Eight researchers connected with The University of Western Australia have received valuable WA Government seed funding to help them pursue innovative start-up projects covering diverse health issues including heart health, cystic fibrosis and orthopaedic surgery.
The projects will share in almost $5 million awarded to 12 Western Australian innovators via the Innovation Seed Fund – an initiative of the State Government's Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund.
The seed fund helps start-up companies operating in WA develop and commercialise health and medical innovations that could improve the health of West Australians, create high-level health sector jobs, and enhance WA's production and manufacturing capacity.
Congratulations to these UWA-affiliated recipients:
Clinical Associate Professor Barry Clements from the UWA Medical School and The Kids Research Institute Australia has received $649,312 to help Respirion Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology spinout from The Kids, develop Inhaled RSP-1502 – an improved treatment of resistant infection and inflammation in people with cystic fibrosis. Dr Clements is Respirion's founder and chief scientific officer.
Professor Girish Dwivedi from UWA and the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research has received $99,937 for the Every Heartbeat Matters project. The initiative, jointly developed by UWA and the University of Sydney, aims to create a pocket-sized radar device that brings advanced heart monitoring into every home. Professor Dwivedi is spearheading the innovative program alongside Dr Hadi Afsharan, a post-doctoral research fellow at UWA and the Perkins.
Dr Thomas Iosifidis, a paediatric respiratory researcher from the UWA Medical School and The Kids Research Institute Australia, has received $499,640 to develop first-in-class small molecules to improve outcomes in asthma. The project, being developed at The Kids, targets underlying abnormalities associated with asthma and aims to enhance airway repair in a bid to reverse the disease – in turn reducing the condition's overwhelming burden on individuals, communities, and healthcare systems.
Orthopaedic surgeon Professor Riaz Khan, an Adjunct Professor with UWA's School of Physics, Mathematics and Computing and chair of medical device company ArthroLase, has been awarded $496,332 to help ArthroLase pursue the local manufacture and functional qualification of the HAiLO™ System. The system paves the way for first-in-human robotic-assisted laser arthroplasty, in which a groundbreaking joint-resurfacing robot uses laser bone shaping to precisely and rapidly remove thin layers of bone.
Dr Richard Lipscombe, managing director of medical technology company and UWA research and development partner Proteomics International – which operates out of the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research's Nedlands facility – has received $500,000 to support commercialisation of Promarker®Endo, a novel blood test for the diagnosis of endometriosis. The test is validated to diagnose the condition even in the early stages.
Professor Samuel Lundin, an immunologist with the Marshall Centre at UWA and founder and CEO of Biotome, a biotech start-up developing next generation antibody diagnostics, received $498,000 to develop Project Hummingbird – a novel diagnostic for pre-eclampsia risk. The company aims to make high-precision, affordable diagnostics available to every expectant mother, transforming how pre-eclampsia risk is identified and managed worldwide.
Dr Nipanjana Patra, an Adjunct Senior Lecturer with the UWA Medical School and co-founder and CEO of Pretect Devices, has been awarded $494,821 to support commercialisation of Vedette® – a continuous monitoring device that detects any leakage of fluid during IV therapy in critically ill and premature babies. The inadvertent leakage of infused fluids or medications into surrounding tissues can lead to significant damage in newborns due to their fragile skin and veins.
Dr Emily Zhen, a clinical lecturer with the UWA Medical School and founder of Perth-based medtech Materia Health, received $500,000 to support development of MateriaPOD, a world-first device capable of transporting both organs and tissue. The company's advanced technologies are designed to give transplant recipients the best chance of survival by optimising the quality and viability of donations as they are transported from donor to recipient.
For more information on FHRI Fund Innovation Seed Funding recipients for 2024-25, see here.
