UniQuest promotes breast cancer breakthroughs at Ausbiotech

With Breast Cancer Awareness Month observed internationally during October, Australian university research commercialisation company UniQuest will be promoting three potential new treatments for the disease, along with 100 other biotechnology innovations from Australian universities, at the annual Ausbiotech Conference.

The novel breast cancer therapies being developed by The University of Queensland (UQ) Diamantina Institute and UQ Faculty of Health Sciences address tumour growth and the spread of cells to other parts of the body (metastases).

Other cancer-related research UniQuest will be marketing to pharmaceutical and biotech companies includes a peptide-based immunotherapy for hormone-dependent cancers, therapies to combat infections and chemotherapy side effects, a device that supports adaptive radiation therapy for men with prostate cancer, less-toxic therapeutics for multiple myeloma (type of bone marrow cancer), and a range of diagnostic tools.

“The Ausbiotech Conference is the premier biotechnology meeting for the Asia-Pacific region, attracting about 1500 delegates from 20 countries each year,” UniQuest Managing Director David Henderson said.

“The conference presents plenty of opportunities to talk to a wide range of representatives from major international biotech and pharmaceutical companies about licensing university-based technologies and about working with our researchers to find cures and better health management strategies.

“It also attracts venture capital and private equity firms looking to invest in groundbreaking technologies.

“The University of Queensland innovations are now generating annual sales of more than AU$3 billion globally, from vaccines like the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine Gardasil to high-tech MRI machines and telehealth systems, there’s a lot interest in what the research institutions we represent are working on right now to benefit future generations.”

UniQuest has a booth in the trade exhibition showcasing a range of market-ready projects, which include a clinically validated telehealth system for Allied Health Professionals, a program empowering health professionals with proven strategies to support patients’ compliance with their medication, an innovation that limits heat stress and promotes rapid recovery for people working in dangerously hot conditions, and several technologies related to medical testing devices.

These opportunities to collaborate on groundbreaking biotech developments are based on research from UQ's science faculties and institutes, as well as UniQuest's research commercialisation partners: University of Wollongong, Mater Medical Research Institute, University of Technology Sydney, University of Tasmania, and Queensland Health.

Ausbiotech 2011 will take place at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 16-19 October.