News

DairyNZ becomes a co-locator in the IIB

DairyNZ is the industry good organisation representing New Zealand’s dairy farmers. Funded through levies and government investment, DairyNZ’s work includes R&D to create practical on-farm tools, leading on-farm adoption of best practice farming, and advocacy for policy, legislative and investment decisions by central and regional government. With an annual budget of over NZD70M, Dairy NZ adds considerable support to projects or programmes that have a clear benefit to NZ’s dairy farmers.

The co-location of several staff in the DairyNZ laboratory in the IIB primarily focuses on three areas: lactation, nutrition and fertility. Co-location in an academic research building with cutting edge expertise and facilities for molecular technologies was attractive to DairyNZ. ViaLactia, LIC and AgResearch also operate laboratories in the IIB thereby establishing an emerging agbio-science cluster at the University of Auckland. A partnership between these organisations has further established the recently announced joint Graduate School in Dairy Research and Innovation which aims to produce increasing numbers of highly qualified graduates for this economically important sector.

IIB brings international perspective to Knowledge City project in Mexico

The IIB is engaged as international advisor to a major new innovation precinct development in Pachuca – about 100km northeast from Mexico City. Planning for a novel Knowledge City concept in Pachuca, State of Hidalgo is well advanced. The 180ha development at the periphery of Pachuca aims to attract universities and technology companies to have a presence around three priority themes: agricultural biotechnology, engineering and ICT. Central to this development are shared facilities of world-class quality for academic and company staff to collaborate and share knowledge. Novel postgraduate programmes that train science/engineering graduates in business and commercialisation skills will attract students from across the country and internationally. Together with residential and commercial buildings, a new school and culture centre, the Knowledge City will be well integrated with the community in the wider region. The result will be the expansion and increased productivity of the regional agriculture and industry. The Knowledge City will be at the international cutting edge and a leading innovation centre in Mexico.

The IIB is pleased to be actively engaged in this ambitious and visionary project. The Director IIB, Joerg Kistler spent the first week of April working with consulting firm Cal y Mayor y Asociados in Mexico City followed by formal presentations to the Governor and Government officials of the State of Hidalgo in Pachuca. He advised on international best practice models for academic-industry partnerships and the design of shared buildings and specialised facilities for academic-industry collaboration.

Bioscience Enterprise programme achieves 100 Master theses milestone

The two-year post-graduate programme provides science graduates with the necessary business and commercialisation skills to find employment across a wide spectrum of the life sciences industry. The programme was launched in 2006 and is attracting top graduates from across New Zealand and overseas. At the recent Bioscience Enterprise Forum on 7 December 2012, a special celebration marked the achievement of a major milestone – the submission of the 100th MBioEnt thesis. The traditional sabring of two Veuve Cliquot Champagne bottles was a highlight and watched by a wide industry audience (see photos). The programme continues to be strongly supported by the life sciences sector through the provision of guest lecturers and 6-month internships for the Masters thesis research. A total of 102 internships have been completed: 61 in companies, 30 in CRIs and public organisations in New Zealand; 11 in companies overseas. A partnership and student exchange programme with the Bioentrepreneurship programme at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, was signed in January 2012 and two Auckland students did their internships in Swedish companies. Employment data of MBioEnt graduates indicate 72% and 28% employment in New Zealand and overseas, respectively, providing further evidence of the internationalization of the MBioEnt qualification.

The 2012 Comvita Science Symposium draws large audience

Comvita’s fourth annual Science Symposium and Science Challenge Prize Giving ceremony successfully took place at The University of Auckland on Thursday 6th September. About 170 delegates attended Comvita’s annual flagship event. The delegates were a diverse mix of representatives from academia, Crown Research Institutes, the natural products, health care and cosmetics industry and government agencies such as New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

The day began with Professor Grant Guilford’s (Dean of Science, The University of Auckland) opening address. Prof. Guilford is one of the strong supporters of the Institute for Innovation in Biotechnology’s (IIB) model of joining industry and academia’s resources to accelerate innovation. The symposium was an excellent occasion to demonstrate the value of Comvita Innovation’s co-location at IIB.

