GATHER three experts in medical research, nuclear medicine and food/bio science together and there are bound to be innovative discussions.

Prof. Warwick Anderson, NHMRC CEO.

That is precisely what is happening at the next Innovation Series luncheon event on August 21 at the Westin Sydney hotel, when three experts consider the topic Improving Lives through Innovation - delivering a healthy future for Australia.

This far-reaching forward-looking event will not completely escape the embrace of the imminent Federal Election, however, as the recurrent theme of the roll-out of the National Broadband Network (NBN) and its impact on delivering e-health solutions, especially to remote communities, is sure to feature in the discussions.

The view of Professor Warwick Anderson, CEO of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is that innovation and investment in research are vital elements as Australia addresses future health challenges.

Prof. Anderson has vast experience in the R&D field and will offer evidence that health and medical research may have already delivered health and wealth to Australia - but we are going to become even more reliant on new research and its rapid translation "to deliver better quality care, more cost-effective care and sunrise industries".

His topic, How innovation can help Australia develop a sustainable, high quality health care system, is of particular interest in the lead-up to the Federal Election, placing the approaches of all the major political parties in perspective. 

Launching Bayer's 150 year celebration in Australia recently are the German Consul General for NSW, Hans-Dieter Steinbach and Bayer's Jacqueline Applegate. Image: German-Australian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

A global perspective, spanning a century and a half, on the value of innovation in healthcare and related industries is proven by the story of Bayer - an organisation with innovation in its DNA. The organisation was founded by Friedrich Bayer in 1863, in the German village of Wuppertal Barmen.

Bayer Australia and New Zealand senior representative, Dr Jacqueline Applegate will outline Bayer's fascinating history and its ongoing tradition of innovation and scientific R&D in life sciences, including plant, animal and human health. 

Dr Applegate, in her role as managing director for Bayer CropScience, will explain how Bayer continues to accelerate its role as an advocate for innovation in food and health sciences to assist communities globally.

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is one of the world's most prolific and successful developers and providers of medical isotopes - an area at the cutting edge of today's medical diagnosis and treatment capabilities.

Doug Cubbin, ANSTO general manager for International Commercial Partnerships, will outline the latest developments in nuclear medicine and its use in the diagnosis, management, treatment and prevention of serious disease - a fascinating and little-acknowledged area in which ANSTO is a world leader.

The Innovation Series provides a unique forum convening researchers, industry and government to address and discuss leading developments in sustainability, while also encouraging the exchange of ideas and inviting new collaborations.

The Innovation Series, developed by Zernike Australia, is presented in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane three times a year. Partners in the Innovation Series Sydney include the Australian Institute for Commercialisation, Bayer, CSIRO, ANSTO and Shelston IP. Business Acumen has been the media partner of the Innovation Series since its inception in Queensland in 2004.

http://www.innovationseries.com.au/

THE digital revolution is a vehicle for positive change and improvement in many industries - and none moreso than healthcare - but many business leaders are struggling to understand its long term ramifications. That is the emphasis of a special Innovation Series event in Melbourne next Wednesday which features three leaders in the field explaining how digital technologies are already impacting Australia's community and business futures in ways that are not generally understood.

John Sheridan, CEO of Digital Business insights.

The theme, Digital Innovation Enabling Healthcare Solutions, is of particular interest at this time, with healthcare widely cited as being an early beneficiary of the roll-out of the National Broadband Network and other improvements in Australia's connectivity.

Whether the healthcare productivity ‘dividend' that is anticipated from the digital revolution comes about could be more a factor of how the technology is rolled out and accepted by both health care professionals and patients as it is about timeframes and connectivity speeds.

That is a major point Digital Business insights (DBi) CEO John Sheridan will hammer home, tapping into his 12 years of detailed research into the digital revolution - especially his most recent study which maps the digital economy of Melbourne's northern Local Government areas. 

Mr Sheridan paints a compelling picture of what the digital revolutions really is, based on DBi's analysis of more than 50,000 business surveys in Australia. He also points out what it isn't - especially where conventional wisdom and the ‘official' views of the digital revolution vary markedly from what DBi's detailed, long-term research reveals. Mr Sheridan offers surprising insights into what that implies for the future of health care.

At the frontlines of health care, the need for fast, effective, reliable information technology has never been greater. Digital systems are the cornerstone of effective future health care, according to Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS) general manager for Internal Investments, Philip Robinson.

But the digital revolution is doing more than changing methods of health care, it is also changing the relationship between health care frontline staff and their patients - and this is a focus of Mr Robinson's presentation.

RDNS wants to help older Australians to stay in their homes longer, and to reduce hospital admissions via increased use of Telehealth services delivered over high-speed broadband. Mr Robinson will discuss the drivers for increased use of Telehealth and the productivity gains obtained by RDNS as a result of using virtual nursing services via Telehealth.

Mr Robinson has written major submissions for the Digital Regions Initiative (for Stroke Management and Aged Care Assessment), the Broadband Enabled Innovation Program (for Medication Management) and the NBN Telehealth Pilot Program (for Chronic Disease Management).

He has managed a number of strategic projects for RDNS including establishment of an ICT Strategic Plan, Remote Patient Management of Medication Compliance via video-conferencing, establishment of an enterprise Video-Conferencing System and the introduction of smartphone-based mobility solutions for personal care workers.

