Diabetes affects one in 20 people. An important initiative to set up a ‘virtual’ emergency department designed for people living with diabetes has launched in Melbourne, Victoria during National Diabetes Week, with the aim of preventing unnecessary trips to hospital.

The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department-Diabetes Service will be added to the existing Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) giving patients 24/7 online video access to emergency nurses and doctors. As a world first, this new model of care will add a roster of diabetes specialists on weekend and evening shifts, when diabetes patients are most likely to present to a hospital emergency department.

Joining the podcast to talk about this new initiative is endocrinologist Professor Elif Ekinci, Director of Diabetes at Austin Health, Head of Department of Medicine at University of Melbourne, and Director of the Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations(ACADI). ACADI was established in 2022 through MRFF funding from the Australian Government’s Targeted Translation Research Accelerator (TTRA) program, delivered by MTPConnect.

Also joining the discussion is Northern Health’s Dr Loren Sher, an emergency specialist who led development of Australia’s first virtual emergency department model, now operating as a Victorian state-wide service. Loren has been instrumental in working with Elif to get the diabetes service up and running.

Hosts are Caroline Duell, MTPConnect’s Director Media and Communications and Lauren Kelly, Senior Director of the TTRA program.

ARM Hub is a technology adoption hub based in Brisbane, with a focus on robotics, AI and design for manufacture for biomedical, energy and defence industries.

The not for profit was recently appointed as one of four AI Adopt Centres by the Government to provide a service for SMEs that demonstrates how data and AI can modernise business, build skills and boost productivity. ARM Hub is also leading the Australian Manufacturing Capability Network (AMCN) as an Industry Partner Organisation for the Industry Growth Program to help participating small and medium businesses bring new products and services to market.

Podcast host Caroline Duell caught up with ARM Hub’s Chief Operating Officer Samuel Jesuadian at BIO 2024 in San Diego, where MTPConnect and ARM Hub unveiled a joint accelerator to help biomedical companies harness the power of data and artificial intelligence (AI).

The Biomedical AI Sprints Accelerator will provide matched funding up to $50,000 to upskill a selected number of high growth companies in the use of AI and data analytics, provide access to affordable data management infrastructure, and create a tech-ready workforce. Find out more about the program and how to apply – EOIs close 30 July 2024.
Visit the ARM Hub website.

The Clinical Translation and Commercialisation Medtech (CTCM) program aims to boost commercialisation of home-grown medical products. It is delivered by MTPConnect on behalf of the Medical Research Future Fund.

WA-based VitalTrace is one of the companies participating in the CTCM program and developing a groundbreaking medical device to revolutionise fetal monitoring during childbirth. The company has set up an Australian-based manufacturing facility, received FDA Breakthrough device designation and will soon start its first clinical trial with mothers and babies.

Joining host Caroline Duell on the podcast is Dr Chuong Phan, VitalTrace’s Manufacturing Lead, to share more about the progress and translation of DelivAssure, a unique biosensor innovation.

This episode comes to you from a special medtech event held in Melbourne and hosted by MTPConnect’s CTCM program and QUT’s The BridgeTech Program. The Design to Manufacturing Tours brought together a number of medtech startups to visit some of Australia’s leading medical manufacturing operations.

Back in 2022, the Government of Western Australia issued a global challenge for a world-leading medical research and innovation solution to resolve a pressing problem of health service delivery in the remote Pilbara region.

Ten projects were selected as finalists and given 12 months proof of concept funding to deliver their solution on the ground in the Pilbara. With the competition ending in October, the best solution will be selected to take home the $5 million prize supported by WA government’s Future Health Research and Innovation Fund, Rio Tinto and BHP.

To give us an update, we catch up with the WA Minister for Medical Research, the Honourable Stephen Dawson MLC and RioTinto’s Dampier Salt General Manager Operations, Laura Thomas.

Joining Caroline Duell on the podcast is co-host Dr Tracey Wilkinson, MTPConnect’s Director of Stakeholder Engagement in WA at the WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub.

To find out more about The Challenge and the ten finalists visit the website.

The Australian Stroke & Heart Research Accelerator (ASHRA) was established in early 2022 as part of the Targeted Translation Research Accelerator – a program delivered by MTPConnect for the Medical Research Future Fund.

This is a research centre with a difference. Lead by Australia’s foremost heart and stroke researchers, ASHRA is aiming to transform the field of cardiovascular and stroke research in Australia by bringing a new sector-wide focus on clinical impact and entrepreneurship.

