The Hon Greg Hunt MP
Minister for Health and Aged Care
Investing in medical research projects with the potential to deliver better health outcomes to more Australians is a Government priority.
That is why the Morrison Government is investing more than $25 million in three companies working at the cutting edge to save lives and improve lives.
The investments from the Biomedical Translation Fund (BTF) announced today will support projects targeting a range of health issues affecting Australians. They are:
- $10 million to Cynata Therapeutics to support work on the large-scale manufacture of stem cells
- $5 million to Acrux Limited to develop drugs that are taken through the skin, not as injections or pills
- $10.6 million to Axial Therapeutics for the treatment of neurological diseases and disorders, harnessing ground-breaking science in the microbiome-gut-brain axis, including developing a new therapy for children with autism.
The $500 million BTF consists of equal parts Commonwealth and private sector funding, to commercialise high potential medical discoveries.
The Morrison Government is backing Australia's next generation of medical advances and the investments mean these businesses have the potential to take their technology to the next level.
The BTF investment in Cynata Therapeutics means it can continue its work to develop commercial scale manufacture of stem cells, without the use of multiple bone marrow donors.
Stem cells are used to treat a range of diseases including heart disease, osteoarthritis and stroke.
Acrux Limited will use its BTF funding to develop and commercialise topical drugs (gels, creams and ointments). This is an alternative to needle injections or oral medications that may need to be taken several times a day and may have an unpleasant taste.
The BTF investment will allow Axial Therapeutics to advance its gut-restricted molecular therapy for irritability in children with autism. It will also be used to progress the company's program of drug discovery for serious neurological conditions, such as Parkinson's disease, based on the microbiome gut-brain axis.
Our Government continues to invest in the cutting-edge medical technologies and treatments that will save lives, while growing a sector that can create jobs for Australians now and into the future.
2021 New Biomedical Translation Fund Investments
| Project | Recipient | Funding |
|---|---|---|
| The large-scale manufacture of stem cells | Cynata Therapeutics | $10,000,000 |
| Topical drug development | Acrux Limited | $5,000,000 |
| Harnessing the microbiome-gut-brain axis | Axial Therapeutics | $10,600,000 |
| Total | $25,600,000 | |
