Queensland Government to inject $1m into MRCF

The Queensland Government plans to inject $1 million into the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF), a VC fund dedicated to supporting the commercialisation of early-stage medical research.

The MRCF also receives funding from the federal government and the governments of Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia.

So far the MRCF has invested in 12 companies, including two medical technology start-ups based on research from the University of Queensland’s (UQ) Centre for Clinical Research and its Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.

The two start-ups are Q-Sera and Vaxxas. Q-Sera is commercialising technology for producing high-quality serum for analysis in a clinical setting. Vaxxas is commercialising Nanopatch, a pain-free method of vaccine delivery designed to replace needles and syringes.

Both start-ups were established with the support of UQ’s main commercialisation company UniQuest.

UQ Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research Professor Anton Middelberg welcomed the funding commitment from the Queensland Government.

“Since the global financial crisis, there have been very few new venture-backed companies in Australia as many wholesale investors take fewer risks,” he said. “In this tough funding climate, the Queensland Government has demonstrated tremendous leadership with its ongoing investment in the MRCF.”