New head for IMBcom

The commercialisation arm of Queensland's premier biotech research centre, the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, has capped a national search for a new chief executive by reaching into the Queensland bioscience community for its successful candidate.

IMBcom has appointed Dr Peter Isdale, business director of the Australian Institute for Marine Science (AIMS) in Townsville to succeed founding CEO, Prof Peter Andrews.

Andrews retired as head of IMBcom and co-director of its parent organisation on December 31 to launch a privately-held biotech investment company, Magic Pudding.

IMBcom cited as factors in Isdale's selection his wealth of experience in commercialising scientific research plus the network of strong links to government and industry.

Before taking over as AIMS business director five years ago, Isdale, a marine scientist, spend 15 years as a researcher with the federally-funded institute.

The combination has yielded "a good bridging understanding of both the process of R&D and the culture of discovery and maps into a knowledge of entrepreneurship and technology transfer," Isdale said.

AIMS achieved a prominent position in the commercialisation of marine biotech during Isdale's tenure.

That record of spinning off biotech companies at AIMS, plus his expertise in building alliances, licensing agreements and technology transfer arrangements were factors in his selection, according to IMB director Prof John Mattick.

Isdale officially takes over his new role at IMBcom on March 3.

One of the main challenges facing Australia in commercialising its technology is promoting the culture of entrepreneurship within its research facilities, he said.

In the past two years, IMBcom has spun off nearly a dozen companies from IMB research initiatives.