MTPConnect – the Industry Growth Centre for the medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical (MTP) sectors – has announced the second round of its $15.6 million Project Fund Program will open on 3 July.
The second round includes $8.2 million in funding.
Applicants to the second round will need to demonstrate their idea is collaborative and industry-led, delivers results on a national scale with a sector-wide impact, and is aligned with MTPConnect’s sector growth priorities. Any funding from the program will also need to be matched at least dollar-for-dollar by the sector.
Sue MacLeman, CEO of MTPConnect, said there is strong support for the program, evident by 38 applications for the first-round last year.
One of the 14 projects funded in the first round was 'The Bridge Program' - a collaboration between pharmaceutical companies, venture capital firms and universities to support commercialisation.
The program will see 100 participants take part in face-to-face and online training in the scientific, legal, financial, clinical, regulatory and reimbursement disciplines that contribute to research translation and the commercialisation of medicines.
“Last year we received a variety of projects that aligned with one or more of our Sector Growth Priorities, and creatively addressed sector constraints and barriers to growth, including lack of collaboration between business and research, skills shortages and a lack of commercialisation skills and business acumen," said Ms MacLeman.
"We selected 14 projects to receive $7.4 million in funding over two years, with matched funding of c.$32 million. We selected these projects because they have the potential to create a highly productive commercialisation environment through greater industry-research collaboration, as well as transform the SMEs sub sector to support the growth of smaller companies into larger companies.”
Another project funded involved the national expansion of the Industry Mentoring Network in STEM Program, an industry-led mentoring initiative of The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering in collaboration with AusBiotech.