Third tranche of $1m med-tech grants open

Expressions of interest are now open for grants of up to $1 million to support development and commercialisation of cutting-edge new medical devices.

The funding is being made available through the third round of the $45 million BioMedTech Horizons (BMTH) program, an initiative of the Medical Research Future Fund, operated by MTPConnect.

MTPConnect Managing Director and CEO Dr Dan Grant says the new funding round provides a unique opportunity for Australian life science innovators to accelerate the advancement of their projects.

“The BioMedTech Horizons program supports new medical technologies to reach proof of concept, or beyond, so they’re attractive for private capital investment and commercialisation,” he said.

This third tranche of funding under the BMTH program is targeting innovative solutions to address unmet clinical needs in three key focus areas:

  • Digitally enabled medical devices in mobile health, health information technology, wearable devices, telehealth and telemedicine, and digitally enabled personalised medicine.
  • Digitally enabled implantable medical devices addressing unmet needs in any therapeutic area.
  • General medical devices in the areas of regenerative medicine, women’s health, cardiovascular, orthopaedics, neuroscience, general surgery and oncology.

Funding is available for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). These firms can have up to 200 staff but must be at a stage of development equivalent to level three or beyond on the technology readiness level scale and have preliminary data demonstrating technical proof of concept.

“We’re looking for innovative projects that have the potential to impact healthcare outcomes while demonstrating real commercial opportunities, so we’re keen to support SMEs that hold rights to the patent or other IP related to the technology being developed,” Dr Grant said.

“The projects we back through BMTH will lead to new technologies, medical devices and preventative interventions to improve the health of Australians, and with an underlying commercial imperative, they’ll also boost employment and grow business in the Australian med-tech sector.”

Round one of the BMTH program involved $10 million being successfully deployed to 11 projects in 3D anatomical printing and precision medicine, while applications for round two, which closed in July this year, have been shortlisted with funding announcements to be made before the end of the year.

Expressions of Interest for funding under round three of the BMTH program close on December 16. Details on how to apply can found here.

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