June Edition 2026

Message from the CEO

The AUScelerate chapter of our organisation’s history has begun! Announced at the global BIO conference in San Diego last week, we have embraced a forward-looking new name and bolder identity to better articulate what we do, how we create value and the role we play domestically and globally in the life sciences sector.

The AUScelerate brand was unveiled at the CSL Australian BIO 2026 Dinner, a flagship event for yet another highly successful BIO conference attended by well over 400 Australians.

The dinner, delivered in partnership with the American Australian Association, attracted leaders from Australia and international partners and investors from countries including the US, UK, Canada, South Korea, Taiwan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, New Zealand and Singapore. Such a great turnout for the networking reception and dinner and I would like to acknowledge AAA President The Hon. Steven Marshall and his team for the partnership and CSL for their generous sponsorship support.

As we have done in previous years, AUScelerate led a range of value-add activities for Australian companies and start-ups attending BIO. Our pre-conference site visit program was run over two days, starting with an overview of the California and broader US innovation and investment ecosystem and followed by visits to leading investors Alexandria Venture Investments and Aquillius Ventures. We visited Nucleus Biologics, Invetech’s new product development, engineering and manufacturing facility, Abzena Biologics’ cGMP manufacturing facility and Resmed‘s global HQ where we caught up with Chair & CEO Michael “Mick” Farrell. The program concluded with an exclusive evening of connection, culture & collaboration on a downtown rooftop with the San Diego Entrepreneurs Exchange.

One of the highlights of our activities at BIO every year is the Australian ‘Women in life Sciences Leadership’ Forum. And for our 4th year, we created something different - and it was all about network system activation!

Opened by our Board Chair The Hon. Jaala Pulford and co-hosted by our AUScelerate Director South Australia, Dana Bell and US-based Dr Kate Liebelt, life sciences executive and angel investor, it was a sold out success for an early start in the Gas Lamp district. Adding to the lineup were AUScelerate‘s Director Western Australia Dr Tracey Wilkinson and Dr Fariba Behnia-Willison, founder of Australian biotech and medtech company Smartfem! And many thanks to Moderna Australia for their sponsorship support to make the event possible.

During the conference, we were delighted to welcome a high-level delegation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Australian Pavilion, led by Vice Minister for Health, AbdulAziz AlRamaih, and supported by AUScelerate’s partnership agreement with the Saudi Ministry of Health.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was another high-profile visitor to the Australian Pavilion hosted by AUScelerate. Minnesota is home to one of the biggest medtech clusters in the world and Governor Walz is well-versed in the importance of collaboration to fast-track the commercialisation of new medical products. It is something AUScelerate is bringing to life through the partnership agreement with Minnesota’s Medical Alley.  

And on the subject of improving access to new markets and global supply chains, I was delighted to reaffirm AUScelerate’s partnership with the Korea Health Industry Development Institute at BIO, joining Executive Director Dr YoungHun Jeong at the Australian Pavilion to resign our joint Memorandum of Understanding.

BIO moves to the east coast and Philadelphia next year, and planning is already well underway, as it is for our delegation to The Medtech Conference in Boston in October and BIO Middle East in Riyadh in December 2026! Join us!

Back home and it’s been heartening to see the sector unite around the proposed changes in the 2026-27 Federal Budget — particularly to the Research and Development Tax Incentive program. The proposal to limit the refundable RDTI offset to companies under 10 years old, alongside changes to the treatment of 'supporting R&D' activities, is a real concern, and the sector is mounting a strong, persuasive case to government in response.

Thanks to everyone who shared their views with us on these measures and their likely impacts, and particular thanks to Rebekah Cassidy and the team at AusBiotech for rallying the sector to push for a better outcome. Developing a unified voice was a key focus of the National Biotech and Medtech Development and Commercialisation Summit, jointly convened by AUScelerate and AusBiotech at the end of the 2024, and the advocacy currently underway is great example of what we can do when we work together.

Don’t miss our upcoming workshops in July and August for our WA Grant Excellence Service.

As always, it’s worth checking out our podcast –The AUScelerate Podcast – with the latest episode all about Better Health Made Here and how our Pathway to Market program is helping to meet the challenge of getting more homegrown medtech products purchased and used by local hospitals and health services.

In staff news, today we farewell Andrew Bowskill as he takes up a new opportunity. Over the past seven years, Andrew has made an invaluable contribution to our antimicrobial resistance initiative, AAMRNet, as well as driving sector engagement across Queensland. Andrew, you will be missed by all of us at AUScelerate!

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

Kind regards,
Stuart Dignam
Chief Executive Officer 

AUScelerate & Industry News

It's time to AUScelerate! Welcome to the first newsletter under our new name. While the name is new, our programs and commitment to supporting Australia's life science innovators is not. Our Board Chair, The Hon Jaala Pulford launched our new name during the CSL Australian BIO 2026 Dinner at The Pendry in San Diego ahead of the Bio International Convention. 

