1. 04/10/2016 Cutting-edge innovation puts locals in the funding picture
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Home > Cutting-edge innovation puts locals in the funding picture
Cutting-edge innovation puts locals in the funding
picture
Author:
James Moses [1]
Published: Tuesday, 24 January, 2006 - 21:00 facebook
[2] twitter [3] linkedin [4] google+ [5] print [6]
Western Australian companies have enjoyed considerable success of late in securing funding to drive the
development of innovative products, processes and services.
The resultant funding has enabled many local businesses to progress their ideas and products beyond the
proofof-concept stage and into the marketplace.
Perth-based Solbec Pharma-ceuticals has been offered a $2.25 million grant in the most recent round of
federal government Commercial Ready funding for the clinical development of an experimental cancer
treating drug compound.
The drug, Coramsine, targets both kidney cancer and malignant melanoma, and has great potential as there is
currently no effective chemotherapy agent against end-stage malignant melanoma or renal cell carcinoma.
This particular grant will help test the drug compound in clinical trials, and Solbec has been buoyed by
Coramsine's pre-clinical and clinical results to date.
Their research has shown encouraging evidence that Coramsine has the potential to become a highly
effective, non-invasive, anti-cancer therapy. It will use naturally-occurring agents to treat a wide range of
cancers without significant side-effects.
Subiaco-based pharmaceutical innovators Go Medical Industries is another medico-sector company to be
awarded Commercial Ready funding. The company, which specialises in fluid delivery, naso-gastric,
specialist obstetrics and gynaecology, pain management and urology technologies, received $2,063,001 for
work on a new treatment for drug users wishing to end their addiction.

2. 04/10/2016 Cutting-edge innovation puts locals in the funding picture
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Go Medical's treatment system is based on a novel implant technology that provides a sustained therapeutic
level of the treatment drug.
The research currently provides treatment for hard drugs such as heroin and other opiates, and the innovation
has the potential to save lives, which is one of the main reasons for the government support.
A project to develop an in-flight structural monitoring system to improve aviation safety and reduce
maintenance costs has secured a $2.9 million Commercial Ready grant for Structural Monitoring Systems of
Osborne Park, which will use the funds to apply its technology to a method of monitoring cracks in aircraft
structures.
The company aims to develop an in-flight system, based on new sensors and adhesives, able to withstand
extremes of temperature and pressure, vibration and shock to monitor commercial and passenger aircraft.
It is hoped the commercialisation of this technology will make aircraft safer through the early detection of
cracks, reduce maintenance costs and prolong the flying life of the aircraft.
Advanced mobile mining equipment data transfer and communications specialist, International Mining
Technologies Pty Ltd, is planning a major international marketing campaign and the development of new
safety and maintenance minimisation systems.
Formed in 1999 by Todd Pearce to develop and market a core collision avoidance system for the mining
sector, the Perth company received a big boost by winning a $4.85 million federal government AusIndustry
grant in the face of some heavy national competition.
Since then, employee numbers at IMT have risen from six to over 40 at its Osborne Park headquarters, and its
unique range of data communications technology is being used by some of the country's biggest mining
companies.
The company's products include patented collision avoidance systems, mobile mining equipment
communication, safety and machine monitoring, and protective maintenance solutions.
One of IMT's systems allows engine management and monitoring data to be transmitted from remote
locations anywhere in the world, allowing critical events such as speeding, temperature rises, overloads and
component failures to be identified and fixed.
Sub-sea engineering and offshore services company Seatrac Pty Ltd is bringing a new sub-sea well
intervention system to the booming international oil and gas sector.
The Jandakot company was recently awarded a $1,603,800 federal Commercial Ready Grant to develop its
system for installing, repairing and gathering data from offshore oil and gas wells.
The key to this $6 million project is that it utilises standard wireline technology deployed from easily sourced
standard work vessels, typically in the 65 to 85 metre range, to access wells in water up to 500 metres deep.
Currently this work is carried out by much larger and more expensive drilling rigs that are in increasingly
short supply.
All the R&D has been completed, with the first system expected to be ready by June this year.
Seatrac employs 25 people, including 10 engineers, about half of whom are working on the development and
commercialisation of the sub-sea well intervention system.
Publicly listed QRSciences Holdings Ltd recently secured $2.8 million under the federal R&D Start Program
(the predecessor of the Commercial Ready program), to assist its development of an advanced explosives
detection system for airport baggage screeners.

3. 04/10/2016 Cutting-edge innovation puts locals in the funding picture
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The Perth company is a world leader in quadruple resonance applications, a technology that uses
non-invasive radio waves to identify and detect a wide range of compounds.
The technology has a broad range of applications, including the detection of explosives, narcotics and
biochemical substances; pharmaceutical quality control and assurance; mineral and material assay, lab
instrumentation and other environmental science applications.
Unlisted West Perth technology company Cool Energy, run by managing director Jessie Inman, was awarded
$1,922,113 through R&D Start for its revolutionary new type of gas sweetening technology that strips the
greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, out of gas reserves.
The technology was initially developed at WA's Curtin University of Technology and the new product aims
to develop a gas sweetening process for use in small to medium gas processing projects and allow an
innovative commercial scale cryogenic separation of very high levels of contaminants from natural gas.
Among its commercial applications will be the elimination of the use of hazardous solvents and chemicals
normally used in CO2 removal, and the ability to efficiently sequester CO2 , allowing effective disposal of
greenhouse gases.
Innovative Perth companies are also being honoured overseas, with publicly listed Advanced
Nanotechnology Ltd recently winning the prestigious Frost & Sullivan's Excellence in Technology of the
Year Award in the field of nanomaterials.
The New York-based analytical group said ANL's "path breaking efforts have brought a new paradigm to
nanopowder production."
ANL makes dispersions of nano (very small) particles from various metals in transparent liquids. The unique,
patented technology produces nanopowders, applications for which include electronics, cosmetics, fuel
additives, advanced ceramics, high-performance alloys and coatings, medicine, biotechnology, drug delivery
and ultra violet resistant coatings.
ANL, which employs 30 people, arose from R&D work at the University of Western Australia, which retains
a 29 per cent stake in the company.
Chief executive officer Paul McCormick said the company was considering moving all, or part, of its
operations overseas because of rising costs and the expectation that its Welshpool plant will reach capacity in
less than two years.
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