The Australian government has made available an additional AUD
28m (USD 23.2m) in funding for six pharmaceutical and biotech
companies to assist with their R&D programmes.
The Pharmaceutical Partnerships Programme (P3) was created to
encourage innovative R&D and promote the development of
partnerships with international firms.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and J&J/ Janssen-Cilag, as well as
domestic firms Progen Pharmaceuticals, Vital Health Sciences,
Peptech and Tissue Therapies will each get AUD 0.50 (an increase of
AUD 0.30 in the previous P3 rounds) for each additional dollar they
spend over a base level portfolio of eligible R&D activities
(capped at USD 8.3m).
The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry is also positioned to
benefit from recent changes to the 175 per cent R&D tax
concession announced at the beginning of May. The amendments permit
companies to claim for R&D projects undertaken in Australia
independent of intellectual property rights location.
P3 grant winners
included:
* Johnson & Johnson Research and Janssen-Cilag won AUD
4.2m (USD 3..5m) for anti-HIV cell-delivered gene transfer product
and phase I, II and III research in neurosciences, oncology,
haematology, infectious diseases, cardiovascular disorders and
immunology.
* GSK was awarded AUD 7.6m (USD 6.3m) for Alzheimer's disease,
neuropathic pain, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hepatitis B,
neurology, immunology, migraine, asthma and respiratory medicine,
and oncology and rheumatology.
* Peptech received AUD 6.6m (USD 5.5m) for antibody and
peptide-based human therapeutic products to treat cancer and
inflammatory diseases.
* Progen Pharmaceuticals won AUD 4.6m (USD 3.8m) for development of
novel compounds as therapeutics (including anti-angiogenic compound
PI-88) for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases.
* Tissue Therapies received AUD 1.9m (USD 1.6m) for
bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing projects for clinical trials;
development of new wound-healing products and new therapies for
cancer metastasis and atherosclerosis.
* Phosphagenics subsidiary, Vital Health Sciences, was awarded AUD
3.2m (USD 2.7m) to develop proprietary drug delivery technology for
the transdermal and oral delivery of drugs, as well as proprietary
lead compounds for treating atherosclerosis/metabolic syndrome and
cancer.
A Business Monitor International (BMI) report revealed that
demographic factors in Australia will drive the growth of CNS,
cardiovascular and metabolic therapeutic areas, although the demand
will be increasingly met by imports. BMI expected growth in the
pharmaceuticals market in FY06 at around six per cent, exceeding a
value of USD 11.4bn in 2010.
While Australia tops BMI's Business Environment Rankings for Asia,
it has been listed on the PhRMA's 2006 "priority watch list" due to
allegations of a lack of patent and data protection for ethical
pharmaceuticals, as well as "discriminatory pricing and
reimbursement policies" for novel medicines. Negotiations over
Australia's free trade agreement (FTA) with the US are under way,
with the Australian government recently agreeing to consider US
demands, which include eliminating certain important provisions
regarding generics.
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