South Australian biotechnology company GPN Vaccines will be able to complete its first-in-human clinical trials for a more effective and lower cost pneumococcal vaccine, thanks to a $1 million State Government grant.
GPN Vaccines is commercialising ground-breaking research at the University of Adelaide by Professor James Paton, South Australia's Scientist of the Year in 2017.
Minister for Innovation and Skills David Pisoni said GPN Vaccines is one of six local startups to share in more than $2.75 million to commercialise their products, through the state's Research Commercialisation and Startup Fund.
"While we all come to grips with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that we continue to back startups to ensure they continue to innovate, solve problems and grow," Minister Pisoni said.
"This funding will directly support the creation of around 130 jobs in the long term, and will unlock significant investment in research and development in South Australia.
"GPN Vaccines will be supported with $1 million to complete clinical trials in Adelaide to assess the safety and effectiveness of its novel pneumococcal vaccine.
"Pneumococcal diseases cause more than a million deaths every year, particularly in third world countries, killing more children every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.
"In Australia, the vaccine will help to prevent middle ear infections, which can cause hearing loss.
"The RCSF funding will leverage significant private sector investment, and successful completion of the Phase 1 clinical trial would significantly increase the company's ability to raise capital for a more expansive multi-national and multi-site Phase 2 clinical trial.
"The vaccine has the potential to result in substantial licensing revenue to reinvest into further research and product development in South Australia."
Minister for Health and Wellbeing Stephen Wade said South Australia has some of the finest scientists in the world and the Marshall Liberal Government is backing them with this boost in funding and support for their valuable work.
"The onset of the coronavirus pandemic highlights the vital importance of vaccine research and the crucial role start-ups such as these play in protecting the health of South Australians, both now and into the future." Minister Wade said.
Dr Tim Hirst, GPN Vaccines' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented he was delighted to have received the backing of the State Government's Research, Commercialisation and Startup Fund enabling them to test their new pneumonia vaccine in a world first clinical trial in Adelaide.
"Our vaccine is an advanced technology product with the potential to have a truly global impact," he said.
Dr Lauren Giorgio, GPN Vaccines' Chief Operating Officer said "The State Government has been a strong supporter of GPN Vaccines from the beginning. This investment will ensure our pneumonia vaccine continues to be developed locally, supporting Adelaide's biotechnology ecosystem."
The five other recipients and their projects are:
- Ping Services – $100,000 to complete a robust and optimised design of their wind turbine monitoring device and to fund production for field trials with customers.
- The Village Foundation – $50,000 to complete the Village Foundation app to support mothers returning to work, complete development of a perinatal mental wellbeing program and conduct a pilot program with major corporations.
Teamgage – $350,000 to further develop their innovative software platform for driving continuous improvement in organisational culture. The project will overcome regulatory and infrastructure barriers to enable expansion into several large international markets.
- Carina Biotech – $750,000 to progress the scientific development of their CAR-T cell immunotherapy aimed at eventually delivering a new and highly effective treatment against various cancers.
- Fusetec – $500,000 to develop fully operable 3D printed medical training devices with synthetic human anatomy for training surgeons in complex techniques and for evaluating new medical technologies.
Stream 2 of the RCSF supports entrepreneurs to start and grow innovative early-stage businesses and seeks to encourage more private sector capital investment in South Australia. Entrepreneurs can elect to apply to Stream 2 via three pathways:
- Bootstrap Pathway – up to $100,000 matched equally by founders with in-kind contributions and cash.
- Incubator Pathway – up to $100,000 with at least 50% of the grant matched by an investor who brings value in addition to their financial investment.
- Scale Up Pathway – over $100,000 and up to $1 million with the full grant amount matched equally by investors.
For more information, and to apply, visit: innovationandskills.sa.gov.au/RCSF