Team Australia kicked off the US mission with our pre-BIO visit Program to Biocom, Alexandria Venture Investments, Aquillius Ventures, Nucleus Biologics and Invetech, and BioscienceLA. The second day included visits to Resmed HQ and Abzena. It was then onto the BIO with the Australian Pavillion open for business! Highlights of our activities included hosting our 4th Australian 'Women in Life Sciences leadership' forum.

AUScelerate's Chair, Jaala Pulford and CEO Stuart Dignam welcomed the Ministry of Health Saudi Arabia, AbdulAziz AlRamaih, to the Australian Pavillion, made possible off the back of our MOU. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz also stopped by the pavilion - Australia and Minnesota are working together under AUScelerate's partnership agreement with Medical Alley. And we were delighted to extend our MOU with the Korea Health Industry Development Institute with officials signing at the pavilion. 

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

AUScelerate, the Lowitja Institute and the Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation (AusHSI) have released guidance to help those funding or shaping First Nations health research to achieve long-term impact. Download the information here.

AUScelerate, and eight other of Australia’s leading biotech, medtech and health technology peak body organisations have called for an urgent review of the Federal Government’s proposed changes to the Research & Development Tax Incentive.

Australian Antimicrobial Resistance Network (AAMRNet) has warned of the lack of AMR Initiatives in the recent  Australian Government's 2026-27 Federal Budget with two years of inaction. AAMRNet Co Chair, Andrew Bowskill, represented our AMR initiative at the Global Health Security Conference in Kuala Lumpur.

At the recent AMMA Medtech Showcase, the AUScelerate Podcast spoke to companies getting procurement ready, including those taking part in the Pathway to Market Program. In our latest episode, hear from 4D Medical’s Professor Tim O’Meara, Lenexa Medical’s Ajit Ravindran and Arelis’ Tori Fox - as well as Akeeko Medical’s Professor Joseph Ischia.

Are you interested in engaging China? We’re exploring potential activities in China and we would value your input to help shape the program. Please take a moment to complete this short EOI so we can better understand your needs.

Registrations are open for the WAGES Grant Development workshop to be held on 20 July in Perth. For large, collaborative grant bids, and delivered in partnership with SPP. EOIs opening soon for the workshop, 'Strategic Grant Development Workshop Essentials of Research Impact for NHMRC and MRFF' to be held 27 August. Subscribe to the WAGES mailing list to be notified when registrations open.

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

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
   

• BrainTech 2026 convenes the people shaping the future of brain health — researchers, clinicians, founders, investors and policymakers. Happening on 15 October in Melbourne. Early bird tickets until 31 July. Use our exclusive promo code BT26-FRIENDS and get 20% off the ticket price
   

• Applications for Medtech Actuator Origin are open until 5 July 2026. Learn more. 
   

• Apply to ACASE’s Nexus program which fast‑tracks Victorian startups with tailored support, industry connections, and Asian market pathways - its latest round closes 31 July 2026. ACASE is the Australia - China Association of Scientists and Entrepreneurs.

• 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. This grant round opens 3 August 2026 and closes 29 October 2026.
   

• 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

AUScelerate at BIO 2026

Delegates lined up to 'Caffeinate with AUScelerate', drinking delicious coffee Australian-style at the Australian Pavilion during The Bio Convention in San Diego. 

Events​

• 16–19 July 2026 - BIO ASIA Taiwan Conference (Taipei)
• 20 July 2026 - WAGES Strategic Workshop for Major Collaborative Grant Bids (Perth)
• 27 August 2026 - WAGES Essentials of Research Impact for NHMRC and MRFF Grant Writing (Perth)
• 15 October 2026 - Braintech 2026 (Melbourne)
• 18–21 October 2026 - The MedTech Conference (AdvaMed) (Boston)
• 19 - 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)
• 14–16 December 2026 - Bio Middle East (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
• 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

Digital innovation to transform diabetes and mental health care for young adults

For the 50,000 Australians under 30 years of age living with diabetes, the physical and emotional demands of managing their condition during this crucial life stage, can lead to significant diabetes distress and a higher incidence of mental health conditions. These pressures often undermine diabetes self-management and heighten the risk of short- and long-term complications.  

This intersection of diabetes and mental health challenges creates a critical gap in care for young adults, where traditional face-to-face services struggle to meet the unique mental health needs of this demographic, particularly for those living outside major urban areas. 

Leveraging digital health technology, researchers at Western Sydney University (WSU) have sought to deliver low-cost, scalable support directly into the hands of young adults. Find out how funding and support from AUScelerate's Target Translation Research Accelerator (TTRA) program helped realise this vision through the APHLID-M project (Apps and Peer support for a Healthy future and Living well with Diabetes-Mental health).