LaunchVic allocates $2 million in funding to Medical Device Partnering Program to better support medtech sector

By Andrew Spence

The Medical Device Partnering Program (MDPP) began at Flinders University in Adelaide a decade ago and has since expanded into the Tonsley Innovation Hub.

Commercial products to be developed with assistance from MDPP include Re-Timer glasses to help combat jetlag and sleep disturbances and Austofix’s Ezy-Aim Electronic Digital Targeting System to help surgeons more accurately insert rods to repair broken legs.

LaunchVic, the government agency charged with growing the Victorian startup ecosystem launched the Victorian MDPP this week, with $2 million in funding over two years to deliver the program in Victoria.

It leverages the proven model and processes developed and implemented by Flinders University over the past 10 years.

National MDPP director and founder Professor Karen Reynolds said this first important step towards national expansion will deliver significant benefits not only to South Australia and Victoria, but will add impetus to medical technology research in Australia as a whole.

“In the past decade, the MDPP at Flinders University has created a streamlined model for early-stage medtech development,” she said.

“This exciting, strategic expansion reinforces the strong foundation of expertise that has been established in South Australia.

“A wonderful way to mark our tenth anniversary, the establishment of our sister entity adds critical mass to our efforts and is an important step in delivering benefits to the sector in Australia more broadly.”

The Victorian MDPP partnership is led by Swinburne University of Technology and brings together CSIRO, The University of Melbourne, Monash University, RMIT University, Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) and BioMedical Research Victoria.

Professor Sally McArthur, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Swinburne and CSIRO Research and Science Leader in Biomedical Manufacturing, has been appointed as the Regional Director of MDPP in Victoria.

The MDPP will soon begin recruitment for the Victorian-based team, with an official opening anticipated for early-2019.

The national expansion of the MDPP has been supported by MTP Connect and the Growth Centres Initiative.

Over the past 12 months, the MDPP has held workshops in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, as well as internationally in Singapore.

“We are passionate about supporting the development of the medical device industry and working with a wide range of stakeholders who can achieve that,” said Professor Reynolds.

The article was originally published on The Lead South Australia. Read the original article.

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