ATP takes equity in start-up Elastagen

Technology investment company ATP Innovations has taken equity in Sydney University spin-off Elastagen, investing AUD$250,000 to support commercialisation of the company's recombinant tissue-engineering protein tropoelastin.

ATP Innovations made the investment through its wholly owned subsidiary, bizCapital, and has nominated its biobusiness director, Paul Field, to the Elastagen board.

Tropoelastin is a highly flexible, biocompatible protein, far more resilient than collagen, the biocompatible protein that has been most intensively studied as a scaffold material for organ and tissue-engineering applications.

Tropoelastin is the protein that endows arteries, skin, ligmants and flexible organs like the bladder and lungs with their great flexibility. Sheets of recombinant tropoelastin can be stretched 400 per cent without failing, then snap back to their original dimensions.

Prof Tony Weiss' team at the University of Sydney discovered tropoelastin, and has developed a system for synthesising recombinant tropoelastin in bacteria. Elastagen has begun scale-up studies and will soon begin testing the material in animals.

ATP Innovations claims to be the largest commercial technology hub in the southern hemisphere. Its major shareholders are the University of Sydney, University of NSW, University of Technology, Sydney, and the Australian National University.

ATP Innovations has a number of investments in information and communications technology (ICT) and bioscience companies. CEO Dr Mark Bradley said the $250,000 invested in Elastagen is the company's second cash investment in a biotech company, after it invested in Canberra-based vaccine adjuvant developer Vaxine last year.