ASHRA’s Director, Professor Clara Chow in Sydney and ASHRA’s Deputy Director Professor Stephen Nicholls in Melbourne, join host Caroline Duell to discuss why a research accelerator of this kind is needed, how ASHRA’s pioneering model is bringing together a likeminded academic and clinical community to drive change, and how they are collaborating with industry to deliver improved outcomes for Australians.

Professor Clara Chow is a distinguished cardiologist and clinical researcher, Professor of Medicine at the University of Sydney and serves as the Academic Director of the Westmead Applied Research Centre.

Professor Stephen Nicholls is a world-renowned cardiologist, inaugural Director of the Victorian Heart Institute and a Professor of Cardiology at Monash University. He also leads the Victorian Heart Hospital (VHH) - Australia's first dedicated heart hospital.

This is the first episode in series on ASHRA.

Radiopharmaceuticals are precision nuclear medicines used for medical imaging and treatment that allow doctors to diagnose and deliver targeted therapies for diseases such as cancer.

A new discussion paper from MTPConnect, ‘From Mines to Medicines. Australia’s Radiopharmaceuticals Future’ reveals how Australia is ready to play a leading role in the rise of the global radiopharmaceutical industry, as advanced therapies drive significant investment and rapid expansion. South Australia is identified as the ideal location to lead the development of Australia’s radiopharmaceuticals future, with end-to-end capabilities – from unique mining assets and a robust research ecosystem through to cutting-edge clinical services and specialised workforce.

In this feature length episode, hosts Caroline Duell and Dana Bell, MTPConnect’s Partnerships Director South Australia, speak to experts in South Australia along the supply chain - from mines to medicines including:

• UniSAs Professor Eva Bezak, Deputy Director of the Australian Research Council’s Industrial Transformation Training Centre (ITTC) for Radiation Innovation (Time code: 10.32) on researching new radiopharmaceuticals and building a highly skilled workforce to scale up,

• SAHMRI’s Chady Barkil, Director, Molecular Imaging and Therapy Research Unit (MITRU) (Time code: 35.43) on manufacturing nuclear medicines and the supply chain challenges,

• EntX's Dr Massey de Los Reyes, Principal Scientist and Facilities Manager, on developing technology to transform mining waste into medical isotope production (at Time code: 57.36),

• Novartis ANZ’s Matt Zeller, Country President (Time code: 1.17.03) on how the company is reimagining cancer care with its precision nuclear medicine pipeline,

• Artesian’s Stephanie Morris, Investment Manager (Time code: 1.36.02) discusses the investment activity and interest in the growing radiopharmaceuticals market and,

• Department for Industry, Innovation and Science’s Dr Judy Halliday, Director Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Time code: 1.48.06) outlines South Australia’s strengths as a first mover to unlock the radiopharmaceutical industry opportunity.

Perth- based biotech Argenica Therapeutics is developing therapies to treat stroke and other neurological conditions. A new neuroprotective peptide treatment is now being tested for ischaemic stroke patients presenting to emergency departments at 10 hospitals around Australia and is expected to improve patient outcomes by protecting the brain tissue from dying until blood flow can be restored.

CEO and Managing Director Dr Liz Dallimore joins hosts Caroline Duell and WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub Director, Dr Tracey Wilkinson, to discuss the company’s journey from research institute spinout, working with the US FDA, the benefits of conducting clinical trials in Australia, the challenges of raising capital, and why she is passionate about representing the biotech sector on various boards.

Innovators have told us that funding is important but difficult to navigate. The Australian Government is committed to investing billions of dollars into medical research and industry growth, cultivating a culture of translation and improving health for all Australians. So MTPConnect’s Adelaide Intermediary Program kicked off its first SA Insights event in 2024 by bringing the Commonwealth funders together to offer invaluable insights, advice, and inspiration to over 200 guests.

This episode takes you to the event at the University of Adelaide, where our host Jo Close, Director for the Adelaide Intermediary Program, chats to six distinguished leaders, each representing national funding programs that drive Australia's healthtech innovations including AusIndustry’s David Luchetti, CRC-P Manager Martin Dent, Medical Research Future Fund’s Tracey Laba, National Reconstruction Fund’s Rebecca Manen, Cooperative Research Australia’s Jane O’Dwyer, and Thomas Ting from Australia’s Economic Accelerator.

Listen in to find out how to align an innovation with the right funding program and pick up some tips for making successful applications.