Australian specialist in proteome technology, Minomic Pty Limited, has won two government grants to take its pioneering development work to the next stage, alongside recognition for its diabetes biomarker work by winning the recent 2005 Biotechnology Week ‘Onthe- Spot’ contest.
The company has received a grant from the Australian Federal Government’s Biotechnology Innovation Fund, for developing instrumentation to access the hidden part of the proteome with matching funds provided by the NSW Department of State and Regional Development’s Proof-of-Concept grant scheme for successful Biotechnology Innovation Fund recipients.
The project plans to demonstrate the capabilities and benefits of using a small-volume protein separation instrument in the field of proteomics. This novel and innovative technology contains elements of two different methods of molecule separation electrophoresis and liquid chromatography which CEO Brad Walsh say deliver both cost savings and greatly increase access to regions of the proteome not previously available.
A NSW Government Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST), International Science Linkages (ISL) grant will further their collaborative research into developing an anti-cancer compound with matching funds from biotechnology partner, Hong Kong’s CK Life Sciences. The project is designed to help us the mode of action of the new anti-cancer compound. Walsh says it may lead to clinical trials being set up in Australia to further test this compound, and may result in a world-class capability for such analysis here in Australia.
During the recent Biotechnology Week Australian Technology Showcase, April 4-8, Minomic won first prize in the ‘On the Spot Investment Pitching’ competition in front of 80 entrepreneurs and angel investors. The ‘On the Spot’ contest is intended to educate entrepreneurs about the tips and tricks involved in making a superior pitch to sell their achievements. Minomic’s winning pitch focussed on our work in developing a noninvasive test for Type II diabetes, based on our discovery of biomarkers unique to diabetes sufferers.
