Sanofi’s billion-greenback acquisition of Vicebio Limited is a landmark deal. It’s unprecedented in worth and impression in Australia.
Not solely is it the biggest acquisition of an organization commercialising mental property (IP) from an Australian college, however it additionally exhibits what may be achieved once you mix high quality analysis with a classy commercialisation technique.
It is a potent mixture.
The IP commercialisation that culminated in this deal was greater than a decade in the making.
It highlights what may be achieved with resilience, excellence in analysis, progressive commercialisation, investment in mental property, skilled administration, and entry to “patient” capital.
These similar levers can drive large enhancements in the analysis commercialisation sector in Australia, boosting monetary returns to fund additional analysis and produce about vital public good.
To improve investment in homegrown early-stage applied sciences, we should improve our urge for food for threat.
It’s important to make sure extra of our nice concepts progress inside Australia for so long as attainable by way of the levels of expertise improvement to manufacturing, and supply extra jobs for Australians.
Quality analysis
With an unique licence to the Molecular Clamp expertise from UniQuest, and substantial ongoing engagement with UQ’s analysis experience, Vicebio had been growing a novel vaccine towards two respiratory viruses – respiratory syncytial virus and human metapneumovirus – each causes of great infections.
The Molecular Clamp expertise gained worldwide consideration in early 2020 when the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) requested The University of Queensland to develop a possible vaccine for COVID-19.
Professor Keith Chappell, Professor Daniel Watterson and Emeritus Professor Paul Young overcame the challenges and disappointments that journey introduced – a real testomony to their inspiring tenacity.
(L-R) Professor Keith Chappell, Professor Daniel Watterson and Emeritus Professor Paul Young, inventors of the Molecular Clamp expertise.
(Photo credit score: The University of Queensland.)
UQ’s commercialisation observe document
Innovative commercialisation methods are an indicator of UniQuest’s 40-yr observe document, together with an skilled crew, deep company data, and complex mission administration capabilities.
UniQuest has loved lengthy-time period help from UQ to translate its analysis into impression, attracting a essential mass of proficient, skilled individuals who can have interaction over longer intervals to help commercialisation initiatives.
The three largest exits involving Australian college IP – Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, Inflazome and now Vicebio – originated from UQ analysis and have been efficiently commercialised by UniQuest.
The lacking ingredient
Before partnering with Medicxi, the UniQuest crew and the researchers behind the Molecular Clamp expertise had been unable to safe aggressive grant funding or enterprise capital help.
Despite this UniQuest invested in defending the mental property and offered funding alongside the Queensland Government for a key early proof-of-idea research.
This and different related experiences have been driving elements in establishing the $32m UniQuest Extension Fund in 2024, to supply “patient” capital to assist develop UQ applied sciences just like the Molecular Clamp.
(Photo credit score: The University of Queensland)
And that’s as a result of a key ingredient lacking from the Australian innovation panorama is threat urge for food, particularly for early-stage applied sciences.
Without a wholesome urge for food for threat, we can not successfully translate analysis with industrial potential to have world impression and retain a higher proportion of worth right here in Australia.
We additionally want to just accept that it’s acceptable and vital in some sectors to associate internationally.
The key’s investing in after which progressing our mental property up the event worth chain and retaining extra of the tip worth.
Exits of the size of Vicebio will help market confidence that the chance-to-reward ratio is worthy of elevated investment in R&D and early-stage expertise improvement.
I consider this may have a circulate-on impact in encouraging superannuation funds and different sources of capital to help early-stage applied sciences.
The Group of Eight is championing the adoption of a roadmap of coverage reforms in its report Australia’s R&D Intensity: A Decadal Roadmap to three% of GDP, the Group of Eight Universities Report to the Australian Government.
It argues that lifting investment in science and innovation is important for Australia’s future prosperity and it may be realised, in half, by lifting Australia’s Research and Development (R&D) depth to three per cent of GDP by 2035.
Congratulations to all concerned in this momentous final result for Vicebio: the UQ researchers I’ve talked about above, in addition to Dr Craig Belcher, Dr Tamsin Terry, Jane Malloch, Dani Milani, Dr Mark Ashton (now at Griffith University), Dr Ben Phillis, Dr Josephine Sutcliffe, Dr Belinda Hartmann and John Swinson.
Congratulations additionally to founding investor Medicxi and Series B traders TCGX, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Avoro Ventures, venBio, and the UniQuest Extension Fund.
About the writer
Dr Dean Moss is CEO of UniQuest, Australia’s main college commercialisation entity, managing the mental property of The University of Queensland.
Dr Moss has greater than 35 years’ expertise in science, academia, enterprise, administration and commercialisation in Australia, the US and the UK. He has been managing director or senior enterprise improvement government of a number of well being and biotech corporations worldwide, together with Agen Biomedical, Launch Diagnostics, AMRAD ICT, AMRAD Biotech, and United Drug.
Dr Moss is a board member of a number of Australian biotechnology corporations and was a member of the investment committee of the pre-seed enterprise funds Uniseed, the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund and the New Zealand Government’s KiwiNet.
Dr Moss is Chair of the Group of Eight Universities Innovation and Commercialisation Group and, in 2018, was awarded the title of Adjunct Professor in the Office of the UQ’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation).