New funding program to support Australian biopharmaceutical manufacturing development

The first round of a new pilot funding program opens this week in Queensland, Australia, with at least A$2 million ($1.85 million) available for biopharmaceutical product developers wanting to make use of BioPharmaceuticals Australia’s (BPA) new mammalian cell contract manufacturing facility, operated by DSM Biologics (DSMB).

Based in Brisbane, the state-of-the-art facility is designed to manufacture cell culture derived APIs for pre-clinical and clinical trials, as well as the market, according to a web-posting by AusBiotech. In October 2013, the doors opened on BPA’s new A$65 million, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), contract manufacturing facility.

The Access Support Grants are available over a two-year period to: Increase the number of Australian-made and clinically-trialled biopharmaceutical products; attract international biotechnology companies to set up local subsidiaries and work with DSMB; and to strengthen Queensland and Australia’s reputation as a regional hub of biotechnology development. There is the scope to increase funding and expand the program in the future if this pilot program proves successful.