A University of Melbourne industry collaboration has been awarded $2.1 million by the Australian Government to build a quantum-enabled platform to support faster discovery and development of therapies for neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's.
The University has formed a consortium with technology companies Chromos Labs, Tessara Therapeutics, Quantum Brilliance and Axol Biosciences to develop a quantum-enabled platform that measures real-time electrical activity from 3D human neural micro-tissues (known as brain-on-chip technology).
The 'quantum-enabled platform for neurological drug development' is one of eight quantum technology projects awarded a total of $12.7 million from Stage Two of the Critical Technologies Challenge Program (CTCP) to develop a working prototype of their platform.
University of Melbourne Associate Professor David Simpson said the funding would help fast-track the development and commercialisation of the technology.
"Our system provides a pathway towards a fast, scalable tool for measuring real-time brain activity in synthetic tissue cultures that replicate human brain tissue," Associate Professor Simpson said.
"If successful, this brain-on-chip technology could help evaluate the effectiveness of treatments for neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, epilepsy and anxiety, in the laboratory before moving into expensive and complex human trials.
"This consortium brings together technology developers with end users to evaluate this novel quantum biotechnology platform."
Neurological drug development remains one of the highest-risk areas in biopharma, in part because many preclinical models do not reliably predict human outcomes.
By using brain-on-chip technology, the consortium aims to help researchers assess treatment responses faster and speed up the development pipeline for new therapies.
University of Melbourne Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Mark Cassidy AM said the project shows the value of interdisciplinary collaborations that bring discovery-based research into the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
"The University of Melbourne is uniquely located in the world-leading Melbourne Biomedical Precinct, home to innovative startup biotechnology companies like Tessara Therapeutics," Professor Cassidy said.
"Industry partnerships like this are critical to developing transformative technologies like brain-on-chip.
"The Critical Technologies Challenge Program is an important and welcome investment by the Australian Government to enhance Australia's position as a quantum technology leader."
