New $40 million Biosciences fund a chance for Macquarie Park

A new $40 million Biosciences Fund (BioSF) has been launched by the New South Wales government to empower businesses, start-ups and researchers to realise their full potential and bring new innovations to market.

BioSF targets biological science research and solutions that align with the state’s 20-year Research and Development Roadmap and priority industries of:

• Agriculture and agrifood

• Medical and life sciences

• Clean energy and waste

Whilst supporting companies to commercialise biological science products and enabling them to attract large-scale private investment, the fund will also leverage the competitive advantages of the State in these emerging, high value sectors.

Mark Ames, General Manager at Connect Macquarie Park Innovation District, said the new fund was a great opportunity for the area:

“Macquarie Park is already home to leading companies working at the cutting edge of genetic engineering, synthetic biology, vaccines, pharmaceuticals and personalised medicinces, right next door to Macquarie University’s nation-leading capabilities in synthetic biology and the Australian Genome Foundry.”

“Investment in our geography has great potential to accelerate the complimentary work already happening here, and with up to $10 million a year available I’d encourage Macquarie Park innovators to get involved.”

BioSF Round 1 will provide grants valued between $200,000 and $2 million to successful applicants, before scaling to larger contributions in later rounds.

Applications close on Monday March 20, with a shortlist to be published between April and June.