With economic forecasting predicting that, by 2043, Australia's current model of health service delivery will consume 40 percent of all Australian taxes, and health expenditure by State Governments exceeding their total forecast revenues, the views of CSIRO's specialist in this area, Dr Ian Oppermann, will highlight these ramifications at the Innovation Series event.

Dr Ian Oppermann, CSIRO.

As the director of the CSIRO's Flagship for Digital Productivity, Dr Oppermann is navigating the many digital options that can assist the healthcare sector in combating what he describes as "a changing case mix and an identified productivity gap of around 20 percent".

Digital health information systems and technologies, broadband communications and big data analytics are all areas which Dr Oppermann believes can help provide cost-effective services in Australia's health system, offering better access to the regions, greater efficiency and higher quality health care.

The Innovation Series, now in its ninth year, provides a unique forum convening researchers, industry and government to address and discuss leading developments in sustainability, while also encouraging the exchange of ideas and inviting new collaborations.

The Innovation Series is an initiative of Zernike Australia and is supported nationally by the Australian Institute for Commercialisation and CSIRO, while in Melbourne the sponsors are ANSTO and RMIT university. Business Acumen is the media partner for the Australian Innovation Series.

http://www.innovationseries.com.au/

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THE University of Queensland's technology incubator, ilab, has been given the tick of approval by the Queensland Government, with funding granted for the next two years of operations. The incubator has also secured a new seed funding and private investment fund arrangement to assist some of its start-up companies, in alliance with Artesian Venture Partners and UniQuest.

Opengear is one of ilab's long-term success stories. Co-founders are Tony Merenda and Bob Waldie.

Established by the Queensland Government in 2000 - and now operated by The University of Queensland's main commercialisation company, UniQuest -  ilab assists entrepreneurs and early stage high tech companies through the first few years of development.

Financial challenges brought on by the global financial crisis and a change of State Government have in recent years overshadowed ilab's fine record in providing seed funding, team development and mentoring to offer many Queensland start-up technology companies a greater chance of success.  Ilab has incubated more than 100 start-up companies and helped them to raise over $70 million in grant and investment capital, generating close to 400 technology jobs.

Some of their better-known start-ups include Opengear, QRX Pharma. Liquid Animation. Grabba, Fusion Sport, Microwave and Materials Designs, Charm Health, Cleveland Biosensors and Redlflow.

The State Government funding will go towards continued support of ilab's Germinate programs, building on the success it has achieved over the past two years of its operation.

Germinate has invested almost $300,000 across 19 new enterprises and a further 17 companies have been supported by ilab resources and mentors.

The participants in the Germinate program have included Tiger Temple, an online street style clothing store; Veilability, a venue matching service for the bridal industry; and Fizziofit, which delivers exercise, medicine and fitness technology resources for healthcare professionals.

Ilab program director Leigh Angus said the funding approval was a sign of confidence in ilab and results from the successes that have been achieved by ilab in supporting early stage technology enterprises and their founders.

"We are thrilled at the announcement of the next round of funding which will enable us to continue our work to support entrepreneurs and technology start-ups as they develop and grow their ideas," Ms Angus said.

Further good news for ilab this week was the announcement of a private investment fund to be established in conjunction with Artesian Venture Partners and UniQuest.

UniQuest CEO, Dr Dean Moss said that agreement, reached recently with Artesian Venture Partners, will build a $1.5 million ‘Accelerate Investment Fund' which will invest in a subset of graduates from ilab's Germinate Program.

Mr Moss said, "ilab has been achieving excellent results and we are proud to come together with Artesian Venture Partners to build the Accelerate Investment Fund which will offer private investors a vehicle to invest in a number of the early stage start-up businesses coming through ilab," he said.

Artesian Venture Partners has committed to raising a majority of the $1.5 million fund and will be both investing in the fund itself and inviting private investors to participate.

Jeremy Colless, managing principal of Artesian Venture Partners, said the ilab incubator is already producing start-ups that are attractive to private investors and he is looking forward to the results that the collaboration will bring.

"The program and network access that ilab provides to its program participants accelerates and focuses their business development helping create robust, scalable ventures for angel and other early stage investors," Mr Colless said.

"We are looking forward to working with UniQuest in establishing the investment fund, supporting early stage start up businesses and producing successful commercial outcomes from the burgeoning Queensland tech start-up community."

www.ilab.com.au

www.uniquest.com.au

ILAB

UQ Holdings Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of The University of Queensland (UQ), acquired ilab in 2009. With continued funding from the State Government, ilab has become an independent division of another UQ Holdings subsidiary, UniQuest, with its own funding, staffing and management structure.  ilab is supported by the Queensland Government.

UNIQUEST

UniQuest is the main commercialisation company of The University of Queensland (UQ), specialising in the commercialisation of intellectual property, research outcomes and expertise.  UniQuest delivers commercialisation outcomes which are valuable for UQ and profound for business, the environment, global communities and society as a whole. UniQuest's two business offerings - IP Commercialisation and Expertise Commercialisation - are designed to support UQ's global strategy, industry engagement and reputation for excellence.

UniQuest benchmarks in the top 10 percent globally for university-based technology transfer. UniQuest-licensed UQ innovations are now generating annual sales of $3 billion.  UQ superconductor technology, through licensing arrangements, is used in two-thirds of the world's MRIs and more than 79 million doses of the life-saving Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine, patented by UniQuest in 1991, have been distributed throughout 121 countries, including 72 developing countries.

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