As medical researchers, we all want to make discoveries that have a real impact on human health.
When thinking about translating and commercialising first-class research there are several essential criteria that must be met. These include the requirement for genuine unmet medical need, potential for intellectual property, robust preclinical data, clinical and regulatory development path, differentiation from existing therapies, and investigators who are willing to “let go” of their project and be part of a larger team to achieve ultimate clinical success.
BioCurate was created as an independent company, and is the result of a unique collaboration between Monash University, the University of Melbourne, and the Victorian State Government. It was established to seize the opportunity to translate and commercialise the outstanding research for which Australia is world-renowned. The first step was to attract a team of international industry-experts to provide expertise in each of the essential areas required for drug development. Some of the early lessons from BioCurate’s experience will be discussed. However, in addition, a very real challenge in the area of infectious disease is the reluctance of industry to invest in potential new antibiotics. This is despite the knowledge that antibiotic resistance is an ever-increasing threat with enormous potential impact. Options that may be available to researches to address this challenge will be discussed.