Australian VCs invest $16m in domestic drug developer

Brandon is investing through its Medical Research Commercialization Fund (MRCF), which combines the resources of more than 50 of the country's leading medical institutes and research hospitals. It comes two weeks after a A$6.3 million ($4.7 million) joint investment by MRCF and Uniseed in Innavac, a biotechnology company spin-out of the University of Melbourne.

Que's flagship drug is the non-hormonal therapy Q-122, which aims to treat hot flashes in women undergoing endocrine therapy for breast cancers. The company's extended product pipeline also addresses prostate cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, and cancer pain.

"This investment will support the company as it continues to navigate the clinical trial and regulatory processes required to bring this life-changing treatment to the market," Dean Moss, CEO of UQ's main commercialization company, UniQuest, said in a statement. "It could make a real difference to many women around the world."

Brandon closed its first MRCF in 2007 at A$11 million and its second in 2011 at A$40 million. MRCF III, its most recent vehicle, closed at A$200 million in 2015. These funds have supported companies including Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Novartis for $725 million in 2015, and Fibrotech Therapeutics, which was acquired by Shire for $557 million in 2014. Both Spinifex and Fibrotech were also backed by Uniseed.

Set up in 2000, Uniseed is a VC arm of the government's CSIRIO research unit. Earlier this year, its A$50 million Commercialisation Fund received A$20 million worth of commitments to be deployed over the next 10 years by a number of Australian universities.

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• Topics
• Australasia
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• Early-stage
• Australia
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• Brandon Capital
• Pharmaceuticals