News

20 December 2022
Billionaires Andrew and Nicola Forrest take aim at peanut allergy
Billionaires Andrew and Nicola Forrest are taking aim at peanut allergy with their new healthcare venture, backing a small biotech looking to develop the first safe, convenient, and targeted treatment for the common allergen. Tenmile was launched with an initial $250 million investment in August and is owned by Tattarang, the Forrest family office. After […]
9 November 2022
First Aussies to get needle-free COVID-19 vaccine patch
Brisbane-based vaccine technology company Vaxxas has kicked off its first human clinical trial of its needle-free patches to combat COVID-19. The phase one trial is taking place at the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Sippy Downs clinical research location and will involve 44 Australians aged 18 to 50, each of whom have had three doses […]
27 July 2022
Vaxxas patch worked for all Covid strains
A protein-based vaccine patch has proved effective against all major variants of Covid when given to mice, say researchers.  A protein-based vaccine patch has proved effective against all major variants of Covid when given to mice, say researchers. Vaxxas is an Australian biotechnology company which is developing patch dispensers for different diseases. Vaxxas CEO David […]
19 July 2022
CUREator, the national biotechnology incubator, backs 23 start ups
The government-backed national biotechnology incubator has made its first round of grants, worth $17.4m, to start-up companies around the nation tackling health problems such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. The incubator, CUREator, has funded 23 medical projects with the aim of helping them reach the stage where they attract commercial investment. Established with $40m […]
28 April 2022
AIC growth private equity awards: Allegro Funds, Brandon Capital clean out
Australian Investment Council belatedly held its 2021 awards for growth private equity firms on Thursday evening in Sydney, and Allegro Funds’ team must’ve come back from the party grinning ear to ear. Chester Moynihan, Adrian Loader and Fay Bou’s firm was named the firm of the year. It also won in the mid-cap investment ($100 […]
27 November 2021
Healthy Outlook: Where your super is invested
A nasal spray to prevent Covid-19, a pill to put Type 2 diabetes into remission and a wireless pacemaker are among the game-changing clinical trials funded through superannuation contributions The trials are funded by Brandon Capital’s Medical Research Commercialisation Fund, a unique collaboration between Statewide Super and other major Australian superannuation funds, the Australian and […]
24 November 2021
Silicon Valley pacemaker hopes to capture Aussie hearts with ASX float
Silicon Valley pacemaker startup EBR Systems expects Australia’s strong research focus on heart disease will be a fertile environment to develop the products it hopes will solve one of the world’s biggest global health problems. EBR, which is working on a new kind of “leadless” pacemaker system called WISE, listed on the ASX on Wednesday […]
19 November 2021
Hard WA border a boon for life sciences sector
WA’s tough border stance might make it difficult to find employees in many industries but for the State’s burgeoning life sciences sector, it’s had the opposite effect. Several companies in that space are reporting a “brain gain” as opposed to the much-feared “brain drain”, with new and developed talent returning to Perth before or during […]
23 September 2021
Drug repurposing is no panacea in race to treat COVID-19
Drug repurposing is no quick fix for developing new treatments for disease, including COVID-19, and there are inherent dangers and pitfalls with translating drugs such as chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin and similar compounds to treat COVID-19, say a team of experts. The potential challenges and opportunities with drug repurposing are highlighted in a paper authored by […]
23 August 2021
‘New dawn’ for biotech with taxpayer-funded incubator
The pandemic is steering the venture capital lens away from shorter-term sugar hits found in the technology sector in a “new dawn” for the local life science and biotech fields, one of Australia’s pioneering investors says. Bill Ferris – who founded CPE Capital in 1970 and now chairs the Brandon Capital-managed Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MCRF) – […]
3 August 2021
Adelaide Type 2 Diabetes researchers zero in on an ‘operation in a pill’
Adelaide researchers are recruiting volunteers to test “an operation in a pill” — a tablet to put type 2 diabetes into remission. Described as the Holy Grail of diabetes research, the pill will be tested on 64 healthy adult volunteers at CMAX in the CBD. The program is now seeking volunteers — who do not […]
8 July 2021
Brandon Capital leads $14m investment to develop new cancer drug
