Industry News
Local biotech stocks surging
Latest good news from the finance market comes in a report from market analysts, Bioshares. The report rates Australian biotech stocks as ‘surging ahead in the June quarter’ with an over 20 per cent rise across a basket of 43 sampled stocks. [ + ]
Lower turnout by computational biologists
The world’s leading conference for computational biologists has seen a shift in emphasis and a drop in delegate numbers this year. [ + ]
Watson, Khorana withdraw from Congress
Nobel Laureate James Watson, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, has withdrawn from attending the International Congress of Genetics due to a serious illness in the family. [ + ]
AGT competes in global arena
The publication of a paper on the three dimensional structure of a protein discovered and patented by Victorian company AGT Biosciences by scientists at a major pharmaceutical company last week was a wake-up call that AGT was competitive in the global arena, CEO Prof Greg Collier told Australian Biotechnology News today. [ + ]
S. Australia joins high-performance computing fraternity
South Australia's fledgling biotechnology industry has received the first of two shots in the arm with the commissioning of Hydra, a $AUD1.7 million system that is Australia's third-largest supercomputer and the largest of its type. [ + ]
Leading scientist to head hi-tech institute
A leading scientist is to be the inaugural director of the $50 million Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Queensland Premier, Peter Beattie, announced. [ + ]
Computing grid spreads number-crunching across states
Data-intensive research fields such as physics and life science will soon benefit from grid computing technology, a new method for analyzing massive amounts of data demonstrated in Australia for the first time at the recent ICCS 2003 (International Conference on Computational Science) in Melbourne. [ + ]
AgGenomics in JV with Horticulture Australia
AgGenomics, a joint venture between Genetic Technologies and the Victorian State Government's Agriculture Victoria Services, has entered into a two year collaborative program with Horticulture Australia to identify genetic markers in strawberries. [ + ]
Chemeq raises $25m
Perth biotechnology company Chemeq (ASX: CMQ) has raised a whopping $AUD25 million in a share placement to institutional and sophisticated investors. [ + ]
IMB genetics professor tops world list
Professor Wayne Hall of the Queensland-based Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) has been named as one of the most published authors in his field - the genetics of addiction and mental disorders. [ + ]
Breast milk - not only good for babies, but clever too
It is no secret that breast milk is considered by many to be one of the world's most nutritious drinks, however, it seems that Nature's 'wonder' liquid may also be more clever than previously thought.
[ + ]Agreement creates a sleeping giant
The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) have joined forces to create the largest respiratory and sleep research network in the southern hemisphere. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed by both groups, allowing large clinical studies to be run across both sites. The larger pool of volunteers is expected to strengthen research findings.
[ + ]A bookmark in history
Steve Burrill, long time money man for the IT and biotech industries, visited Australia last week to raise $200million for a new biotech fund. He described this decade as being of such importance that it will be remembered in 1000 years' time. ABN met with him, and asked why. Jeremy Torr reports. [ + ]
NSCC collaborates with LifeCell
The National Stem Cell Centre (NSCC) has recruited expatriate Australian scientist Dr Stephen Livesey to be the chief scientific officer of the Centre, Victorian Premier Steve Bracks has announced on the eve of the BIO2003 conference in Washington DC. [ + ]
Sigma to buy Pan?
Consumable and mining chemical company Sigma is reported as being latest in the queue to buy TGA-smitten Pan Pharmaceuticals. Other bidders are believed to include API and major Pan creditor Mayne [ + ]