The Turnbull government has announced the fund managers for the $500 million Biomedical Translation Fund (BTF).
The managers, Brandon Capital Partners, OneVentures Management and BioScience Managers, will oversee the BTF that was announced as part of government's National Innovation and Science Agenda and became the first measure funded by the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).
The BTF will receive $250 million from the MRFF, at least matched by funding from the fund managers.
The three fund managers will be responsible for selecting and funding Australian start-ups in health and medical research. Their involvement is designed to address the capital and managerial constraints that many start-ups face as they work to commercialise their research.
Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Greg Hunt, said: “The BTF will help upskill early-stage medical research here in Australia and create more jobs.”
Brandon Capital will manage the largest fund worth $230 million, comprising $115 million from government, or just under half the money allocated to the BTF.
It will be Australia's largest life sciences fund, with a range of co-investors, including CSL, which will be the only biopharmaceutical investor. The company will also provide late-stage development and commercialisation expertise.
The Brandon Capital fund will be called the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund Biomedical Translation Fund (MRCF BTF).