The symposium content was both professional and varied and appealed to a wide spectrum of delegates with different interests. The delegates were presented with results from the most up-to-date research outcomes. The research topics covered natural products such as honey, Olive Leaf Extract and berries. Comvita’s recent ground-breaking research outcome from the clinical trial with The Liggins Institute on Olive Leaf Extract was also presented at this event In addition to the research presentations, the symposium also had inspirational speeches from IIB Director Joerg Kistler and Jon Hooper from Ernst & Young’s Life Sciences Centre as well as a thought-provoking panel session discussing “Wellness beyond pharmaceutical model”

The day ended on a humorous note with attendees watching the final five student (tertiary and secondary) videos from this year’s Comvita Science Video Challenge. The Challenge is a ‘science made simple’ competition where students make under-3 minute movies to explain the benefits of healthy food ingredients in an entertaining, consumer friendly way.

For the previous two years the Comvita Science Video Challenge has been open to tertiary students and this year it was also extended to Year 9 and 10 secondary school students. Their enthusiasm was reflected in the record 12 entries for the tertiary section and 34 entries for the secondary students. The finalists were flown in from various parts of the country (Wanaka, Dunedin, Palmerston North, Wanganui and Christchurch) to attend the prize giving ceremony. To see the winning videos created by these young, enthusiastic scientists, please visit www.comvitasciencechallenge.co.nz.

Comvita announces positive clinical trial results

Global natural health and beauty products company Comvita has a major presence at The University of Auckland through the co-location of its research company Comvita Innovation in the IIB and collaborations with a number of departments. At its annual flagship event, the Comvita Science Symposium held on 6th September, the company announced a clinical trial by The Liggins Institute at The University of Auckland has shown fresh olive leaf extract prepared by Comvita, improves the way insulin is secreted and works in overweight men. Insulin that does not work effectively can lead to diabetes.

The randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled cross-over trial was undertaken by 47 middle-aged and overweight men at risk of developing type-2 diabetes, a disorder characterised by insulin resistance and deficiency.

The Liggins Institute Director and Principal Investigator Professor Wayne Cutfield and Clinical Research Fellow Dr Martin de Bock assessed a range of complex health outcomes including insulin responses among those trial participants who took fresh olive leaf extract for 12 weeks.

Comvita CEO Brett Hewlett said Comvita is very pleased with the results, which have been submitted by The Liggins Institute for peer review and publication, to a highly prestigious, international medical journal.

“Due to restrictions around the submission process to the medical journal, further details from the trial can only be discussed after the results have been published.”

“However, we expect there will be increased interest in Comvita products as a result of the trial. We’re also scoping the possibility of building on this science, with additional clinical trials.”

“The study underscores the potential for efficacious, proven natural products to play an integral role in improving health outcomes.”

This important piece of research was made possible through collaboration with The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) Science + Innovation Group.

CoDa Therapeutics Completes $49 Million Fund Raising

CoDa Therapeutics, Inc. announced that it raised an additional NZ$24.5M from Russian investment firm RusnanoMedInvest (“RMI”). This brings the company’s total Series B Round to nearly NZ$49 million following a first close late last year.

All current investors, including Auckland-based BioPacific Ventures, participated in the round. RMI is a Russian government company which invests in medicine and pharmaceuticals.

The RMI investment is accompanied by a licensing of CoDa intellectual property rights in Russia, potentially accelerating the availability its drug Nexagon® on the Russian market. CoDa will receive an upfront license fee and royalties based on sales.

The financing will be partly used to expand late stage clinical trials of Nexagon® as a treatment for diabetic foot ulcers. CoDa recently initiated a 160 patient Phase 2 diabetic foot ulcer trial in the United States and will include additional clinical sites in Russia over coming months.

CoDa is also currently conducting a 300 patient Phase 2b trial of Nexagon® for the treatment of people with venous leg ulcers in New Zealand, the United States and South Africa.

Results from an earlier trial showed Nexagon® to be highly effective as a novel wound therapy for venous leg ulcers. In that trial, nearly one third of patients’ wounds were completely healed after just four weeks following only three applications of Nexagon® (compared to only 6% healing in a control group).

Bradford J. Duft, co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of CoDa Therapeutics said, “This investment by RMI – which brings the total funds raised by CoDa to over $90 million – is a significant validation of the New Zealand originated science co-invented by Professor Colin Green at the University of Auckland. CoDa is privileged to have a strong clinical and research team based in our Auckland office, led by Chief Operating Officer Tracey Sunderland, along with the support of local investor BioPacificVentures and, importantly during our continuing growth, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).”

