Company behind world’s first rotary artificial heart has moved its operations to Gold Coast Health and Knowledge precinct
In a massive coup for the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct, a US-based company behind the world’s first rotary artificial heart has moved its operations to the research facility. FULL DETAILS >>>
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IN a coup for the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct, a US-based company behind the world’s first rotary artificial heart has moved its operations to the research facility.
It’s one of three global companies lured to the cluster of medical, health and digital technology businesses by investment attraction incentives endorsed by the Gold Coast City Council and strong research collaboration opportunities at Griffith University.
BiVACOR, founded in Brisbane by biomedical engineer and chief executive Daniel Timms and headquartered in Houston Texas, is collaborating with Griffith’s world-class mechanobiology research laboratory as prepares its durable total artificial heart for use in the first patients.
Joining the global business at the precinct is Precise Light Surgical, a San Francisco Bay company that’s developed groundbreaking surgical laser technology that precisely removes selected tissue while sparing surrounding anatomy such as nerves and blood vessels. It has approval in Australia, the US, and Europe for more than 80 different surgical indications across eight specialties.
ASX-listed Netherlands blockchain technology company TYMLEZ is setting up an office and lab space at Griffith University. It offers enterprise-grade blockchain solutions with a focus on supporting clean energy sustainability, along with other opportunities to develop healthcare products that rely on secure, trackable and traceable data transfer.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the companies were in the growth industries of the future and would build the ecosystem of innovation that is developing in the precinct alongside Griffith University and the hospitals,
“Our incentives are aimed at supporting their early growth phases so that they can expand highly-skilled jobs here and undertake collaborative research locally to commercialise these exciting new technologies,” he said.
Griffith’s Vice Chancellor Professor Carolyn Evans joined Mayor Tate on Monday for a visit to the university’s mechanobiology lab to view the BiVACOR artificial heart being tested for optimum blood flow.
She said industry co-location was critical to taking research out of the lab and providing jobs for graduates and there was an increased focus on linking university research with industry for commercial outcomes and social impact.
“Working with these co-located companies, our researchers will be able to directly contribute to translating improved healthcare and initiatives for a sustainable future, while our students will have access to internship and training opportunities, and our graduates will have great local job opportunities.”
BiVACOR chief executive Daniel Timms said the company, that raised $22 million to develop its device as a viable alternative to transplantation for end-stage heart failure, was confident in the Gold Coast for successful research translation.
“After coming back from the US where we work very closely with the world-renowned Texas Heart Institute, to see the expansion of this area was really attractive for us to bring our technology back to work with a world-leading laboratory at Griffith, which didn’t exist when we started almost 20 years ago,” he said.
Precise Light Surgical head Richard Nash said the Gold Coast had much more to offer than just lifestyle saying it was the “icing on the cake”.
“The GCHKP offers a unique opportunity for medical device companies, in having major hospitals and a reputable university. Combined with all resources within south east Queensland, the region provides everything required to establish and commercially scale a technology company.
“There is significant opportunity for future market validation clinical trials, with an initial company focus on robotic urology procedures in Australia.
“PLS has also entered discussions with Gold Coast Health and Gold Coast Private Hospital about undertaking local real-world ear, nose and throat clinical registries.
“In five years, we hope to have built a successful international headquarters on the Gold Coast, with local APAC manufacture and significant employment.”
TYMLEZ chief executive Daniel O’Halloran said local connections and support, together with its growing Australian investment base, were key factors in the decision to shift the Rotterdam-based company’s global headquarters down under.
“Our software is designed to create enterprise-grade solutions that can build and manage blockchain-based ecosystems as quickly and as cost-effectively as possible, replacing traditional databases with decentralised records that can’t be disputed,” he said.
“Our aim is to attract and train local talent as much as possible and transfer knowledge from our senior development staff in Europe, and the environment here, including the work-life balance, allows for that.”
The three new companies join Belgian-based global 3D printing pioneer Materialise, who located key Australian staff onto the Griffith campus in 2018 to work alongside experts at the university’s Advanced Design and Prototyping Technologies facility and grow opportunities for medical additive manufacturing.
The Covid--19 pandemic has also seen increasing interstate interest in the GCHKP, with Melbourne-based artificial intelligence (AI) company Silverpond recently locating a Queensland team to service its energy and utilities clients.
The team also aims to collaborate with an emerging cluster of AI in healthcare businesses, led by local data-driven technology company Datarwe, which has developed an acute care medical research data platform.
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