Since early 2014, our work has been centered on supporting and advancing Australian discoveries into commercialization. Our research and observations had indicated that supporting collaborations and advancing innovations were key opportunities in being able to deliver benefits from Australian research to the community.
In today’s world, the word ‘commercialisation’ can sometimes bring mixed responses. But, in reality, commerce provides socioeconomic benefits and can provide access to capabilities and capacities that would otherwise be difficult to access.
We’ve previously reported that Australia has a poor innovation efficiency rating compared to its overseas counterparts when it comes to commercialising its research discoveries. Our Foundation is working diligently to help improve the translation of our medical research innovations.
We are pleased to announce a success story by one of our own, our Research Advisory Committee Member, Professor Maree Smith. Following years of research into pain management, Prof Smith has pioneered her way through the industry and discovered the novel and orally available small molecule drug candidate, dubbed the EMA401. This experimental neuropathic pain drug has shown positive results in treating post-herpetic neuralgia, a painful condition some people get after shingles. This discovery led to the development of a spin out company ‘Spinifex Pharmaceuticals’ out of the University of Queensland.
Yesterday, Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG announced it would acquire Spinifex by paying $200 million upfront, with the potential for Spinifex shareholders to acquire further payments pending on clinical development and regulatory milestones.
This is great news for the venture capital backers of Spinifex, but most importantly for patients, as ‘deep pockets’ are required in order to successfully bring drugs to market (regulatory testing for safety and efficacy does not come cheap). With Novartis leading the way, things are looking positive for EMA401 and for the team who have helped advance this discovery.
A well earned congratulations to Prof Maree Smith and her team!
Our conference “Putting rubber on the road” in Sydney during September will bring together senior decision makers from government, industry, academia and philanthropy to discuss how we can all work together to make a bigger difference.