New funding for biologics facility will keep research local
The recently openedBiomanufacturing Immersion Facility at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has been awarded a $100,000 grant through the NSW Government’s Research Attraction and Acceleration Program (RAAP), it was announced today.
The funding is part of an $8 million funding boost to cutting-edge research and development facilities to benefit the state’s research sector.
NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte said the funding encourages and supports high-quality, high-impact research and helps to drive innovation in the state's research and development sector.
The funding is provided to NSW-based institutions that have been funded under the Commonwealth’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
“This funding will help to ensure our world-class facilities are at the top of their game and will also attract leading international research projects to NSW,” Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte said. “The NSW Government has a strong track record of supporting of NCRIS facilities in the state, providing almost $50 million in co-investment funding from 2006/07 to date.
The UTS Biologics operation is a strategic investment between UTS and the NSW Government with NCRIS as a key stakeholder. The facility is the first biologics facility in NSW to join the NCRIS Translating Health Discoveries program under the Therapeutic Innovation Australia network.
BIF is designed to drive opportunities to invent, up-skill and scale-up projects using state of the art equipment and best practice processing techniques. The facility is also aimed at building a future workforce for biopharma and biomanufacturing sectors through practical vocational and professional training.
UTS Climate Change Cluster Director, Professor Peter Ralph, who oversees BIF said the facility provided a critical service “helping biopharma projects stay in NSW rather than move interstate or go overseas.”
“I’d like to thank the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer for supporting BIF and by doing so help the vibrant local start-up community develop to ensure Intellectual Property remains in NSW.”
Further information can be found at the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy
The UTS Biomanufacturing Immersion Facility is open for bookings. Contact Edwin Huang, Biologics Innovation Facility Manager or Andrew Groth, Science faculty Business Development Manager at bif@uts.edu.au