A new spinout from the University of Otago has secured $14 million in backing to help develop a new kind of targeted cancer drug in the emerging field of RNA therapy. The Amaroq Therapeutics team, led by chief scientific officer and founder Dr Sarah Diermeier, are pioneers in exploring the use of long non-coding RNA […]
28 June 2021
Brandon Capital, Uniseed back cancer biotech start-up in $10m funding
A Melbourne-based start-up spun out of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre has raised $10 million for the further development of its novel cancer immunotherapy that targets solid tumours such as breast and pancreatic cancers. The Brandon Capital Partners-managed Medical Research Commercialisation Fund led the investment into biotech Currus Biologics, along with university commercialisation fund Uniseed, The fresh […]
22 June 2021
Ena Respiratory raises $24M to trial COVID-19 nasal spray
Ena Respiratory has raised up to $32 million Australian dollars ($24 million) to fund clinical development of a nasal spray designed to prevent COVID-19. The product, INNA-051, delivers a TLR2/6 agonist to upregulate innate immune responses in airway epithelial cells and thereby help suppress the coronavirus. While vaccines are bringing protection against COVID-19 to the masses, […]
21 June 2021
Forrest backs nasal spray play in fight against COVID-19
Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation is partly financing a new $32 million funding round for a nasal spray start-up that says it can help the fight against COVID-19. Ena Respiratory also secured backing from biotech investors Brandon Capital and Uniseed for the round. The capital will help develop its INNA-051 spray, which is due to start human studies […]
16 June 2021
Australian spinout eyes the clinic with a prophylactic nasal spray for Covid-19
Whether patients are immunocompromised or just don’t like needles, one fledgling Australian biotech says it has an alternative to Covid-19 vaccines that doesn’t involve a jab in the arm — and on Tuesday, it pulled in a fresh round of funding to take it into the clinic. ENA Respiratory, which spun out of ENA Therapeutics […]
26 May 2021
Researcher rewards needed to fuel biotech boom
The newest board member of Australia’s largest life sciences fund says the country must develop ways to entice researchers to commercialise their work if the industry is going to produce future biotech giants like CSL and Cochlear. Kylie Diwell, who has recently joined the board of the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund and works as a […]
23 May 2021
‘No amount could be enough’: Calls for Canberra to back biotech, as medtech firms await funding
One of the nation’s most experienced biotechnology investors has urged the federal government to do more to support the sector, as medical technology companies await funding to flow from a $1.5 billion scheme to boost manufacturing in Australia. The life sciences industry cheered the $1.5 billion “Modern Manufacturing Strategy” when it was outlined last October, […]
14 May 2021
Adelaide’s BioMed City is attracting strong clinical trial interest as its critical mass continues to grow
There has been a 50 per cent increase in clinical trials in Adelaide as a result of the state’s safe-haven status throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the general manager of Adelaide BioMed City says. Yvette van Eenennaam, who is also chair of the SA Genomics Centre, said the $3.8 billion precinct at the western end of […]
12 May 2021
Tax breaks tipped to trigger innovation boom
The country’s innovation giants say tax breaks for profits generated on local intellectual property will nurture high-value, local jobs and foster new companies, despite Australia still offering significantly weaker incentives than countries such as Britain and Singapore. Australia joins 24 other countries with patent box schemes, which offer lower tax rates on profits generated from […]
11 May 2021
‘IP Box’ regime would keep vaccines here
Australia may have been better prepared to deal with the COVID-19 crisis if the federal government implemented an “IP Box” tax incentive scheme that encouraged biotech manufacturers to base much of their operations here, a top intellectual property lawyer says. Kylie Diwell, a director of the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund and partner at Minter Ellison, […]
3 May 2021
FDA fast-tracks Australian breast cancer technology
An Australian imaging device about the size of an electric toothbrush that could save breast cancer patients from going under the knife multiple times has been fast-tracked by the US Food and Drug Administration. West Australian medical technology company OncoRes is ­behind the ­device that uses new technology to make real-time ­tumour assessments and help […]
28 April 2021
R&D tax credits yet to meet targets
