Growth Centre: MTPConnect
Case study from: Growth Centres Success Stories
Improving connections between researchers and industry will help to accelerate Australia’s world-class medical technology sector. With help from the Industry Growth Centres Initiative, the Bridge Program and BridgeTech Program are helping to boost commercialisation skills and outcomes for both researchers and entrepreneurs.
Business in Focus: Bridge Program and BridgeTech Program
For most medical technologies and pharmaceuticals researchers, achieving scientific breakthroughs is less of a challenge than overcoming the subsequent barriers to commercialising those breakthroughs. A lack of business skills and experience hampers the ability of researchers to realise benefits from their work.
To address this challenge, QUT launched the Bridge Program with support from MTPConnect. The Bridge Program builds the practical pharmaceutical commercialisation skills of early stage researchers through training and direct exposure to scientific, legal, financial, clinical and regulatory experts.
Supported by a consortium of 16 companies, universities and industry associations, the 2017 Program enrolled 101 participants. The course involved face-to-face and online training, and a three day residential program which brought participants and consortium members together to build connections.
Six months after the program, 38 per cent of participants reported an increase in commercialisation activity, including 10 new patents and 8 start-ups being initiated. 98 participants are participating in the 2018 program.
Building on this success, QUT and MTPConnect have launched the BridgeTech Program, which focuses on commercialisation of medical devices. The BridgeTech Program is supported by a consortium of 20 partners with an initial cohort of 77 participants completing the program in 2018.