Top 5 Life Science Startup Investors in Australia in October 2023

Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF) provides dedicated, investment funding to support the commercialisation of early-stage medical research discoveries that originate from its member institutes. The collaborative nature of the MRCF seeks to foster best practice in the commercialisation of medical innovations.

Investment focus

Biotechnology, Health Care, Medical
Series A, Seed, Series B
Australia, United States, United Kingdom

Portfolio highlights

Glyscend — Glyscend develops a revolutionary approach to treating type 2 diabetes. The company began with the insight that bariatric surgery can lead to the immediate remission of the disease, and has since been engaged in the development of a non-invasive approach which will act on the same mechanism as surgery but fit within the current care pathway. Thecompany's technology is an orally ingestible intestinal coating that prevents the stimulation of duodenal mucosa and inhibits key neurohormonal pathways in the proximal gut. Glyscend is devoted to providing patients with an effective strategy to keep glucose levels under control and eliminate potential side effects like weight gain and hypoglycemia. Meanwhile, the company aims to provide endocrinologists and primary care physicians with the innovative tools they need to treat the disease instead of merely managing it. It was founded in 2014 by co-founders Ashish Nimgaonkar, Michael Parlato, and Pratik Patel.
Currus Biologics — Currus Biologics is a biotechnology company that develop CAR-T cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumour cancers.
Azura Ophthalmics — Azura Ophthalmics is a clinical-stage company that develops an innovative portfolio of compounds to advance treatments for MGD, the leading cause of DED. By targeting the root cause of MGD, Azura brings the promise of improved health and well-being to millions of people worldwide who suffer from MGD and other ocular surface diseases where treatmentoptions are currently lacking. Azura is underpinned by an experienced management team with an established track record of successfully developing and commercializing novel treatments for ocular surface diseases. The company headquartered in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel with operations in Australia and the U.S.

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OneVentures is one of Australia’s leading venture capital firms, with over $330M in funds under management. But they do more than invest. They take companies to that all important next stage, by actively shaping their future. They apply their years of international experience, operational and executional expertise to accelerate the growth of theirportfolio companies. A global growth focus drives their investment selection with their current portfolio including companies with truly innovative products tackling multi-billion-dollar problems, from needle-free vaccinations to virtual communications to adaptive e-learning.

Investment focus

Software, Health Care, Information Technology
Series A, Debt Financing, Funding Round
Australia, United States, Israel

Portfolio highlights

Vaxxas — Vaxxas develops and commercializes needle-free vaccine delivery system. Vaxxas was incorporated in 2011 and is based in Brisbane, Australia.
BiVACOR — BiVACOR is a privately held company founded in 2008. Their staff includes world-class engineers, medical specialists, and business executives, who are diligently working to advance this ground-breaking technology. Together, they have established a strong collaborative network that extends both nationally and internationally. Their worldheadquarters is located in Houston, Texas, USA, and their international office is in Brisbane, Australia.
ImmVirX — ImmVirX is an Australian company founded in 2019 with a mission to improve outcomes for patients with cancer types in which immunotherapy treatments have limited effect.

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Uniseed was established in October 2000 as a $20 million joint venture between the University of Melbourne (UM) and the University of Queensland (UQ). This proof of concept fund (Fund-1) operated with significant input and support from the commercialization offices of the two universities (UniQuest and Melbourne Ventures Limited), with staff ofthese organizations making up the majority of the Investment Committee and leading due diligence and management of most investment opportunities. Over 20 investments, typically of $250,000 - $500,000 were made from this fund.A new $40 million venture fund (Fund-2) ran from 2005-15, with the addition of a third leading university, the University of New South Wales, and a major private institutional investor, the Westscheme superannuation fund. The founding universities (UQ & UM) also committed further funds. Australian Super took over Westscheme's essets and commitments in July 2011.With the start of Fund-2, an independent management team was established, consisting of the CEO and three Investment Managers; one at each university catchment. The Investment Committee was restructured, with dedicated committees established for biotechnology or other technologies. The nominal investment limit was increased to $2.5 million to allow participation in follow-on funding rounds so as to preserve Uniseed's equity position.On 1 November 2015, Uniseed started its third and largest fund (Fund-3) with the addition of the University of Sydney and the CSIRO to the Universities of Queensland, Melbourne and NSW. This followed three high profile exits in the preceding 14 months (Fibrotech; Spinifex & Hatchtech). Each of the five partners committed $10 million over 10 years to the new fund (total fund $50 million).Uniseed’s partner research organisations spent nearly $4 billion on research, making up over 40% of the total research spend at 67 research organisations in Australia. Together, these organisations accounted for nearly 500 invention disclosures (34% of total) and 500 new registered IP rights filed (45% of total) over the same period(2013 National Survey of Research Commercialisation). Unlike private venture capital funds, Uniseed is dedicated to the needs of its research partners, and committed to servicing them consistently over the long term, irrespective of the short term conditions in external capital markets. It works in very close partnership with the research partner commercialisation companies and staff, providing a valuable adjunct to the capabilities these companies and staff provide. They in turn provide a best-practice commercialisation service tailored to their respective organisations. These companies are able to leverage to great effect the scale of operation and expertise of the Uniseed network.The fund is run with commercial discipline, ensuring independence and financial rigor in its investment decision-making processes. Success is measured by a balance of return on investment (including the flow of funds for research to further the commercialisation of intellectual property generated within the research partner catchments), the establishment of viable start-up companies, the generation of research income for research partners and the improvement of partner commercialisation processes.

Investment focus

Biotechnology, Manufacturing, Health Care
Series A, Seed, Funding Round
Australia, United States, United Kingdom

Portfolio highlights

Ferronova — Ferronova is a medical device company that offers imaging and surgery products.
Morse Micro — Smarter, farther, better. Meet the latest Wi-Fi, HaLow, 802.11ah. 10X FARTHER>1Km range, 100x area, 1000x volume 10X EFFICIENCYMulti-year on a single
Tiny Bright Things — Melbourne-based company Tiny Bright Things was cofounded in 2020 by long-time research collaborators Ray Dagastine and Chris Bolton. We invented Halo microscopy to transform the way researchers and manufacturers look at small or transparent things. This helps manufacturers in areas like agrichemicals and pharmaceuticals (where the size and shape ofpowders are critical) and researchers at every stage of discovery— particularly in nanotechnology (where samples are especially tiny) and life sciences (where samples are often also transparent).

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AbbVie is a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 following separation from Abbott Laboratories. The company's mission is to use its expertise, dedicated people and unique approach to innovation to develop and market advanced therapies that address some of the world's most complex and serious diseases. Togetherwith its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pharmacyclics, AbbVie employs ~29,000 people worldwide and markets medicines in more than 175 countries.

Investment focus

Biotechnology, Health Care, Therapeutics
Series A, Series B, Series C
United States, China, Italy

Portfolio highlights

Mozart Therapeutics — The company intended to focus on developing novel immune engagers.
Quanta Therapeutics — Quanta is a biotechnology company uncovering novel cancer therapeutic candidates using allosteric modulation to target driver oncogenes. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in San Francisco, CA.
AmbAgon Therapeutics — AmbAgon Therapeutics is a developer of cancer molecule therapeutics. The company offers research of a small molecule that augments a tumor-suppressing protein. AmbAgon Therapeutics was founded by Christian Ottmann, Lucas Brunsveld, and Michelle Arkin.

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