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Mustering molecules1 April 2008An Australian - New Zealand partnership is developing a way of diagnosing cancer and other diseases by mustering individual molecules and measuring their properties as they pass though a gate. Their ideas are based on a unique elastic nanopore technology developed by New Zealand company Australo. Australo and the Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) at the University of Queensland are collaborating following an NZD$281,250 grant announced by New Zealand Economic Development Minister Pete Hodgson last night. He announced the funding as part of a $3.8 million package of grants from the Australia New Zealand Biotechnology Partnership Fund (ANZBPF), which is awarded to New Zealand companies working with partners in Australia.NZTE Biotechnology Group General Manager Peter Lennox says the fund is a ground-breaking initiative that encourages trans-Tasman collaboration in biotechnology “ANZBPF is designed to promote facilitate and accelerate partnerships between New Zealand and Australian biotech companies, and offers significant financial support for new and innovative proposals,” he says. Australo have developed a way of mustering and measuring single biological molecules. The molecules in solution are pulled through a small adjustable hole or nanopore – just a few millionths of a millimetre-wide. As each molecule passes through, it temporarily blocks the hole and changes the electrical environment. Australo’s instruments can measure these changes and profile each molecule as it passes through. “It’s the adjustability of the hole that makes Australo’s technology unique,” says Australo CEO Hans Van Der Voorn. “To date we’ve used the technology to count and measure viruses and to measure the size of manufactured nanoparticles,” he says. But it’s the disease diagnosis potential that excited Matt Trau from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. He met Van Der Voorn at a New Zealand Trade and Enterprise roadshow in Brisbane last year. Matt and his colleagues are developing early detection system based on measuring DNA biomarkers for cancers and other diseases. Last October he received a $A5 million dollar grant from the Australian National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) to combine the latest developments in molecular genetics and nanotechnology to develop novel tests for breast cancer. “As Hans and I talked, we realised that Australo’s technology could help us,” Trau says. “With our technology we hope to be able to trap cancer biomarkers. In theory, Australo’s technology could then help us detect, count and measure the trapped biomarkers.” “This is the kind of collaboration between New Zealand and Australia that we’re keen to catalyse,” says NZ Trade Commissioner in Melbourne, Shona Bleakley. “That’s why the New Zealand Government created the ANZBPF – to encourage trans-Tasman biotechnology collaboration.” Matching funds will be provided by the project partners. “It’s early days for this collaboration,” she says. “But, if it is successful, the rewards for Australia and New Zealand could be huge.” The potential market for cancer and other disease diagnosis is expected to exceed $15 billion by 2010. The other projects funded by the ANZBPF this year are: · A $NZ1.5 million grant to New Zealand Agriseeds Ltd and the Australian Molecular Plant Breeding Cooperative Research Centre. They plan to introduce heat tolerance, water efficiency and other traits into pasture grass using naturally occurring symbiotic fungi (endophytes); · An NZ$2 million grant to New Zealand rural services group PGG Wrightson Genomics Ltd working in partnership with the Australian Molecular Plant Breeding Cooperative Research Centre to develop a new kind of grass that will reduce cattle burps, improve productivity, and help dairy farmers prepare for climate change. For more information contact:Damian Lynch, Acting Sector Director, Biotechnology, NZTE, +64 27 544 5215Niall Byrne on +61 3 9398 1416, niall@scienceinpublic.com.auMatt Trau on +61 7-3346-4174Hans Van Der Voorn on +643 477-6063Background InformationAustralia New Zealand Biotechnology Partnership FundThe Australia New Zealand Biotechnology Partnership Fund (ANZBPF) is a New Zealand Government initiative administered by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, and is designed to facilitate and accelerate trans-Tasman biotechnology industry collaboration. The ANZBPF supports significant trans-Tasman alliances that develop greater regional strength, sustained profitability, access to, and competitiveness in, international markets for New Zealand’s biotechnology products and services. The fund contributes up to 25 percent of the total project costs, with the New Zealand partner contributing another 25 percent and the Australian partner making up the remaining 50 per cent. The ANZBPF was announced in September 2003 and opened for grant applications on 1 July 2004. The fund originally comprised $12 million (including grant and operational expenditure) to be allocated over three years (by 30 June 2007). In 2007 the government announced a further $25m for appropriation over the next five years. This year was the first since the fund’s inception that criteria have been expanded to allow existing trans-Tasman partnerships to apply for funding for new projects. Only New Zealand companies or organisations are eligible. The ANZBPF is designed to complement existing NZTE economic development services and support schemes offered by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST), Technology New Zealand (Tech NZ) and the Health Research Council (HRC). The ANZBPF will support development, marketing and manufacturing initiatives between New Zealand and Australia; it is not a research fund. NZTE may direct applicants to other NZTE, FRST or HRC schemes if the proposals received are deemed more suitable for these funds. All dollar-figures quoted in this release are inclusive of GST. Some past grants include: · A Christchurch-based company Keratec who are working with an Australian company, Australian Biotechnologies, to commercialise their patented bone graft technology using Functional Keratin™, a structural protein extracted from wool. · Industrial Research Ltd together with Australian-based biotechnology company Starpharma were funded to develop manufacturing samples of a new drug (VivaGelTM ) designed to prevent genital herpes and HIV-AIDS infections. · Neuren Pharmaceuticals is working with Metabolic Pharmaceuticals to accelerate the development and commercialisation of a drug targeting spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis.
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