Medtech startups can score up to $5 million from a new incubator fund

A new medical technology incubator program developed by the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) during the former Coalition government will offer up to $5 million in funding for early-stage medical research projects with commercial potential.

Responsibility for delivering the incubator has been handed to Brandon BioCatalyst and ANDHealth, which already deliver a range of commercialism programs backed by the MRFF.

They’ll be in charge of finding early-stage medical research and medical innovation startups to invest in and develop funding of up to $5 million each over five years. It’s expected to support between 15 and 25 companies.

Initial bids for the program were launched last year under the former Morrison government, with bids closing in late 2022.

With this program now set to kick off later this year, the Medical Research Future Fund now has another $50 million on the table and is looking for an organisation to establish a similar BioMedTech Incubator to tackle dementia and cognitive decline. Applications to run that program close at the end of July.

The $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund was established in 2015 under former prime minister Tony Abbott to boost local medical research by around $1 billion a year.

Earlier this month, federal health and aged care minister Mark Butler announced nearly 200 medical research projects would share in more than $382 million in grants, including more than $32 million to improve Indigenous health via the MRFF.

The projects will help Australian medical researchers, including clinician researchers, discover new ways to diagnose, treat and care for people with a variety of health conditions, ranging from cardiovascular disease, to primary and preventive health care, respiratory diseases, maternal health, mental health and First Nations health.