CoDa has 70% of its staff in New Zealand including five scientists based in the Institute for Innovation in Biotechnology at the University of Auckland.

IIB partner Fonterra establishes Chair in Human Nutrition

Dairy Cooperative Fonterra – an industry partner of the Institute for Innovation in Biotechnology through the co-location of its research company ViaLactia Biosciences Ltd since 2011, has established the Fonterra Chair in Human Nutrition jointly between the University of Auckland and the Riddet Institute in Palmerston North. Professor Sally Poppitt started in this position on 3 May 2012. She will be primarily based in the School of Biological Sciences, and also carry the role of co-Director of the Human Nutrition Unit, both at the University of Auckland.

The establishment of the Chair is part of Fonterra’s NZD 40M investment in the 7-year, NZD 72M post-farmgate Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) announced in August 2010 which sees Fonterra join forces with the Ministry for Primary Industries, DairyNZ and other industry players in a NZD 170M research programme set to drive new value in the dairy industry.

Fonterra’s General Manager of dairy PGP, Dr Arie Geursen, highlighted Professor Poppitt’s longstanding involvement in dairy nutrition ‘for health and wellness’. Aligned with Fonterra’s nutrition strategies Professor Poppitt’s research will underpin development of novel high-value ingredients and products.

Symansis Ltd leaves the IIB

Symansis Ltd ended its co-location in the IIB per 29 February 2012. Symansis is illustrative of some of the issues facing new start-up companies. It has developed a large range of research products as tools for the investigation of cell signalling. Its products have been shown to perform well and there are over 90 scientific publications mentioning their use. However lack of IP protection has become an issue and other more established companies based in the key markets overseas have now launched similar products at very competitive prices. This has slowed sales growth. To reduce its cost base in line with lower sales, the operation of the company now continues as part of South Pacific Sera in Timaru. The Symansis team in Auckland certainly appreciated the benefits of working in the IIB.

Masters in Bioscience Enterprise qualification celebrates 5th anniversary

A special celebration marked the 5th anniversary of the Masters in Bioscience Enterprise qualification at the final Bioscience Enterprise Forum for the year on Friday 9 December. Since the launch of the 2-year postgraduate programme in 2006, 85 students have completed their MBioEnt qualification. Graduates are dual skilled in science and business and are employed across the full spectrum of the life sciences industry in New Zealand and overseas. Employment data for over 90% of MBioEnt graduates show the food sector (including neutraceuticals, bioactives, agbio) as the primary career destination (27%), followed by the medical devices industry (19%), pharma (human, veterinary, clinical trials : 15%), and industrial, environmental biotechnology (1%). 17% of graduates are employed outside the life sciences sector. 72% of graduates work in New Zealand, 28% are employed overseas including Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, UK, Germany and Switzerland. 22% of graduates are employed by the companies/organisations where they did their 6 months industry internships for their Masters thesis projects. Feedback from employers has been positive throughout.

Eight co-appointed staff announced for joint graduate school

At a joint launch event on 2 August 2011 – the Joint Graduate School in Plant & Food Science got underway with the announcement of part-time academic appointments for eight staff at Plant & Food Research. These are:

• Associate Professor Andrew Allan (Breeding and Genomics)
• Associate Professor David Greenwood (Bioprotection)
• Dr Robin MacDiarmid (Bioprotection)
• Associate Professor Louise Malone (Bioprotection)
• Associate Professor Richard Newcomb (Food Innovation)
• Dr Robert Schaffer (Breeding and Genomics)
• Professor Margot Skinner (Food Innovation)
• Associate Professor Matt Templeton (Bioprotection)

Plant & Food Research has been a longstanding partner of the Institute for Innovation in Biotechnology. The Joint Graduate School in Plant and Food Science between the CRI and the University of Auckland is the first school of its kind in New Zealand. Combining academic excellence and an industry perspective, the Joint Graduate School offers postgraduate students the opportunity to undertake Masters or PhD projects of direct relevance to the New Zealand primary production and food industries. The school also offers students access to the University’s research programmes and to Plant & Food’s expertise and research infrastructure across the country.

For more information please visit the School’s website www.plantandfood@auckland.ac.nz.