Singapore, Feb 3, 2009: Queensland Facility for Advanced Bioinformatics (QFAB), a bioinfomatics solution provider, has entered a co-marketing agreement with US-based GeneGo for Metacore technology, in the Asia Pacific region.

MetaCore is an integrated software suite for functional analysis of experimental data. The scope of data types is said to include microarray and SAGE gene expression, proteomics, metabolomics, pathway analysis and other custom interactions.

"We are very excited about this relationship as we will work together to open up and support Australia, New Zealand and beyond," said Ms Julie Bryant, VP of Business development, GeneGo. "We will be jointly supporting a lot of marketing and research activities in the region as there is a lot of exciting and novel research we would like to be involved in."

QFAB will make MetaCore pathway tools, software and manually curated databases accessible to Australian and New Zealand academics as part of its delivery of tailored bioinformatics solutions to life science researchers in the region.

QFAB will have GeneGo certified experts on staff to run training classes in the region and support the local research community.

Mr Jeremy Barker, CEO, QFAB said, "We are currently using MetaCore for an in-house project and have seen the power that it provides in a systems biology framework. In partnering with GeneGo we aim to help researchers in our part of the world realize the benefits that can come from using this software."

We are pleased to announce that two of our members - Professor Maree Smith and Dr Judy Hallidy, have been awarded prizes at the recent Women in Technology (WIT) Awards 2008. Dr Jane Fitzpatrick of Cleveland Biosensors was the deserving winner of the QCTN | Biotech Rising Star Award.
 
Dr Judy Halliday – winner of the Queensland Government | Executive Award  

The WiT Technology Executive Award has been developed in conjunction with the WiT Board Readiness Program to provide an opportunity for women within both the ICT and Biotechnology sectors with the opportunity to gain qualifications that will assist them in establishing executive or board careers. Judy was awarded with $1,000 Cash prize, a WiT 12 month membership, and participation in the WiT Board Readiness Program. Congratulations Judy!

Professor Maree Smith – winner of the WiT | Biotech Outstanding Achievement Award

This award is intended to celebrate and recognise outstanding contribution to the biotech industry. Maree was awarded with a $1,000 Cash prize, a WiT 3 year membership, a perpetual trophy, personalised gift and has gained the title of WiT Biotech Ambassador. Congratulations Maree!

Jane Fitzpatrick – winner of the QCTN | Biotech Rising Star Award

This award is intended to celebrate, recognise and reward a candidate regarded as having the potential to make significant contributions to the future of the biotechnology industry or research sector – Queensland’s Rising Star. Jane was awarded a travel package to BioJapan with QCTN including airfares, 4 nights accommodation,  meals, attendance at seminars, meetings and hospitality events as well as a WiT 12 month Membership. Congratulations Jane!

Brisbane firms Wilson Architects and Donovan Hill have unveiled the future of medical research in Australia with the release of their design concepts for Queensland's new research super-centre.

The architects triumphed over fierce competition to be awarded the design contract for the multi-million dollar Translational Research Institute (TRI). Director of the Mater Medical Research Insitute (MMRI), Professor Derek Hart, said the building design was an inspiration.

The TRI will be the first institute of its kind in Australia - and one of only a few in the world - to have the ability to discover, produce, clinically test and manufacture new biopharmaceuticals and treatments all in one place.

The centre was the vision of two of Australia's most noted scientists - 2006 Australian of the Year Professor Ian Frazer, and MMRI Director Professor Derek Hart.

It will become home to more than 650 researchers from the MMRI, the University of Queensland including the Diamantina Institute, the Queensland University of Technology's Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, and the Princess Alexandra Hospital and research groups including Collaborative Centres for Health Research and Education (CCHRE).

We are pleased to announce that TetraQ and Q-Pharm have forged a strategic alliance to enhance the provision of bioanalytical services to the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.

Having this alliance between the two organisations at the interface of the preclinical and early phase clinical stages of drug development represents significant opportunities for capturing operational economies, co-marketing of services and cross-referral of potential clients. 

