South Australian households to take to smart energy appliances Five hundred South Australian households are set to go energy-smart in a new project announced by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and electricity distributor SA Power Networks. ARENA is providing $6.2 million to SA Power Networks’ $13.8 million ‘Energy Masters’ project. The project will see…
Drug development company IDT Australia and pharmaceutical business Sanofi have signed an agreement for the good manufacturing practice (cGMP) manufacture of Sanofi’s mRNA vaccines now under development. The partners will collaborate to advance mRNA-based vaccine formulation, development and manufacture at IDT’s aseptic sterile injectables filling facilities in Melbourne (pictured) in volumes needed for clinical trials…
The US Food and Drug Administration has told biotechnology company Mesoblast that it now has sufficient clinical data to support a submission to approve the company’s remestemcel-L drug for treatment of pediatric patients. Remestemcel-L is being developed for inflammatory diseases in children and adults, including steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease, and biologic-resistant inflammatory bowel…
Biotechnology manufacturer CSL has failed to prove the efficacy of one of its most promising drugs under development – CSL112 (apolipoprotein A-I [human]). As recently as last year the Melbourne company was testing the drug in reducing the risk of follow on adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients following an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or…
Iluka reveals capital cost of rare earths refinery Perth minerals company Iluka Resources has revealed a $1.5 to $1.8 billion capital cost of Australia’s first integrated rare earths refinery for producing rare earths oxides at Eneabba in Western Australia. The estimate comes from Iluka and Fluor who are optimising the project and conducting FEED work.…
Mesoblast secures FDA approval for heart disease treatment Biotechnology company Mesoblast has secured US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Revascor heart disease treatment. The FDA issued a rare pediatric disease (RPD) designation for Revascor following submission of results from a trial in 19 children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). Revascor is…
Needle free vaccine delivery company Vaxxas‘s skin patch system is an attractive alternative to vaccine delivery via injection, according to a new study. Published in the journal Vaccine, the study said the company’s high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) (pictured) was particularly attractive in a pandemic. Its’ use would alleviate the strain on healthcare systems by enabling…
An Australian biomedical firm is making safe synthetic bones a reality, as it opens a new lab to create bone substitutes from oysters.
Bioprinted brain cell networks printed by researchers Monash University used what they say is a tissue engineering approach, two bioinks containing living nerve cells and non-living cells, and 3D printing to successfully create 3D nerve networks that can grow in the laboratory and transmit and respond to nerve signals. In a statement on Wednesday, Monash…
The Victorian government has announced that construction of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility is ahead of schedule and at the halfway mark, with completion expected next year. State industry minister Ben Carroll visited Monash University’s Clayton precinct on Monday morning, where the US-based biotechnology company will eventually have capacity for 100 million vaccine doses per…
