UniQuest congratulates Nanopatch™ vaccine technology developer Vaxxas Pty Ltd and its investors on winning the prestigious 2012 ‘Best Venture Capital Investment’ prize in the Vaccine Industry Excellence (ViE) Awards at the World Vaccine Congress in Washington DC, USA, announced on 11 April.
The ViE Awards honour the efforts, accomplishments, and positive contributions of companies and individuals in the vaccine industry.
Vaxxas and its investment syndicate, led by One Ventures, with co-investors Healthcare Ventures, Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF) and Brandon Capital Partners, scored 40 percent of the votes from the international vaccine community as well as the judging panel’s ultimate endorsement.
UniQuest Managing Director, David Henderson, said the award added to an impressive list of achievements for the emerging University of Queensland vaccine development start-up company.
“We congratulate the Vaxxas team on such a high-profile acknowledgement from the global vaccine industry,” Mr Henderson said.
“Vaxxas was only launched last August, following the A$15 million investment from a syndicate of Australian and international venture capital funds. The investment was one of Australia’s largest first-round start-up investments, the first investment for OneVentures, Brandon Capital and the MRCF in Queensland, and the first investment for Healthcare Ventures in Australia.”
UniQuest supported the Nanopatch™ technology’s commercialisation with patent protection and marketing, leading to negotiations with the investment syndicate.
“Recognition at this stage along a project’s commercialisation pathway highlights the value Australian university-based innovations are contributing to global health care,” Mr Henderson said.
The criteria met by the Vaxxas nomination to win the award included the innovative and unique aspects of the deal structure; the calibre of the parties involved and their respective responsibilities; the size of the investee’s target market(s); the potential to address strongly an unmet clinical need; and the impact the investors have made on the ability to advance clinical and economic objectives.
Links for more info:
https://www.uniquest.com.au/news/big-deal-nano-biotech-company
https://www.uniquest.com.au/news/university-research-scoops-innovation-awards
https://www.uniquest.com.au/portfolio/vaxxas-pty-ltd-nanopatch
http://vimeo.com/channels/uqnewstv#27522315
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyTl-KIhi8Y
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3576755.htm
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