Six Australian startups in biomedical and health tech will share A$13.5m to advance technologies spanning AI, cancer and cardiovascular care.
The companies are developing products for inflammatory disease, oncology, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders and AI-enabled digital health.
Three of the startups, Aleris Therapeutics, Frontier Inflammasome Therapeutics and Luma Bio, will each receive A$2.5m.
Dr Amanda Vrselja, CUREator programme head, said: “By combining milestone-based funding with experienced commercialisation support, we’re enabling founders to build investable companies capable of delivering global healthcare impact from Australian innovation.”
Aleris Therapeutics is developing a therapy for inflammatory diseases, while Frontier Inflammasome Therapeutics is working on treatments targeting inflammatory conditions.
Luma Bio is developing peptide-based radiopharmaceuticals for targeted cancer imaging and treatment. Radiopharmaceuticals are medicines containing radioactive substances that can be used to identify or treat diseased tissue.
Navier Medical has been awarded A$2.13m to develop AI-enabled cardiac CT risk markers aimed at improving the prediction and prevention of heart attacks.
Its Navier Heart platform analyses routine computed tomography, or CT, scans to identify blood vessels that may signal increased cardiovascular risk.
Sander Bangma, chief executive of Navier Medical, said: “Preventing heart attacks starts with seeing the disease earlier.
“Our Navier Heart platform turns routine CT scans into a powerful tool for early detection and personalised treatment of cardiovascular disease, by revealing the high-risk vessels hiding in plain sight.”
The company plans to use the programme to support a prospective clinical trial, further develop the platform and prepare for commercialisation.
Neurotologix will receive A$1.95m to commercialise a platform designed to provide objective assessments of vertigo and dizziness.
WeGuide has been awarded A$1.95m for an AI-powered platform aimed at speeding up the development and commercialisation of digital biomarkers.
Digital biomarkers are measurements collected through technologies such as wearables that can provide information about a person’s health or disease.
WeGuide’s platform combines wearable, clinical and patient-generated health data to support their development.
The funding comes through the second investment round of CUREator+, a commercialisation programme backed by Australia’s Medical Research Future Fund.
CUREator+ is run by Brandon BioCatalyst in partnership with ANDHealth and provides non-dilutive funding, meaning companies receive capital without giving up an ownership stake.
The programme also offers commercialisation support and access to industry networks for companies developing therapeutics, medical devices and digital health technologies.
