The Monash Institute of Medical Engineering (MIME), Monash Partners clinical innovation platform, has received welcomed government support for Victorian MedTech innovation.
The Australian Medtech Manufacturing Centre (AMMC), a $20 million Victorian Government initiative to support the growth of medical technology manufacturing in Victoria, has provided MIME with $400,000 to establish the MedTech Commercialisation Advancement Program (MCAP).
This program will progress projects with a lab-tested functional prototype to the next stage of commercialisation.
The MCAP will pilot the provision of dedicated, early business support to clinician-led technology projects to help boost their commercialisation readiness, closing the gap between prototype and manufacture.
MIME Co-Director, Professor John Forsythe said equipping clinicians and technology researchers with entrepreneurial skills and providing commercialisation expertise will help to translate ideas into commercial opportunities and fit-for-purpose solutions for patients and healthcare providers.
“MIME has successfully implemented a clinician-led innovation program through our competitive seed fund. While many of MIME’s funded research partners are ready to continue on the path to commercialisation and manufacturing, they lack the guidance needed to move their products further along the commercialisation pipeline. This funding will close this critical gap,” said Professor Forsythe.
The pilot program will provide support for five to eight projects over 12 months. Each project will be selected via a competitive process from those supported by MIME’s competitive seed fund. Each project will work with a dedicated professional advisory team with expertise in clinical, regulatory, manufacturing, business and market opportunities in healthcare and MedTech. The advisory team will provide strategic advice on regulatory, reimbursement and market pathways, and design and manufacture scalability to support commercialisation and investment.
Projects will be assessed on their commercial viability and market prospects as part of this program. This will complete the due diligence process and any successful projects will move to the investment-ready stage.
Outcomes will include:
Pilot program outcomes
- A reproducible, economically viable model and approach to develop, validate and trial technologies within the university sector and Victoria.
- Insight, knowledge and evidence about the market opportunities and further clinical development that could take place and lead to manufacturing with local industry partners, including manufacturing roadmaps.
- Improved engagement between clinicians, researchers, investors and industry that will lead to robust and reusable pathways to repeatedly innovate.
- Learnings to inform the commercialisation pathways of other MedTech projects in Victoria.
Longer term outcomes
- Attract next stage commercial scale funding to Victorian projects.
- Expand, expedite and scale the MCAP model to increase viability for more MedTech innovations.
- Procurement of new devices developed in Victoria by Monash health system partners.
- Projects and products commercialised, investment attracted and growth in manufacturing in Victoria.
- Creation of new, highly skilled jobs.
- Improved health outcomes for Victorians.
“Through AMMC’s support we will be able to further meet clinician needs and get healthcare solutions into use faster,” said Professor Forsythe.
The MCAP leverages the methodologies developed by MIME’s collaborative partner, the Consortia for Improving Medicine with Innovation & Technology (CIMIT) in Boston, Massachusetts.
