 - BIO Conference, (San Diego) 
• 23 June 2026 - Women in Life Sciences Breakfast, MTPConnect (San Diego, US)
• 16-19 July 2026 - BIO ASIA Taiwan Conference (Taipei)
• 18–21 October 2026 - The MedTech Conference (AdvaMed) (Boston)
• 20 - 23 Oct 2026 - AusBiotech International Conference, AusBiotech (Gold Coast) 
• 11–18 November 2026 - HLTH Conference & US Delegation, ANDHealth (San Francisco & Las Vegas)
• 6–9 December 2026 - Australasian Pharmaceutical Science Association (APSA) 2026 Annual Conference, RMIT University (City Campus, Melbourne)
• 2–3 March 2027 - MTAA MedTech Conference 2027, MTAA (Sydney)
• 27–28 May 2027 - Women's Health Medtech Summit, MTAA (Sydney)
• 19-23 October 2027 - AusBiotech Conferences, AusBiotech (Gold Coast)

To see what events are coming up in 2026, visit our news webpage and events webpage.
 

Case Study Showcase | Advancing a Next-Generation Total Artificial Heart for Long-Term Use

Heart failure (HF) affects more than 64 million people worldwide, including an estimated 144,000 Australian adults.

Mechanical circulatory support devices, including ventricular assist devices and Total Artificial Hearts (TAH), provide short-term bridge-to-transplant support. However, existing TAH technologies have limitations and current systems are approved only for short-term use, highlighting a major gap for patients who require longer-term circulatory support or are ineligible for transplantation.

BiVACOR, an Australian-born medical device company now headquartered in California, is developing a TAH made from biocompatible titanium, that contains a single moving part, no valves, and large blood-flow gaps – features that significantly reduce the risk of clot formation and mechanical failure.

Back in 2022, BiVACOR was awarded $750,000 through the Targeted Translation Research Accelerator (TTRA) to redesign the device's external controller to accommodate long-term use in end-stage HF patients ineligible for heart transplantation. Read on for the story...