The government’s research and development tax incentive scheme (RDTI) appears to be doing better than its predecessor, but not nearly as well as was hoped. Software companies, in particular, remain unimpressed. New Zealand Software Association president Roger Ford sees New Zealand as a country of adapters as much as innovators. “[New Zealanders are] more likely to […]
16 April 2021
NZ clinical trial boom post-Covid slowly but surely emerging
Despite slow Covid recovery globally, enquiries for future NZ trials hit 10-year high. The Covid clinical trial boom that seemed inevitable for a healthcare system virtually untouched by a global pandemic has been slow to materialise, but industry stalwarts say it’s still on the horizon. The Australia New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry found in the […]
9 April 2021
VC Land Podcast: Shining a light on biotech with Brandon Capital
The VC Land Podcast connects you with some of the leading players in Australia’s growing venture capital (VC) market. Hosted by news media and PR veteran, CEO of Mojomedia.com.au, Justin Kelly, we chat to leading VCs on how to get started, what it takes to build a successful business, how to overcome challenges, and advice for […]
16 March 2021
Tech leaders call for national plan, software R&D and IP tax cuts
Australia has survived the COVID-19 crisis in admirable fashion, but is at risk of squandering its advantage unless more steps are taken to propel the nation’s fast-growing technology sector, according to industry leaders. The sector proved to be one of the most resilient throughout the pandemic, with venture capital funding deployed in start-ups soaring to […]
12 March 2021
ANDHealth inks deal with US health insurance giant
ANDHealth has penned a partnership with the innovation arm of the second-largest health insurer in the United States, Anthem, Inc, opening a new path for local digital start-ups to enter the market. The tie-up between Anthem Digital Incubator and ANDHealth, a non-profit digital health accelerator business, means Australian start-ups that often lack the expertise to expand […]
8 March 2021
Azura heads for final studies for world-first dry eye treatment
Brandon Capital-backed biotech start-up Azura Opthalmics has made a big leap towards creating the world’s first treatment for a type of dry eye disease, publishing promising phase two clinical trial results last week. Most of the treatments available for dry eye, such as artificial teardrops, moisten the surface of the eye. But for 85 per […]
8 March 2021
Women in science: Tackling gender diversity in top jobs
Women are underrepresented in the top jobs of science and tech. A new programme is trying to fix that. Maria Jose Alvarez was pitching her agritech start-up to a group of investors when they cut her off with questions. Not for her, but for her male co-founder standing off to the side. “I was presenting, […]
4 March 2021
Remove red tape to speed new drugs to market, says research CEO
The chief executive of the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund says red tape impeding drug development should be removed to allow faster pathways to reimbursement and save more lives. Chris Nave, managing director of Brandon Capital, said the rapid pace of development of the COVID-19 vaccines has shown that the world can supercharge development times. Brandon manages the $700 million […]
21 December 2020
Erica Kneipp tapped for $700m biotech fund
Former assistant secretary of the Department of Health Erica Kneipp has been tapped to join the board of Medical Research Commercialisation Fund as the pandemic supercharges an opportunity to boost Australia’s biotech capabilities. Ms Kneipp, head of health and medical research strategy at the Australian National University, was at the centre of the creation of the […]
22 November 2020
Nasal spray which could fight Covid and other respiratory infections gets funding
A nasal spray with the potential to fight Covid-19 and other respiratory viral infections will be tested in the hope of manufacturing it in Australia. The INNA-051 nasal treatment, developed by the Australian biotech company Ena Respiratory, targets the primary site of most respiratory infections, including Covid, and activates immune defence mechanisms in the respiratory […]
17 November 2020
New investments for drug research
Brandon Capital, Sofinnova Partners invest $8.2 m in new UK start-up seeking novel cancer blocker. The Medical Research Commercialisation Fund and European venture capital firm, Sofinnova Partners, have co-led an initial investment of $8.2 million (£4.5 million) into Myricx Pharma, a new drug discovery company focused on developing novel treatments for cancer. The UK-based Myricx […]
26 October 2020
Eyeing pandemic’s silver lining for drug trials
The coronavirus pandemic has battered the smooth running of clinical trials for new drugs worldwide, but Australia has managed to pull through in a comparatively strong position, according to a biotechnology outfit researching an eye treatment. “Because Australia and New Zealand had done such a great job, with respect to managing the current rates of […]
