Researchers

Working with BioCurate

Hear from Professor Roger Daly from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute on how his team is working with BioCurate to translate their discovery into a novel treatment for breast cancer.

Click here to find out more about researchers currently working with BioCurate and how you can get involved

Process

BioCurate has further refined its formal, rigorous process for project review and investment decision-making that takes advantage of international industry contacts, ‘in-house’ expertise, and specialist consultants, while maintaining ongoing and effective two-way communication with researchers and University Innovation teams.

The focus at each stage of review is summarised as follows:

• Initial screening – Projects are submitted to BioCurate in a half-yearly BioCurate Opportunity Assessment (BOA) process and are reviewed for scientific & medical soundness from a commercial perspective. Feedback is provided to researchers to help them understand the potential for impact (e.g. does their project address an unmet need?) and risk (e.g. do they have a validated target?)
  
• Proof of Concept (POC) Fund – This Fund specifically supports early-stage projects where preliminary data may not be comprehensive, but supportive of the target and approach. Following BOA review, the Fund will assist with additional experimental validation to address identified developmental gaps. Upon review of the POC final report, projects may proceed to an EOI application, straight to an Exclusive Evaluation and License Agreement and formal in-licensing to the BioCurate portfolio, or into another round of POC funding.
• Expressions of Interest (EOI) – Projects deemed medically sound and commercially attractive are shortlisted and a full Expression of Interest submitted (by researchers and University BD/TTOs working together).
• Tier 1 Review – Once a formal EOI is submitted, the BioCurate team and relevant external consultants conduct a comprehensive review into the science and commercial potential, inclusive of regulatory and clinical development path.
  
• Tier 2 Review – With a verified link between the target and human disease, evaluation and planning for new therapeutic development can occur.
  
• Tier 3 Review(s) – Data is evaluated utilising the expertise, where required, of select international industry experts, and a plan for an international standard (“IND-ready”) preclinical package is formulated.

Linkages

BioCurate has developed a number of linkages with key global biopharmaceutical companies. This is in addition to the established networks individual staff members have brought to the Company. These partnerships provide valuable advice and insight which can help guide research, giving projects the best opportunity to progress in the translation process and a potential investment pathway. Having access to such a breadth and depth of international talent is unique and unprecedented in Australia and is a resource that researchers are able to tap into via BioCurate.

For more information, visit our Industry Partners and Sector Partners pages.

Specialist Skills

BioCurate’s depth of global experience is unique within Australia. With decades of scientific and commercial experience, our team members have conducted best-practice drug development and translation across multiple geographies and therapeutic areas in both smaller start-ups (e.g. TetraLogic, Pionyr Immunotherapeutics, Epizyme) and global biopharmaceutical companies (e.g. Baxter, CSL, Amgen, Pfizer).

Our team has worked across disease areas such as oncology, neurobiology, dermatology, cardiovascular disease, immune oncology, respiratory and more dermatology in Australia, Asia, Europe and North America, and has first-hand experience of the translation journey from discovery to approval. These skills go beyond the scientific, with members of the BioCurate team possessing expertise in clinical development, medical affairs, marketing authorisation, and intellectual property (IP) and lifecycle management.

We are here to help, provide advice and insight, and foster collaborations between you and potential industry partners.

For more information, visit Our Team page.