MedChem Australia
A new initiative to help translate Australia’s biomedical research excellence into new medicines
UniQuest is pleased to host MedChem Australia’s upcoming information session on Thursday, 23 November at 11am in the QBP Auditorium (Building 80).
MedChem Australia, along with UniQuest’s QEDDI, provide national capability and bandwidth to progress small molecule drug discovery projects.
Through a collaboration-based model, MedChem Australia will provide expert medicinal chemistry and DMPK capability plus drug discovery mentorship at subsidised cost to enhance, accelerate and enable the development of new small molecule therapeutics. Projects to receive subsidised support will be selected through a competitive and independent application process. Projects should be innovative, address an unmet medical need and contain existing chemistry.
MedChem Australia will open the first round of applications soon, with researchers from Australian universities, medical research institutes and small companies able to apply.
Professor Sue Charman and Professor Paul Stupple will present an information session about MedChem Australia and announce the first call for project applications from across Australia.
Please join us in person to learn more about the initiative and application process. QEDDI team members with drug discovery expertise will be on hand to assist in developing UQ applications for MedChem Australia support.
MedChem Australia Information Session
Thursday, 23 November 2023
11am - 12pm
Queensland Bioscience Precinct Auditorium (Building 80)
Speakers
Professor Susan Charman
Susan is Director of the Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation (CDCO) at Monash University and leads the DMPK capability for MedChem Australia. She greater than 25 years’ experience in biopharmaceutical drug candidate optimisation, working with multidisciplinary drug discovery teams and providing data to guide compound design and progression. The CDCO provides expertise and infrastructure in physicochemical properties, drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination (ADME) characteristics and in vivo drug absorption and disposition. Her research group has contributed to drug discovery programs that have progressed more than 42 new drug candidates to human clinical trials in a range of disease areas.
Professor Paul Stupple
Paul is a medicinal chemist with more than 20 years of experience in the global pharmaceutical industry and academia. He is Head of the MedChem Australia Monash node and leads the Australian Translational Medicinal Chemistry Facility at MIPS. He has an outstanding track record of advancing projects to clinical development through progression of effective design strategies, development of exceptional teams and an enthusiastic approach to building strong multidisciplinary relationships.
About MedChem Australia
MedChem Australia’s mission is to work with the Australian biomedical research and biotech community to develop new medicines through creativity and collaboration.
MedChem Australia connects three of the nation’s top medicinal chemistry groups from Monash University, WEHI and the University of Sydney, each with a track record of success in commercially focused drug discovery. Projects will be allocated to one of these three MedChem Australia Nodes where MedChem Australia scientists will help plan the chemistry strategy for the project, design compounds, make compounds, generate in vitro & in vivo DMPK data, and drive the project forward.
MedChem Australia was established with $15 million in funding from the Federal Government’s Medical Research Future Fund, Therapeutic Innovation Australia and the three nodes, with an initial runway of 5 years.
Inquiries
Researchers from the University of Queensland wishing to apply are invited to contact: