Amgen and Pfizer bridge academia-industry gap as Minister launches top commercialisation program

Pharma News: A development program aimed at bridging the gap between academia and the pharmaceutical industry launched its seventh cohort at Amgen’s Sydney office with The Hon. Ed Husic MP Minister for Industry and Science in attendance.

The Minister opened the The Bridge Program, which has attracted new funding from MTPConnect, and spoke to participants regarding the government’s $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund that aims to be a key driver of investment in the medical sciences sector.

“Amgen is honoured to host the launch of this year’s Bridge Program and to have welcomed Minister Husic, the 2023 Bridge Program participants and industry partners to our Sydney office for this important event,” said Gabi Mittas, Managing Director of Amgen Australia.

“We are proud to have been supporting this program for the past seven years, and importantly to help facilitate the pathway for the future innovators of our industry,” she added.

Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Professor Lyn Griffiths and Director of the Bridge Program, said “We are proud to deliver the Bridge Program out of QUT, including online learning materials and a year-long series of events, activities and seminars. Since launching the program in 2017, we’ve seen remarkable high impact outcomes for the sector. Researchers have a better understanding of the pharmaceutical commercialisation and translation process, which has focussed their research to align better with the information required by investors and pharma companies and are able to better communicate their value proposition because of the project work in the Bridge Program.

“Tech transfer professionals have accelerated their development with the support of Bridge, providing unparalleled insights into the focus of pharma companies. And, of immeasurable value are the connections formed between our participants and industry.”

Pfizer’s Executive Director & Emerging Science Lead (Asia & Asia Pacific), Dr Anand Gautam, said “Pfizer has supported this program for the past five years, and it has been fantastic. We hope that through our support we can help generate and inform new talent to better translate science in Australia.

“Participants hear from executives and seasoned professionals from across the industry. They learn about the translation process from very early stages through to commercialisation, which I think is really helpful.”

Covering the scientific, legal, financial, clinical, regulatory and reimbursement elements of the commercialisation process, the Bridge Program benefits from a consortium of leading partners including AbbVie, Amgen, Australian National University, Pfizer, Roche, Spruson & Ferguson, University of New South Wales, University of Western Australia and the Government of Western Australia. The program is supported by the Federal Government through MTPConnect, with industry-matched funding from consortium members.

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