In short:
Monash establishes Australian-first 'Monash Boston Hub' to advance drug discovery and health innovations;
Australia has a strong track record in translating drug discoveries into candidates ready for early stage trials, however global collaboration is often needed to get a new drug to market;
The Monash Boston Hub is a vehicle to get new treatment options a step closer to patients in Australia and around the world.
In response to its accelerated success in the research commercialisation arena, Monash University has today announced the establishment of the Monash Boston Hub located in Boston, USA.
The Hub is dedicated to deepening collaborations with North America and Europe to fast-track drug discovery and health innovations with the goal to ultimately deliver potential new life-changing pathways for patients in Australia and around the world.
In the last five years, Monash has completed more than 160 new license deals and created 30-plus spinout companies, which together have raised over A$1.5 billion in investment.
Importantly, many of these commercial successes have been the driving force behind getting much-needed new treatment options a step closer to tackling a broad range of major global health challenges including depression, schizophrenia, cancers, fibrotic diseases, cardiovascular diseases and more.
While the Hub is strongly focused on drug discovery and health innovation, it will also serve as a launchpad for commercial opportunities across a wide range of fields including engineering, advanced materials, and energy.
Monash University Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Sharon Pickering said Boston was selected as the Monash Boston Hub location due to its large concentration of biotech companies, world-class universities and research institutions.
"Monash has had successful partnerships and commercial arrangements with US and European entities for decades, and the Monash Boston Hub marks a significant milestone by building a bigger bridge between Boston and Melbourne - two of the world's leading centres of biotech research and innovation," Professor Pickering said.
"Our goal is to significantly increase mutually beneficial partnerships to advance health outcomes worldwide and grow research and development collaboration between Australia, the United States, and Europe."
The Monash Boston Hub is located in the Cambridge Innovation Centre and will include a team of development professionals headed by Boston native Nathan Elia, Monash's Director of Enterprise for North America and Europe.
"Boston is the epicenter of biotech innovation, and Monash's expanded presence here allows us to work shoulder‑to‑shoulder with partners, investors, and collaborators to accelerate the path from discovery to patient impact," Mr Elia said.
"Our team will accelerate licensing and co‑development deals with US and European partners, expand clinical trial collaborations leveraging Australia's fast, efficient regulatory pathways, and connect more global biotech innovators with Monash's world‑class research talent and facilities."
Monash also recently announced its investment in MAVERIC, an AI supercomputer being built using first-in-Australia technology in collaboration with NVIDIA, Dell Technologies and the CDC Data Centre. MAVERIC has been specifically designed to accelerate health and medical research programs.
Recent Monash spin-out companies include (but are not limited to) the Boston-based Seaport Therapeutics - a biotech company advancing antidepressants and anxiolytics through clinical trials based on an invention from Monash researchers; Phrenix Therapeutics which is focused on next-generation medicines for psychiatric and neurological disorders and Cincera Therapeutics who are unlocking transformative therapies for fibrotic diseases.
