QUEENSLAND BIOTECH ON SHOW TO NEW ZEALAND MINISTER

The New Zealand-Queensland Biotechnology Collaboration has been reinforced with a visit to Brisbane by the New Zealand Minister of Research, Science and Technology Steve Maharey.

The Minister held talks with the Minister for Education, Training and the Arts, Rod Welford who represented Minister for State Development John Mickel, currently on a trade mission in India.

Mr Maharey is leading a delegation to meet with research institutes and biotech companies with a view to building on the existing biotechnology relationship between Queensland and New Zealand and exploring new collaborative opportunities.

“Discussions covered a range of shared interests, including the Queensland Biotechnology Strategic Plan, our biotechnology industry and the New Zealand-Queensland Biotechnology Collaboration which was signed in 2003,” Mr Welford said.

“Our alliance with New Zealand has resulted in a number of collaborative projects. These include one between Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience and New Zealand biotech company Ovita Ltd which is aimed at saving millions of dollars each year in protecting livestock, particularly sheep, from parasite infection.

“And Griffith University has collaborative arrangements with Lincoln University in New Zealand, specifically in the development of a new water quality monitoring system.”

Mr Maharey expressed the New Zealand Government’s support for the Queensland Government funded BioPharmaceuticals Australia (BPA) initiative to offer contract manufacturing of biopharmaceutical products under current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP).

The BPA facility will link into existing scale-up manufacturing infrastructure in New Zealand, rather than duplicating existing facilities.

“This will meet a local market need for contract manufacturing services, which is forcing early-stage Australasian biopharmaceutical developers to seek services offshore,” Mr Welford said.

“The BPA facility would constitute a useful resource for trans-Tasman companies and allow retention of a greater proportion of the potential value of their developmental drugs in the region.”

The New Zealand Minister toured several leading biotechnology sites, including the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland.

Media contacts: Greg Milne or Marnie Stitz on 32371000