Four days, three events: International BioFest 2016

Today is the last day of International BioFest — a series of three major life sciences conferences taking place over the one week.

Featuring AusBiotech 2016 (24–26 October) the 17th International Biotechnology Symposium (IBS 2016, 24–27 October) and Australia Biotech Invest (26–27 October), the event has brought over 2500 researchers, experts, industry members, senior executives and investors to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in a celebration of Australian and international life sciences.

Opening

The event was opened on Monday by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, who claimed that Victoria is “leading the country as the centre of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical technologies”. He was followed by the CEO and managing director of biotherapeutics company CSL, Paul Perreault, whose speech ‘100 years … and just getting started’ presented the elements needed for business success and discussed CSL’s decision to locate its global R&D hub in Melbourne.

Call for competitive R&D incentives

Hank Sciberras, life sciences group leader at consulting company Deloitte, used the event to highlight the need for Australia to maintain a competitive R&D incentive scheme. He said Australia’s R&D incentives for small and medium enterprises have historically been globally competitive. “However,” he said, “following the release of the federal government’s long-awaited review of the R&D Tax Incentive report at the end of September, we risk losing this attractiveness as a destination to grow IP if we do not have the right incentives in place to remain globally competitive.

“Two of the review’s recommendations — a cap on the refundable component of the R&D tax incentive and a proposed intensity threshold that is required to be exceeded before accessing the incentive — are likely to reduce the scheme’s ability to promote Australia as a global destination for research and development,” Sciberras said.

“With many countries introducing and enhancing their own R&D incentive programs, Australia will slip behind. This will especially be the case following the government’s decision to proceed with the reduction in the R&D tax offset rates available to Australian businesses under the R&D tax incentive, the primary support mechanism for R&D activities undertaken by industry.”

Innovation Industry Excellence Awards

The event also saw the announcement of the 2016 AusBiotech and Johnson & Johnson Innovation Industry Excellence Awards, recognising innovative companies and individuals in Australia’s biotechnology, medical technology and healthcare sectors.

The Industry Leadership Award went to Professor Andrew Wilks, executive chairman of SYNthesis, who was recognised for his role in the development of the Australian biotechnology sector over the last 20 years. Professor Wilks has worked at the interface of the academic and business worlds to establish an impressive list of successful biotechnology companies, including Synthesis Medchem, Qubist Molecular Design, Synthesis Research, Synkinase, Reagency and Cytopia Research.

Company of the Year went to Protagonist Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The oral peptides developed by the company are said to offer targeted delivery to the gastrointestinal tissue compartment, the potential for improved safety due to minimal exposure in the blood, improved convenience and compliance due to oral delivery, and the opportunity for earlier introduction of targeted therapy for inflammatory bowel disease.

Emerging Company of the Year went to ResApp Health, which implemented a machine learning approach to develop highly accurate algorithms to diagnose respiratory disease from cough and respiratory sounds. This work developed into a powerful platform for respiratory disease diagnosis and management that used modern smartphones to integrate seamlessly into existing telehealth solutions.

Memorandums of understanding

The host of the event, biotechnology organisation AusBiotech, strengthened its local and international partnerships by signing three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) over the course of the week.

The organisation signed an MoU with the Medical Technologies and Industry Growth Centre (MTPConnect) to work cooperatively to accelerate the growth of the medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors in Australia. MTPConnect is part of the federal government’s $248 million Industry Growth Centres Initiative.

AusBiotech also signed an MoU with Korea’s Council for Advanced Regenerative Medicine (CARM). This agreement seeks to facilitate connections between the regenerative medicine industries in Korea and Australia and spark innovation across the two countries’ borders.

The third MoU was signed between AusBiotech and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI). KHIDI is a government-affiliated institution that leads the expansion of healthcare R&D investment and builds the competitiveness of Korea’s healthcare industry.

World-leading speakers

Finally, the event provided an opportunity for attendees to hear from leading life sciences researchers. For example, 3D bioprinting expert Professor Gordon Wallace, from the University of Wollongong, is investigating the potential to print living cells in order to tailor treatments.

Professor Wallace explained, “For each of the clinical applications we’re involved in, whether it’s for cartilage regeneration or for eyelet cell transplantation, for example, we’re starting to realise that right from the start we need to build and create a customised printer specific to that particular task.”

Professor Sally McArthur, from Swinburne University, is meanwhile looking to overcome the problem of wound injection, whereby people’s wounds stay open for years, subject to bacterial infection, and therefore fail to heal. Professor McArthur’s solution lies in a wound dressing whose physical structure and chemistry are designed to attract bacteria out of the wound and into the dressing.

International BioFest closes today.

Image courtesy of Engineers Australia under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0