This week in Oz biotech

The biotech sector is increasingly angry over the Federal Government's decision to scrap the popular Commercial Ready scheme in last week's budget.

Federal Innovation Minister Kim Carr said the closure of the scheme would save $547 million over four years and would allow the Government to respond to the review of the national innovation system with fresh ideas and more effective programs.

"The Rudd Government is determined to get the policy settings and programs for innovation right and part of that is making tough decisions where necessary about spending priorities," he said.

The biotech industry is not happy, however, with several coming forward to criticise the decision. Ausbiotech CEO Dr Anna Lavelle said the decision had left the industry in a "policy limbo".

Lavelle said AusBiotech had heard from a number of CEOs of biotechnology companies who were now considering offshore options as a result of the budget announcement.

Dr Ian Nisbet, CEO of Brisbane-based biotech Xenome, said he couldn't understand the decision for one minute and that some of the other programs available were "garbage".

"The only thing that was half-decent was Commercial Ready," Nisbet said. "It wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination but the fact of the matter is that a lot of those early-stage companies were able to leverage that money.

"A lot of [venture capitalists] put money into those companies on the basis that there was matching grants. Not only did it provide money through grants, but it dragged funding in from other areas. Sure, some of the companies were going to fold but that's the nature of the business."

Neil White, general manager of ACT biotech Lipotek, said in a letter to Senator Carr that the decision to close the program could significantly impair Lipotek's clinical program, which he said was about to make its first-into-human demonstration of its lead drug candidate after five years of research.

White said he fully supported the Government's review of the national innovation system and looked forward to its recommendations.

"However, in the meantime Lipotek, along with a number of other small biotech start-ups, is trapped in a Government policy vacuum waiting for these new initiatives to be introduced," White wrote.

He urged the Government to consider an interim mechanism to support small start-up companies to survive until an alternative program is available.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the review, Dr Terry Cutler, has announced he is willing to accept supplementary submissions to the review which contain hard evidence or data of the effect of the decision.

In other biotech news, diagnostics company Genera Biosystems has announced its initial public offering has closed oversubscribed.

In a statement, the company said it expected its stock to commence trading from the week of June 2, with market capitalisation of approximately $25 million.

Genera develops and manufactures a range of molecular diagnostic tests, including its lead test, PapType, for human papillomavirus detection in pap smear specimens.

Melbourne's Prana has raised a private placement transaction of $7 million from existing investors, which will be used to further R&D, and Benitec is undertaking a capital raising for an extra $5 million for R&D support and its continuing patent action in the US.

Evado officially launched its clinical trials software on International Clinical Trials Day, offering a free version of the software to a not-for-profit organisation running a clinical trial.

At the official launch in Melbourne, Evado CEO Jennie Anderson said the offer was a thank you to industry and government for their assistance in developing the product.

"We've decided to give one copy of Evado away for a charity or not-for-profit who are running a clinical trial," Anderson said.

"That can be for a trial anywhere in the world and can be for any trial, but naturally we'd prefer that it is something meaningful."

Interested parties can apply through the company's website at www.evado.com.au.

Evado is an enterprise web-based system comprising two modules. The pre-clinical module is suitable for animal trials and the clinical module for all Phase 1-4 trials.

The mobile software was developed with the assistance of with Intel, Microsoft and La Trobe University's Innovation Centre.

The Australian Stem Cell Centre's public affairs director, Michelle Gallaher, has been appointed CEO of the BioMelbourne Network, taking over from Tim Murphy, now senior advisor to Innovation Minister Kim Carr.

The network has a membership of more than 180 companies. Gallaher said she was delighted to be leading such a vibrant organisation.

"Victoria is the leading Australian biotech state and one of the key biotech hubs in the southern hemisphere," she said.

"The BioMelbourne Network is, and always has been, a great advocate of the Victorian biotech industry, offering a platform for the exchange of information and the sharing of skills and resources amongst its large membership."

Gallaher will take up her position in late June. In other appointments, Dr Andrew O'Brien, interim CEO of vaccines company BioDiem, has been confirmed as new CEO.