Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Agrimin’s $1 million tax rebate

Minerals business Agrimin has announced receipt of a tax refund worth $1.0 million under the Research and Development Tax Incentive program, related to R&D expenditure incurred for the Mackay Potash Project during the year ended June 30, 2023. The refund includes eligible overseas R&D expenditure. Debbie Morrow, Managing Director and CEO of Agrimin. said: “This R&D tax refund is the result of substantial work completed as we continue to progress our engineering for the Mackay Potash Project, particularly in relation to the on-lake civil trial completed in 2H 2022 and our ongoing process test work with specialist vendors. This refund is appreciated support from the Australian Government.”

Victoria tops nation in food and fibre export report

Victoria is the nation’s leading state for food and fibre exports, according to the state’s Food and Fibre Export Performance Report 2022-23. Exports reached a record $19.6 billion in 2022-23, or 24 per cent of the national total. “Thanks to the hard work of Victorian farmers and food and beverage manufacturers,” Victoria’s exports rose by 7 per cent in value over the year, the government said. Grain was the largest export, up 26 per cent to reach $5.6 billion, meat was second largest at $4.5 billion. Other highlights include a 13 per cent increase in horticulture exports and a 12 per cent increase in beverage exports (excluding wine). Exports were up “in the majority of Victoria’s key markets including China and the United States, while also seeing significant market diversification in regions such as Southeast Asia.”

Amplia cleared by FDA for trials

Amplia Therapeutics announced on Thursday that the US FDA has cleared the company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for a trial of the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor, narmafotinib, in pancreatic cancer. The proposed trial will explore the safety, tolerability and efficacy of a combination of narmafotinib with the chemotherapy regime FOLFIRINOX, Amplia said. Amplia is currently undertaking a Phase 2a clinical trial of narmafotinib, in combination with the  two chemotherapy drugs gemcitabine and Abraxane® in advanced pancreatic patients in Australia and South Korea. The IND application supports the use of narmafotinib in combination with a different chemotherapy called FOLFIRINOX (a four-drug regimen), which is widely employed in the US for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Amplia CEO and MD Dr Chris Burns said, “We will now start planning the combination trial of narmafotinib with  FOLFIRINOX in the US, which expands the clinical opportunities for our best-in-class FAK inhibitor. FOLFIRINOX is the preferred treatment for pancreatic patients in the USA and most of Europe, and  therefore this combination trial is highly relevant as we position narmafotinib as the preferred drug to enhance the effectiveness of existing chemotherapy combinations in pancreatic cancer.”

House of reps begins EV transition inquiry

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water has commenced an inquiry into the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). Committee chair Tony Zappia said motorists are increasingly choosing EVs when purchasing a new car. “The percentage of EVs sold is growing every year, moving to 7.2 per cent of all new cars sold in 2023 up from less than 3 per cent in 2022,” said Zappia. “The inquiry will consider the necessary resources, systems and infrastructure for this transition and the impacts of moving away from traditional vehicles. The Committee will also explore opportunities such as fuel savings and affordability for residents in outer regions to make this shift beneficial for everyone.” Written submissions are currently being sought for the inquiry, providing recommendations relating to the inquiry’s terms of reference by Friday March 22.

Unemployment unchanged at 3.9 per cent

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 3.9 per cent in December, according to data released on Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). David Taylor, ABS head of labour statistics, said: “With employment dropping by 65,000 people, along with a small fall in the number of unemployed people (1,000), the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.9 per cent in December. The fall in employment in December followed larger than usual employment growth in October and November, a combined increase of 117,000 people, with the employment-to-population ratio and participation rate both at record highs in November.” The seasonally adjusted participation rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 66.8 per cent, back to around the September level. The employment-to-population ratio also fell, down 0.4 percentage points to 64.2 per cent, the lowest employment-to-population ratio since May 2022 though 1.9 percentage points higher than March 2020.

AICRAFT and ResearchSat partner on edge computing for space