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Monash University and Breakthrough Victoria have revealed the first three investments from a new $15 million pre-seed fund to support the commercialisation of research by backing early-stage spinout companies.
The partners' combined Monash Ventures Pre-Seed Fund has co-invested $2.25 million in Myostellar, Fyton Bio, and Remagine Labs, which are all developing breakthrough technologies that tackle a range of health challenges.
To date the investment committee, comprising both organisations as well as independent members Vafa Shams and Dr Nadine Brew, has met with 13 startups and endorsed 10 for investment.
These investments are all part of Breakthrough Victoria’s $100 million University Innovation Platform (BVUIP), supporting the commercialisation of critical research from Deakin University, La Trobe University, University of Melbourne, Monash University, Swinburne University, RMIT, and Australian Catholic University.
The new pre-seed fund will provide up to $1 million per company, and has been described by the university's Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Sharon Pickering, as a "bold step" in strengthening impact through innovation and enterprise.
The sentiment is echoed by Deputy Vice Chancellor of research and enterprise, Robyn Ward AM, highlighting this sort of sort of innovation is vital for Australia to be internationally competitive.
"This fund ensures innovators are supported at one of the most challenging points in their journey – turning ideas into investment-ready ventures," Ward says.
"By supporting our spinouts with early-stage investment, we are creating pathways for researchers to take their transformative ideas to the market in pursuit of significant impact."
The first three investees are developing technologies with the potential to improve the lives of millions of people globally and reduce pressure on the Victorian health system.
Myostellar is pioneering a first-in-class biologic therapy to treat Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy by stimulating muscle regeneration with minimal fibrosis.
"We know our research will have a huge impact when it is made available as a therapeutic but there is still much to do on the research and commercialisation front," says Myostellar co-founder, Professor Peter Currie.
"While we progress the research, I cannot emphasise enough the importance of finding someone who’s been on the commercialisation journey before. I was fortunate to find this within my institution and am incredibly grateful to Monash Innovation for their invaluable guidance."
Meanwhile, FytonBio is developing next-generation antibody therapies to precisely target and remove disease-causing immune cells in autoimmune conditions.
"I’m thrilled to have received the pre-seed investment from the Monash and the BV UIP Pre-Seed Fund, which enables FytonBio to initiate antibody discovery for our first therapeutic program using the GPCR Rare Epitope Antibody Targeting (GREAT) platform developed by Professor Remy Robert," says FytonBio co-founder and CEO Chuck Silberstein.
"It marks an exciting step forward in our mission to deliver potential functional cures in autoimmunity and inflammation by deleting pathogenic immune cells."
Remagine Labs is creating wearable, electronically controlled drug delivery devices to improve treatment outcomes for people with chronic conditions.
"We’re proud to partner with Breakthrough Victoria and Monash University to advance Remagine Labs’ mission to revolutionise the treatment of chronic conditions through electronically controlled drug delivery," says Remagine Labs CEO, Pat Kelly.
"Their investment is a powerful endorsement of our technology and our commitment to building a globally competitive electro-pharmaceutical company here in Victoria."
Breakthrough Victoria CEO Rod Bristow says the investments announced today are a "powerful demonstration" of how the university innovation platform is working exactly as intended, backing world-class research at its earliest stages to successfully commercialise and deliver real-world solutions," says
"By co-investing with Monash University in companies like Myostellar, Fyton Bio and Remagine Labs, we’re helping to build the next generation of Victorian research commercialisation, improve lives, and deliver long-term economic and social returns for the state," he says.
"We are backing world-class research because it generates lifesaving treatments and drives our economy," adds Victorian Minister for Growth and Jobs, Danny Pearson.
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