Click here for more details

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The ERA Consulting Group and BioTechLogic are pleased to announce that they have joined forces to found US Biologic Regulatory Services LLC (US-BRS). This joint venture company will extend, and bridge, the services of both parent organizations, offering clients high quality regulatory affairs support, particularly relating to FDA interactions and submissions, and to preclinical and clinical development strategies for biotech products and other biologics and drugs, in the USA. Furthermore, US-BRS will benefit from the resources of the parent companies, in particular our expertise and track record in the field of manufacturing and control of biologics.
 
The ERA Consulting Group, with around 30 employees and headquartered near Hannover, Germany with three other offices in London (UK), Brisbane (Australia) and Washington, DC (USA), has offered specialist product development and regulatory affairs consulting services to the biopharmaceutical industry for more than 20 years. In terms of expertise in biopharmaceuticals and experience with a wide range of biologics, including gene, cell and tissue engineered products, as well as products of recombinant DNA and other technologies, ERA is the unrivalled leading consulting organisation in this field in Europe and the Australasian region. Responsibility for ERA’s current projects in the USA will now be assumed by US-BRS, therefore offering existing as well as future clients an expanded service, of far wider scope than was possible in the past.

BioTechLogic, Inc., based in Glenview, Illinois, is a biopharmaceutical and technology management firm with a unique, proven capability to rapidly and successfully bring products to market through the augmentation and optimization of a corporation's resources. BioTechLogic has a team of professionals with expertise in process development, bioanalytical services, process validation, project management, quality assurance, regulatory submissions and Pre-Approval Inspection (PAI) readiness. BioTechLogic’s quality by design (QbD) approach provides effective product development support, including: development reports, design of experiments, technology implementation, critical process parameter evaluation, technology transfer and scale-up, and on-site third party contract manufacturing support for proteins, vaccines, oligonucleotides and other biopharmaceutical products.

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Congratulations to QCTN member Evelin Tiralongo – Lecturer at Griffith University School of Pharmacy, in collaboration with Associate Professor Luis Vitetta and other stakeholders who were recently awarded a grant of $660,000 to further research into complementary medicine.

The grant was awarded by the National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) to establish a NICM Collaborative Centre for Transitional Preclinical and Clinical Research in Nutraceuticals and Herbal Medicine.

The centre aims to bring together existing capacity in the Australian community to foster research, development and investment in complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) in an ethically and socially responsible manner and to help develop educational and informational resources for CAMs. The centre will focus on key areas of expertise in the participating institutions, with a particular emphasis on cardiovascular medicine; including diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome, and an equally important focus on ageing and skin health.

Its work will span basic laboratory science, in vivo studies, clinical trials, nutraceutical-drug interaction studies (e.g. herbs) and education.

Particpating institutions include: Epworth Medical Centre, Garvan Institute, Griffith University, Monash University, UNSW and University of Queensland.

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The Wesley Research Institute Clinical Trials Centre is a purpose-built and designed facility located five minutes from Brisbane’s central business district, and in close proximity to three major universities.

The Clinical Trials Centre is attached to Brisbane’s Wesley Hospital, a major specialist centre networked to four other UnitingCare Health hospitals across Queensland, and operates out of a brand new purpose-built facility that was opened by the former Premier, Peter Beattie, in March 2007. The Institute’s Clinical Trials Centre is currently recruiting for more than 20 clinical trials. 

Through this relationship with The Wesley Hospital and UnitingCare Health, the Centre can offer access to a comprehensive range of resources including 1,000 licensed hospital beds, 4,000 specialist medical practitioners, nurses and allied health professionals, 63,000 surgical procedures per year, 90,000 admissions a year, and links to a world-class research institution. 

The Wesley Research Institute itself conducts research that focuses on more immediately improving patient care and quality of life. Its clinical and applied research aims to discover, test and refine new techniques for better diagnosis and treatment of illness and disease. 

The Wesley Research Institute’s new Community Service Announcement (CSA), proudly supported by 7 News, was launched at a special function held at the Institute on 13 September 2007. 

Titled ‘Time’, the CSA is designed to help communicate the Institute’s unique mission of making a difference today to people’s lives through medical research. 

