Call for applications for Vistech fund

The Victoria Israel Science and Technology R&D Fund (Vistech) latest funding round has just opened with deadlines for all applications to be in by Monday, September 10.

Launched in 2005, Vistech is a three-year program with Israel and Victoria each providing US$3 million (A$3.54 m).

Companies working across the life sciences and biotech sector as well as advanced manufacturing, nano, water, environment, ICT and synchrotron technologies are encouraged to apply. The program also helps Victorian companies to find Israeli partners.

Vistech provides grants to Victorian and Israeli partner companies to support jointly approved science and technology research and development (R&D) projects with a commercial focus.

One example of a fund beneficiary is the Glucoguard project, which aims to develop an interactive health and wellbeing management application for type2 diabetes patients.

Richmond-based Health First and Israel-based Card Guard are developing an in-home blood glucose monitoring system with wireless test results data transmitted to a secure central database and return information to the patient by mobile phone.

Another project involves Neurosciences Victoria, which is currently undertaking a mini-trial to test effectiveness of its new lipophilic drug compound for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Before a full scale Vistech-funded collaboration which will link the new drug compound with delivery by a novel dosage form for improved oral absorption. The collaboration partners are Neurosciences Victoria, based in Parkville, and Shizim in Israel.

In addition, Aortech Biomaterials in Mulgrave and Allium in Israel are collaborating on developing urology stents coated with a polyurethane with drug delivery capacity. The proposal seeks to take Allium's skills in manufacture of removable urological stents and combine them with Aortech's knowledge of functional polyurethanes, to develop a new range of stents, which have the ability to slowly deliver drugs as well as function as a stent.

Vistech funds up to 50 per cent of joint R&D costs up to US$500,000 for Israeli-Victorian market-oriented projects in areas such as biotechnology, environmental technologies, healthcare and advanced manufacturing.

To date Vistech has already awarded nearly $1 million to Victorian companies - a figure matched again by both the Israeli Government and the partner firms involved in each project.

Further information can be found at www.business.vic.gov.au/vistech.