Led · Series A · Feb 2022

Denteric was established to develop and commercialise a Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) vaccine program originating from the University of Melbourne in collaboration with CSL. The company is advancing a therapeutic vaccine intended to treat moderate to severe periodontitis, a debilitating gum disease that affects roughly one in three adults globally and is linked to diabetes, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, dementia and certain cancers. There are currently no cures for periodontitis and existing treatments are described as archaic and painful. Denteric has received a $14 million Series A to progress the Pg vaccine research program. The funds will support work toward commencing the company’s first human clinical trial, planned in the next two to three years. The program and company are closely tied to the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Oral Health Research and CSL, reflecting continued public–private collaboration within the Melbourne biomedical precinct.

Led · Equity · Mar 2020

George Health is the commercial arm of The George Institute for Global Health and a profit-for-purpose company focused on late-stage development and commercialization of affordable medicines and health technologies. Its businesses include George Clinical, Ellen Medical Devices, George Health Technologies and George Medicines, which targets cardiometabolic conditions. Product efforts cited include a near‑registration medicine to prevent recurrent heart attacks, a late‑stage antihypertensive, an innovative Type 2 diabetes treatment, a low‑cost digital clinical decision tool for multimorbidity, and an ultra‑low‑cost dialysis system. George Medicines develops fixed‑dose combinations of established drugs to improve efficacy, safety and affordability. The company was formed in 2014 and leverages exclusive commercial rights to The George Institute’s intellectual property and scientific expertise. The announcement highlights a $35 million financing to accelerate commercialization and scale-up of these programs.

Led · Equity · Mar 2019

Respirion is developing a novel inhaled antibiotic therapy that combines an inhaled version of an approved metal‑chelating drug with the antibiotic tobramycin in a new formulation and delivery device. The therapy uses an adjuvant to break down bacterial biofilms and in a clinical study produced a 400‑fold reduction in bacterial load and an average 16% improvement in lung function versus 5% with tobramycin alone. The technology was incubated at the Telethon Kids Institute and the product was tested in collaboration with the Western Australian Department of Health. MRCF BTF has committed up to AU$20M in stages to support larger clinical studies and commercial validation. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has committed up to US$3M and will coordinate clinical studies through its Therapeutics Development Network. Respirion plans to advance larger trials under FDA regulations in the US and Australia to further validate the therapy's potential to improve infection control and lung function in CF patients.

Led · Equity · Feb 2018

Cincera Therapeutics is developing small-molecule Des-1 inhibitors designed to shift the balance between toxic and beneficial ceramide lipids (increasing dhCeramide) to produce anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects. Its lead program targets severe obesity-related conditions including NASH and aims to reduce organ fibrosis and inflammation. The company says inhibiting Des-1 has shown beneficial effects across models of liver, kidney, heart, lung and skin disease. Cincera plans further preclinical testing of its compounds in various disease models and intends to progress toward clinical testing of a once-daily, orally administered drug candidate. Founded in 2018 as a spinout from Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Centre for Cancer Biology, Cincera operates in Adelaide and Melbourne. Financially, the company received a $1 million grant from the Biomedical Translation Bridge Program and previously secured a $7 million venture investment from the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF). Cincera Therapeutics was launched to develop new therapies targeting conditions linked to unhealthy Western diets, with an initial focus on NASH. The company is developing drug‑like lead compounds that modulate enzymatic targets to reduce the abundance of specific ‘toxic’ fats and thereby address inflammation and fibrosis. Founding scientists include Associate Professor Bernard Flynn (CEO) and Professor Stuart Pitson (CSO), and the company is harnessing research from the Centre for Cancer Biology (University of South Australia/SA Pathology) and Monash University’s Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Cincera’s programs emphasize potent, broad‑acting anti‑inflammatory and anti‑fibrotic agents that may address liver and kidney dysfunction and potentially certain cancers. The company launched with an AU$7 million venture capital commitment and plans to use the funds to demonstrate efficacy in disease models and optimize compounds. Management expects to select drug candidates suitable for clinical trials in three to four years.

Led · Series A · Jun 2015

Auspherix has discovered a new class of antibacterial compounds with a novel mechanism of action and activity against a broad range of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens. Its lead compounds show pharmacokinetic profiles consistent with use as antibacterial drugs for multiple indications. The company aims to progress its discovery series through lead optimization to final candidate selection within the next two years. Auspherix is building UK operations at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst site, expanding its management team and recruiting a world-class microbiology group. It plans to appoint a CEO in the coming months and pursue a flexible investment and partnering model to accelerate development and commercialization. Financially, Auspherix recently completed an institutional Series A equity financing to fund the drug discovery programme and team expansion. Auspherix is an early-stage anti-infectives company developing novel antibiotics to treat resistant bacterial diseases. In less than 12 months since its 2013 spinout from the ithree institute at the University of Technology Sydney, Auspherix has identified multiple antibacterial compounds with broad-spectrum activity against clinical isolates of antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Through a hit-to-lead programme with Domainex it has improved structure-activity relationships and enhanced the antibiotic activity of its initial compounds. The new AU$1 million Series A tranche from the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund will be used to further refine the lead compound series and to screen these in in vivo models in collaboration with Evotec. Auspherix operates a virtual business model with research directed by CSO and founder Professor Ian Charles and work conducted at universities in Australia and the UK and by UK-based partners. The company has strengthened its scientific team with appointments including Dr Ian Holmes and Dr Dagmar Alber and has engaged consultants Dr Alan Naylor and Dr Mike Tarbit. Subject to meeting near-term milestones, Auspherix intends to seek further investment and/or industry partnerships to move its novel antibiotics into pre-clinical and clinical development.