Expands relationship between Australia and world’s largest medical city
Houston, TX, USA and Perth, WA, Australia – Texas Medical Center (TMC) and Biodesign Australia today announced a partnership aimed at advancing health and life science research through commercialization, innovation and research. TMC and Biodesign Australia will work collaboratively to facilitate opportunities between TMC Biodesign and programs within the Biodesign Australia network, and founders and entrepreneurs will be provided with access to talent, clinical trial activity, expanded funding opportunities and markets. The announcement builds on the TMC/Australia BioBridge, which was launched in 2018.
TMC Biodesign unites founders with mentors, business leaders, and technical expertise to bring breakthrough technologies to market. The program, which launched in 2015, has raised over $41 million in capital with 11 companies founded and 25 corporate/academic relationship developed. Programs in Australia based on the Biodesign methodology commenced in 2016, with Biodesign Australia now including Perth Biodesign, Biodesign Melbourne, Biodesign Sydney, Adelaide Biodesign and Brisbane Biodesign. Collectively, the programs have trained hundreds of budding entrepreneurs through medtech and digital health courses, as well as boot camps and the iPREP Biodesign industry internship program.
“Biodesign Australia is thrilled to partner with Texas Medical Center in our shared goal of furthering healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Professor Kevin Pfleger, Director Biomedical Innovation at The University of Western Australia. “By uniting the programming, talent and expertise found at Biodesign Australia and TMC, we are creating a dynamic ecosystem that will help to shape the future of healthcare.”
“The launch of the Australian BioBridge in 2018 created a unique opportunity for the exchange of ideas, research and investment to advance medical breakthroughs both at Texas Medical Center and in Australia,” said William McKeon, President and CEO of Texas Medical Center. “This expanded relationship with Biodesign Australia offers global opportunities for a new group of healthcare leaders, and we are excited to work collaboratively to provide a platform for innovation and commercialization.”
The TMC BioBridge program facilitates the exchange of ideas and research at a global scale to better the patient experience and provide groundbreaking solutions for complex health care problems. The TMC | Australia Biobridge has co-designed the Healthcare Activator — a pathway for Australian Digital Health and Medical Device companies to engage with Texas Medical Center Innovation programs and partners. The applications for the inaugural cohort launched on May 2, 2022.
The TMC/Biodesign Australia partnership was announced on May 9, 2022 at the annual Science on the Swan conference held in Perth, Australia.
About Texas Medical Center
Texas Medical Center (TMC)—the largest medical city in the world—is at the forefront of advancing life sciences. Home to the brightest minds in medicine, TMC nurtures cross-institutional collaboration, creativity, and innovation among its 106,000-plus employees. With a campus of more than 50 million square feet, TMC annually hosts 10 million patients, performs over 180,000 surgeries, conducts over 750,000 ER visits, performs close to 14,000 heart surgeries, and delivers over 25,000 babies. Beyond patient care, TMC is pushing the boundaries of clinical research across its extensive network of partner institutions on a daily basis, pioneering effective health policy solutions to address the complex health care issues of today, and cultivating cutting-edge digital health applications and medical devices.
Biodesign Australia
Biodesign Australia is a network administered by The University of Western Australia, allowing Biodesign programs in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane to share resources, speakers and best practice to provide a quality experience for participants and innovations for patients. The Australian Biodesign programs are experiential in nature, focus on biomedical entrepreneurship, are designed for the Australian biomedical environment, and thrive on support from industry, the healthcare system, academic organisations and professionals. Program offerings include workshops, boot camps, industry internships with concurrent Biodesign training (iPREP Biodesign), digital health courses, medtech courses and Biodesign Next mentoring. Future plans are to expand the portfolio to include fellowship opportunities, as well as an increased role in facilitating clinical entrepreneurship.