AusBiotech and Proto Axiom partner on investor-focused life sciences programs

AusBiotech and Sydney‑based life sciences company creator Proto Axiom have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen national coordination across investor-focused life sciences programs. Starting with the Challenger Pitch for Health in March and a new joint program in August and September 2026, the new agreement creates a coordinated calendar of investor-focused events.

With the partnership designed to create a more connected researcher and founder journey, providing clearer pathways from early pitching and validation through to national industry platforms, and later stage investment, March’s Challenger Pitch for Health is Proto Axiom’s national pitch competition, run with the St Vincent’s Curran Foundation, awarding $500,000 in non‑dilutive grants to leading researcher‑founders.

The other two events are:

• Early Stage Innovation Forum (ESIF) sessions in May and October — aligned programming delivered alongside the AusMedtech and the AusBiotech International Conference, providing early-stage innovators with exposure to industry, investors and commercialisation pathways; and
• New Joint Program in August — a co-designed initiative focused on specific research areas of interest, with an initial emphasis on translational innovation in women’s health.
   

“Researchers do not experience the ecosystem in silos,” Proto Axiom CEO Anthony Liveris said. “They move from lab to pitch to conference to capital raise. We are especially excited about the August program and the opportunity to put underfunded areas of health (particularly women’s health) at the centre of Australia’s innovation agenda.”

On the partnership with Proto Axiom, AusBiotech CEO Rebekah Cassidy said it “sits within a broader set of investment-focused collaborations we are building nationally. It is designed to create clearer pathways from research excellence to commercial scale and to help Australian companies be better prepared to engage with capital at each stage of their growth”.

Image credit: iStock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen