QCTN Member receives prestigious award.
The Consulate of Italy in Brisbane gives notice that the Hon. Santo Santoro, former member of the Australian Federal Senate, received from the President of the Italian Republic, Giogio Napolitano, prestigious recognition of Commenendatore merit of the Republic. The recognition is countersigned by the President of the Council and Italian Prime Minister, the Hon. Silvio Berlusconi.
QCTN would like to congratulate member The Hon. Santo Santoro, of Santo Santoro Consulting, for receiving this prestigious award.
‘Pioneer’ of local biotechnology sector wins inaugural Queensland Life Sciences Industry Excellence Award
A leading figure in the Queensland biotechnology industry has been recognised for his many years of outstanding service and leadership in the field, after receiving the inaugural Queensland Life Sciences Industry Excellence Award.
Professor A.J (Tony) Webber, was presented with the award on Friday 23 October, 2009, after industry colleagues voted him the winner in an online poll on the Queensland Clinical Trials Network Inc. (QCTN) website.
During a career which has spanned more than three decades, Prof. Webber has held high-level positions in the academic and corporate arenas in the life sciences field, and is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Brisbane contract research organisation Clinical Network Services (CNS) Pty Ltd.
Prof. Webber accepted the award from sponsor McCullough Robertson Lawyers in front of about 250 industry colleagues at the Queensland Life Sciences Globally Engaging Networking Event, and said he was honoured to be the first to receive the award.
“It’s a bit of a surprise, I wasn’t expecting to win at all so it’s certainly great to be recognised like this, particularly by your peers in the industry.
“Especially considering the calibre of people who were nominated alongside me, it really is an honour to be acknowledged,” Prof. Webber said.
QCTN CEO Mario Pennisi said Prof. Webber was well-deserving of the award, which was launched to recognise a Queensland-based individual for their outstanding contribution and commitment to the industry.
“Tony has been a force of nature within the field since his days as Dean of Health and Science at Queensland University of Technology, constantly working with industry to foster new research and development projects and enterprise within the state.
“His continued passion and dedication to the life sciences field is commendable and evident in the constant efforts he takes to promote Queensland and Australian biotechnology to the international market.
“This award reflects the high regard that the industry holds for Tony, particularly considering the high quality of those who were nominated alongside him, and we whole-heartedly congratulate him and the eight other nominees for their outstanding contributions and achievements.
“We would also like to thank award sponsor McCullough Robertson Lawyers, who as a practice, continue to show strong industry support, commitment, excellence and leadership in the Queensland Life Sciences Sector,” said Mr Pennisi.
Tasman ties strengthened through MoU
Queensland Clinical Trials Network Inc. (QCTN) has further strengthened its presence and alliance with international organisations, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the New Zealand Association of Clinical Research (NZACRes)
The agreement aims to assist New Zealand and Queensland to become key players in the Asia-Pacific region by working together to promote the region and its centres for excellence for clinical trials.
"Given the special relationship between Queensland and New Zealand, this MoU will allow both QCTN and NZACRes and their stakeholders to work even closer together and create further collaborations for increased research and clinical trial activity between Queensland and New Zealand organisations," said QCTN CEO Mario Pennisi.
"QCTN and NZACRes share a similar structure, ethos and set of objectives and we see this agreement as bringing great benefit to both organisations and their members, with the ability for members to gain and share information with NZACRes and its stakeholders. It will see our members work together and bid for international projects, and in turn gain information and expertise from our members through the QCTN and NZACRes networks," said Mr Pennisi.
Click here to visit the NZACRes website
$1.25 million awarded to prostate cancer research
New treatments to ease or even cure the most common cancer affecting Australian men are a step closer to reality with a $1.25 million grant awarded to QUT prostate cancer researcher Professor Colleen Nelson today.
Professor Nelson received the top Smart Futures Premier's Fellowship, worth $1.25 million over five years, which she said would be used to develop new, advanced treatments for prostate cancer.
"I couldn't be more honoured to have received this award," Professor Nelson said.
"I think it will be a good message to send across the state that we care about this disease.
"(The fellowship is) giving us the opportunity right here in Queensland to make the therapeutics for the men who suffer this disease.
"I look forward to the next five years of actually developing those new therapeutics."
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said Professor Nelson's work at QUT's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation had the potential to save thousands of lives each year.
Click here to read more.
QFAB to market MetaCore in Asia Pacific
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."
QCTN and BIOCOM sign an MoU
QCTN is pleased to announce the recent MoU signing with BIOCOM. Click here for more information.
TetraQ CEO Prof Maree Smith Receives Women in Technology Highest Honour - Thursday, 16 October 2008
TetraQ is pleased to announce that their CEO, Professor Maree Smith has been awarded the Women in Technology (WIT) Outstanding Achievement Award for 2008.
Maree has been recognised for her achievements in the biotechnology industry and will be an ambassador for the WIT Biotechnology Chapter for the ensuing 12 months.
Click here to read the media release, or visit TetraQ for additional information about their services.
Queensland & British Columbia sign economic research agreement - Friday, 13 June 2008
British Columbia and Queensland, Australia, will work together to build relations on climate change action plans, education, biotechnology, and other key sectors, and strengthen connections in the Asia-Pacific.
An agreement to explore joint opportunities was signed last night by John van Dongen, B.C. Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations and Queensland’s Trade Commissioner, the Honourable Peter Beattie.
Queensland and British Columbia have strong existing ties through our health and medical organizations, educational institutions, research networks, and tourism, and we look forward to strengthening the relationship to deliver tangible benefits for both jurisdictions. Queensland’s strong economy, aggressive track record on climate action, and important network throughout the Asia-Pacific region make this an excellent partnership for both jurisdictions.
This is the first agreement of its kind between B.C. and Queensland. The agreement will see the two jurisdictions share information and best practices in such areas as climate change, education, biotechnology and life sciences, energy and resource management and development. It will also facilitate collaboration between and the development of the knowledge-intensive sectors in each jurisdiction with a view to increased international commercialisation. The agreement also provides for increased engagement of the Asia-Pacific region to help improve market access for both B.C. and Queensland companies.
B.C. and Queensland share international relationships with some of the same jurisdictions, including Guangdong, China, and Gyeonggi, Korea. This new partnership with Queensland creates new opportunities to deepen our relations with Asia-Pacific jurisdictions and improve our market access in this dynamic region.
The agreement also provides for the exchange of information on innovative fiscal initiatives and procurement models such as public-private partnerships, regional economic development, and federalism approaches.
Click here to read more.
TetraQ & Q-Pharm Strategic Alliance - Friday, 13 June 2008
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.
Details
ERA Consulting Group - Joint Venture Announcement - Friday, 30 May 2008
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.
www.eraconsulting.com
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.
www.biotechlogic.com
ANZBPF is now officially open for the 2008/09 Round - Friday, 11 April 2008
The Australia New Zealand Biotechnology Partnership Fund (ANZBPF) is now open for the 2008/2009 funding round. The total Grant Funding available for the current round is $4,500,000 (including GST) - click here for more information.
NeuroDiscovery Ltd has tied up with TetraQ - Thursday, 25 October 2007
NeuroDiscovery Ltd, neurology focused research and development company has tied up with TetraQ of Australia to market the safety pharmacology services of NeuroDiscovery’s 100% subsidiary, NeuroSolutions Ltd in Australasia.
University of Queensland-based TetraQ is the premier contract research organization in Australia providing integrated preclinical services to the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. For this reason TetraQ has been chosen to market NeuroSolutions’ safety pharmacology services in Australasia. This includes the Qpatch, an automated electrophysiology device to screen drugs for potential adverse cardiac effects (commonly known as a hERG screening).
hERG screening is a crucial step in the process of discovering new medicines. The centerpiece of NeuroSolutions’ leading edge electrophysiology and safety pharmacology services to the global drug discovery industry is a UK-based hERG testing laboratory. Pharmaceutical and biotech companies are required to undertake a rigorous series of tests to evaluate any potential risks associated with their drugs. hERG testing was incorporated into International Guidelines for New Pharmaceuticals for Human Use after a number of important drugs were withdrawn from the US market following reports of heart malfunctions in patients who had been prescribed them.
“We are looking forward to working with TetraQ on marketing our hERG screening services in Australasia to expand the global reach of our profitable service business” said NeuroDiscovery’s Chairman, Dr Mark Treherne.
TetraQ’s Business Development Manager, Rose-marie Pennisi said becoming involved with NeuroSolutions’ hERG testing program would complement the Queensland company’s range of customised preclinical services and reputation for research excellence.
“The superior quality of the data generated by the QPatch and the interpretation of the test results differentiates NeuroSolutions from other hERG testing providers. Both companies share a commitment to high standards and an understanding of the global market,” Ms Pennisi said.
QCTN signs an MoU with KHIDI - Monday, 22 October 2007
At the recent AusBiotech Conference, QCTN and the Korean entity KHIDI signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The Korean Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) is a large Korean Government-affiliated Institute founded in 1999. The focal areas of KHIDI are:
- Pharmaceutical Industry (including Biotechnology)
- Medical Devices Industry
- Health Care Industry (~ Queensland Health)
- Food Industry
- Cosmetics Industry
- Health Informatics Industry
The scope and intent of the MoU can be summarised as follows. In the fields of clinical trials and related areas, KHIDI and QCTN will:
Support and facilitate technology-based matchmakings of companies, universities and research institutes in each region respectively
Cooperate in exchanging staff and researchers of each other to provide advanced education programs and training courses aimed to enhance the local capabilities
Support activities such as organising seminars, conferences and expositions on issues of mutual cooperation as well as site visits by special interest groups
Find prospective partners for cooperation among institutes and organisations in both regions.
TetraQ has a new facility - Wednesday, 30 May 2007
TetraQ is the first contract research organisation in Australia to provide integrated preclinical services to the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
Details
Q-Pharm expands their service range - Wednesday, 30 May 2007
The most recent collaborative agreement was signed with Vitalea Science of Woodland, California in February which enables Q-Pharm to offer two new types of service clients in Australia and Asia.
Details