28 September 2020
Nasal spray cuts COVID-19 growth, study shows
It is unclear yet the length of protection a vaccine will provide. If it only lasted a few months the nasal spray would add another level of protection. A novel nasal treatment developed to boost the human immune system to fight common colds and flu has proved successful in reducing COVID-19 viral growth in a […]
12 June 2020
Innovative type two diabetes treatment scores $29m
An early stage non-invasive treatment for type two diabetes is set to begin human trials in Adelaide in late 2020, thanks to a $29 million cash injection from Brandon Capital’s Medical Research Commercialisation Fund and US fund Santé Ventures. The treatment is being developed by US company Glyscend Therapeutics. It is the result of a […]
25 May 2020
Nation faces ‘generational loss’ of biotechs warning
The head of Australia’s largest life science investment fund has urged the government to provide a COVID-19 support package to the $170 billion sector, including changing JobKeeper eligibility and the scrapping of controversial legislative changes to the R&D tax incentive. Dr Chris Nave – founding partner of Brandon Capital which manages the Medical Research Commercialisation […]
18 December 2019
Canaan backs Pathios’ search for small molecule drugs that hit ‘orphan’ GCPR
As fruitful as G protein-coupled receptors have proved for modern medicine — by common estimates, more than 30% of FDA-approved drugs target this class of proteins — there are still dozens of “orphan” GPCRs whose endogenous ligands are poorly understood. One of them is GPR65, a pH sensing receptor that British biotech Pathios believes plays […]
26 November 2019
In conversation with Darren Kelly, CEO of Certa Therapeutics and OccuRx
At first glance, Darren Kelly doesn’t seem to sleep. He’s the CEO of not one but two fibrosis-related biotechs, an entrepreneur in residence at Brandon Capital, Australia’s largest life sciences-focused VC firm, a director at the Centre for Eye Research Australia and—to top it all off—the associate dean of innovation and enterprise at the University […]
21 June 2019
What Australian biotech needs to compete globally
Australia aims to be more than a destination for clinical trials, and an influx of cash is helping the country’s biotech sector fill its translational gap. But like other emerging biotech hubs, talent and a higher appetite for risk will be needed to compete on a global scale. Over the past decade, Australian biotech has […]
1 May 2019
Brandon Capital scores $210m for fifth medical research fund
Brandon Capital has closed the first tranche of funding for its new $250 million biotech fund, with the venture capital firm’s earlier funds successfully outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 for the past 10 years. The VC has raised $210 million from its existing backers including HESTA, StatewideSuper and Hostplus, as well as biotech giant CSL, but is […]
8 October 2018
Brandon Capital, Rampersand, Artesian lead local VC gender diversity push
Aussie venture capital funds are making significant strides in boosting the diversity of their portfolios, but women still make up only a tiny percentage of the investors in the sector. A survey conducted by The Australian Financial Review of 10 of the top VC funds in the country revealed that of 448 investments made since the inception […]
28 February 2018
Conjunctivitis treatment gets $13m from Brandon Capital for local trial
Australians with viral conjunctivitis will be the first to try drops that hope to clear up the eye infection and reduce its fortnight-long infectious period, after an opthalmic drug developer was lured from San Diego to Sydney by $13 million from a local biotech venture capital manager. The Sydney Eye Hospital will host the first […]
9 February 2018
University of Sydney spin-off Elastagen sold for $120m to Botox maker
Ridding the world of stretch marks and acne scars is on track to become Professor Anthony Weiss’s legacy, after the skin repair treatment developed at his University of Sydney biochemistry laboratory in the 1990s was sold for $120 million to the multinational that makes Botox. Professor Weiss’s breakthrough was a process to manufacture tropoelastin, a […]
1 December 2017
Brandon Capital tests reverse brain drain theory
Finally the venture capital industry has a reliable litmus test for the propensity of top talent in life sciences and medical devices looking to return home. Brandon Capital, the Melbourne-based venture capital investor with $530 million in funds under management, is in the market for two new portfolio managers. Managing director Chris Nave says Brandon […]
14 November 2017
Venture capitalist Mark Carnegie leads $65m wireless pacemaker funding
