Manifex to fund commercialisation of high-tech products

Evergreen private investment firm Manifex has opened of its second round of funding to help start-ups commercialise their high-tech products. Funding will be available to support companies that have developed technology in the advanced materials and advanced manufacturing sectors.

Established in 2014, Manifex has been working with companies being incubated and assisted by the Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing (VCAMM). Manifex Managing Director Iain Ralph said the first round of investment is proving very successful.

Geelong-based company Cytomatrix, for example, has produced the most scalable solution to haematopoietic stem cell expansion and is eyeing the global transplant market. This company’s technology, which includes a short-nanofibre production machine and platform, is designed for patients with leukaemia and other conditions that require treatments such as bone marrow or cord blood transplants.

Circa Group, in Coburg, has meanwhile developed the world’s first continuous process for the manufacture of an important and highly flexible molecule from waste cellulose. This molecule is a platform chemical that can be used in a wide range of multibillion-dollar markets.

As part of the new round of funding, further investment capital will be made available to VCAMM-incubated companies. Ralph explained, “As an evergreen fund, we have the ability to raise capital as required to support the needs of our growing portfolio of firms to facilitate the commercialisation of their technology and assist in the ongoing growth of the business.

“Australia has some great minds and great opportunities for advanced manufacturing,” Ralph continued. “Manifex and its investors have a knowledge and passion for new product businesses and I believe that with the injection of appropriate early-stage investment to qualified ventures, Australia will realise substantial economic dividends.”