Professor Julie Campbell AO, Director of The Wesley Research Institute, said the CSA would be an excellent awareness tool to help promote the Institute’s important research and raise valuable funds. 

“The Institute is expanding extremely rapidly in terms of its physical infrastructure and number of research projects and clinical trials,” she said. 

“The release of this CSA is very timely to help us on this important journey and we are very grateful to all the talented companies and individuals who helped create the advertisement for their expertise and community mindedness.” 

The CSA was made with the generous support of Mitchell and Partners, Cummins and Partners, and Brendan Williams Films who all donated their time and skills to produce the advertisement. 

The CSA features a voiceover from the Institute’s Ambassador, Rod Young from 7 News, and is being screened on Channel 7. 

Please click here to watch the Community Service Announcement.

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University of Queensland-based contract research organisation TetraQ has been granted Good Laboratory Practice recognition from the National Association of Testing Authorities for one of its key laboratories, according to UQ. The status means that the company is now recognised to provide internationally accredited testing services to the Australian biopharmaceutical industry.

The GLP status means that TetraQ's ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination) laboratory's bioanalytical work will be accepted internationally for regulatory review, providing its clients in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries with a high degree of assurance.

TetraQ’s compliance with the strict international Good Laboratory Practice code will allow new pharmaceuticals being developed to be analysed in Australia rather than being sent offshore, according to TetraQ executive director Professor Maree Smith.

"TetraQ is providing yet another platform whereby the Australian biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries can progress their drug development programs locally to extremely high standards," said Prof. Smith.

"I'm delighted that TetraQ has been able to further enhance our already strong track record of contract research and development services excellence," she said.

TetraQ is the commercial arm of the Centre for Integrated Preclinical Drug Development at UQ. The TetraQ ADME laboratory uses state-of-the-art equipment and methods, which meet stringent quality and testing levels, to measure drugs and their breakdown products in biological samples to high levels of accuracy and precision.

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Q-Pharm is one of the few full service Phase I clinical trial units in Australia. Two new international collaborations have set it up for an expansive future.

The most recent collaborative agreement was signed with Vitalea Science of Woodland, California in February and enables Q-Pharm to offer two new types of service to clients in Australia and Asia.

“These are microdosing (Phase 0) clinical trials which are being strongly encouraged by the FDA as a major cost-saving efficiency in early drug development, and ‘light-label- ADME studies, which greatly enhance the information derived from conventional Phase I trials,” Q-Pharm Managing Director, Mr Wayne Hooper said.

“In microdosing studies only about one one-hundredth of the standard Phase I dose is administered, which makes it possible to commence studies in humans with abbreviated preclinical studies. The ‘light-label’ studies involve the use of 14C-labelled dose where the dose of radioactivity is below the levels requiring special approvals and precautions.

“Both types of studies depend on the exquisitely sensitive analytical technique of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) which can detect 14C at the level of 10-18 to 10-20 of a gram”.

Hooper said Vitalea has pioneered the development of a new generation of AMS instruments which brings the technique into the realm of being both practical and affordable. Under the collaborative agreement, Vitalea will provide AMS analytical services for trials conducted in Q-Pharm’s clinics. The two companies are also embarking on a marketing program to bring these services to clients in the Asia-Pacific region.

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TetraQ is the first contract research organisation in Australia to provide integrated preclinical services to the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

 TetraQ primarily provides specialist services and advice to companies who are in the early stages of drug development and can assist in bridging the gap between drug discovery and early stage clinical trials by providing a tailored solution to its clients.

 Currently in a stage of growth, TetraQ has built a new facility to accommodate its expanding range of services. This has been enabled by $8.1M in investment funds from the Queensland Government’s Smart State Research Facilities Fund, along with significant cash and in-kind support from The University of Queensland (UQ) and its supporting partners, Q-Pharm and The Queensland Institute of Medical Research.

TetraQ is the commercial arm of the Centre for Integrated Preclinical Drug Development at UQ, a University Level Centre that undertakes research and training targeted to improving the efficiency and predictive ability of preclinical methods. TetraQ is a registered business name of Uniquest Pty Ltd.

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