Venture capitalist Mark Carnegie was alerted years ago by a science adviser to a Californian developer of a wireless heart pacemaker that could save the lives of some patients, but he baulked at the terms. Every month the adviser would call Mr Carnegie and say, “I have got another CRT patient who is going to […]
17 October 2017
Azura Opthalmics raises $20m from Brandon Capital, others for dry eye cure
One of the year’s biggest investments in an Australian biotech is for one of medicine’s great unsolved problems: dry eye disease. Sydney-based Azura Opthalmics has raised $US16 million ($20.3 million) to advance clinical trials of a treatment for meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), the culprit in more than 70 per cent of dry eye cases. “Having […]
5 October 2017
Brandon Capital breaks even in biotech milestone
A milestone for Australia’s life sciences venture capital industry will be achieved this month when the dozen members of Brandon Capital’s investment team receive their first profit share cheque, a decade after the manager formed. A staged payment from one of Brandon’s most successful seed investments – Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, maker of a chronic pain treatment […]
5 June 2017
UQ breast cancer drug maker QUE Oncology raises $21.5m from Medical Research Commercialisation Fund
The Medical Research Commercialisation fund has led a $21.5 million raise into anti-cancer therapies company QUE Oncology, funding the development of a drug that stops breast cancer survivors suffering hot flushes during endocrine treatments. The company was founded in 2013 as a joint venture established by Emory University in Atlanta and the University of Queensland’s […]
29 May 2017
Brandon Capital on board as Parkinson’s smartwatch firm Global Kinetics seeks $30 million
Emerging Australian medtech success story Global Kinetics is raising $20-30 million to keep commercialising its smartwatch-style Parkinson’s treatment device. The company is also working on an expansion into telehealth in partnership with French hospitals and developing an app to give Parkinson’s patients more control over their own treatment. The latest capital raise follows a $14.8 million […]
23 May 2017
Researchers backed with $6.3 million in hunt for a cure to the common cold
A cure for the sniffles has long eluded science, but research teams in Newcastle and Melbourne have just received $6.3 million for trials of a molecule they hope can block the virus that causes three-quarters of all colds. The culprit that the scientists from Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) and University of Melbourne are after is rhinovirus, […]
16 May 2017
Mike Daniell joins board of Australasia’s largest life sciences fund
The former Fisher & Paykel boss spent his whole working career commercialising medical R&D. Former Fisher & Paykel Healthcare chief executive Mike Daniell has joined the board of Australasia’s largest life science venture capital fund. The Medical Research Commercialisation Fund was set up in late 2007 in a collaboration between major Australian superannuation funds and […]
16 May 2017
457 visa crackdown derails drug to cure blindness
Things looked great for Xianzhong Lau a month ago. The 30-year-old Singaporean had completed a PhD in translational biology and snared a job as a project leader with a company founded by one of Australia’s top life sciences entrepreneurs, Darren Kelly. All he needed was the 457 visa that he had already applied for to […]
15 December 2016
New Australian life sciences investment fund could have spin-off benefits to New Zealand
Some $A230 million has gone to Brandon Capital which manages the MRCF, a collaborative structure of over 50 organisations including six New Zealand research institutes. Australia’s largest life science venture fund, the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund, just got bigger, with the Australian government’s launch of a $A500 million Biomedical Translation Fund aimed at making the […]
13 December 2016
Brandon Capital to manage $230m for Biomedical Translation Fund
Medical venture capital fund Brandon Capital has been selected to manage the lion’s share of the government’s $500 million Biomedical Translation Fund, which is aiming to bridge the funding gap between early stage pharmaceutical and medtech startups and commercialisation. Australia has a history of being strong in research, but weak in commercialisation, and this has […]
29 June 2015
Novartis takes a pain med in $700M buyout deal for Spinifex
A little more than a year ago, Melbourne, Australia-based Spinifex decided to take part of a $45 million round to set up an office in Stamford, CT, with the clear intention of putting its mid-stage pain drug in a better position on Big Pharma’s food chain. And today that strategy paid off handsomely with a […]

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