CUREator+

About CUREator+

CUREator+ is a partnership between Brandon BioCatalyst, managed by Brandon Capital, Australia’s leading biomedtech investment firm; and ANDHealth, Australia’s leading digital health organisation. Selected by the Federal Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) through a competitive process, CUREator+ will deliver the $50 million 2021 MRFF BioMedTech Incubator (BMTI) program to medical research and medical innovation projects with commercial potential.

Brandon BioCatalyst in partnership with ANDHealth will deliver the incubator program to startup companies with commercial potential. CUREator+ will provide successful startup companies with access to between $1-5m in non-dilutive funding, delivered in tranches upon the meeting of commercial milestones.

Australia has seen some of its biggest declines in key innovation measures and in a recent World Competitiveness Yearbook study by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Australia ranked 3rd last of 64 countries in entrepreneurship.

The CUREator+ program's innovative incubator design aims to reverse this decline by unlocking the untapped potential of companies through enhanced translation and commercialisation capability building.

CUREator+ will run two funding rounds during the five-year program. The first funding round opened in August 2023 and is now closed. The second funding round will launch mid-2024.
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Benefits to Applicants

CUREator+ provides non-dilutive grant funding to projects. The funding supports commercially orientated projects, through tranched funding dispersed upon the successful completion of key pre-agreed project milestones.

CUREator+ successful applicants will benefit from support of the CUREator+ team alongside the broader Brandon BioCatalyst and ANDHealth Teams. CUREator+ will provide successful applicants with hands-on support and access to their global network of experts. In addition, SMEs can expect to benefit from connections to pharmaceutical companies, local and international venture capital firms and institutional investors. Through these networks, CUREator+ will assist projects and companies seeking follow-on funding. SMEs may apply for Brandon BioCatalyst for investment, and this is on an equity investment basis.

Who Can Apply

Funding is available to support preclinical, clinical and/or commercial development of therapeutics (novel or repurposed), diagnostics, medical devices, and digital health technologies, which includes any intervention that prevents, monitors, manages, diagnoses or treats a disease state, its symptoms or risk factors.
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• Drugs includes all therapeutic modalities (small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, gene and cell therapies, RNA drugs, antibody-drug conjugates, biologics, targeted protein degraders, nanobodies, theranostics and emerging modalities).
• Medical devices includes physical forms of instruments, implements, bionics, machines, contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent or similar related article or component part.
• Digital health includes technologies that use computing platforms, connectivity, software and sensors, either alone or in combination with physical products.

Projects applying for CUREator+ funding must demonstrate a product/technology, which has demonstrated Proof of Concept/Proof of Principle. Projects should focus on conducting critical path activities towards achieving preclinical, clinical and/or commercial evidence to significantly improve the project’s ability to commercialise, raise growth capital and/or execute on a market entry or growth strategy.

Please see eligibility below.
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How to Apply

• Read the instructions and information outlined in the CUREator+ webpage, grant platform and guidelines.
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• Attend our CUREator+ information session.

• After confirming your eligibility and attending the information session, book a 30-minute meeting with the CUREator+ team to discuss your application.

• Prepare an application that addresses the eligibility and selection criteria and includes all requisite attachments via the online application portal.
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• Submit your completed application with all accompanying attachments via the online application portal by 5:00 pm AEDT on 6 October 2023. Late applications will not be considered.

• Any Australian small to medium size enterprise (SME) defined as an Australian based for-profit company with less than 200 employees, or life science researcher(s) at an Australian university or research institute is eligible to apply for CUREator+ funding.

• Applicants must acknowledge that the project will need to be incorporated as a for-profit Australian registered business prior to award (Q2 2024) to receive funding.

• The company or research team owns or has an exclusive right to Intellectual Property Rights relevant to the project proposal (exclusive rights to background intellectual property).

• Applicants must provide a letter of support from the Board (established company) or business development manager/tech transfer office for researcher applicants at Australian-based institutes and universities (New Company) where applicable.

• Be willing to provide a duly executed Commitment Deed Poll with the Commonwealth on execution of the CUREator+ grant.
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• Be willing to adhere to the grant requirements regarding the Commonwealth’s Commercialisation terms and conditions. Details of the Commonwealth’s Commitment Deed Poll and Commercialisation Terms will be shared with shortlisted applicants at the Full Application stage

All applications commence with an Expressions of Interest (EOI) application.

The application platform contains supporting information to guide your submission. Late applications will not be considered.Applications for CUREator+ funding follow a three-stage process:
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1. Expression of Interest (EOI): Interested parties with eligible projects submit an online EOI to CUREator+ for review by the CUREator+ Investment Review Committee. EOIs should articulate the opportunity (research, its significance to human health/disease), the problem/target market, the competitive advantage, technology and stage of development, intellectual property position and/or opportunity, business case, and proposed plan and budget.

2. Full Application: Shortlisted applicants will be requested to prepare a full application and presentation that will be reviewed by the CUREator+ Investment Review Committee and the International Advisory Committee. Applicants will need to provide a full outline of the project specifics, address Investment Review Committee feedback and present their pitch either in person or virtually. The full application will expand on the information provided in the EOI to provide a full outline of the project. Details and template documents will be provided to the shortlisted applicants.

3. Due Diligence: If shortlisted for funding from the full application assessment stage, the CUREator+ team will work with the company/research institute/university to complete corporate due diligence, IP review, project planning, timing, budgets and milestones.

Applicants that successfully complete due diligence will be endorsed for funding. Successful applicants will be required to execute the grant agreement prior to the awarding of funds.
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Consideration will be given to:
• Uniqueness – the program will select novel, outstanding, maturing projects that address a significant unmet need and are competitively differentiated from existing standards of care and emerging products.
• Extent to which the product/solution delivers value through improved diagnosis, prevention, treatment, mitigation and/or management of chronic and acute conditions for the benefit of the patient.
• Clinical and commercial differentiation, IP position, market opportunity, maturity and development stage with the aim that CUREator+ funding will progress the opportunity to a clear de-risking value inflection point.
• Innovative science – what does the science/evidence-based data behind the project enable?
• Highly differentiated – how is this approach distinguished from existing solutions?
• Clear achievable project plan – a credible plan towards generating clinical and commercial outcomes including partnerships, commercial licensing, revenue, as appropriate.
• Strong team – diverse team with ability to deliver on the project.

How many funding rounds will CUREator+ run?

CUREator+ will run two funding rounds for Stage 1 during the five-year program.
The first funding round will open in August 2023.
The second funding round will launch mid-2024.

Is this research funding, a commercial grant or will CUREator+ take equity?

CUREator+ provides commercial grant funding (equity free) to projects. This funding is best considered as non-dilutive capital rather than a research grant. This means successful projects will receive tranche funding, aligned with developmental and/or commercial milestones, that will be defined and agreed together with CUREator+ as part of the due diligence process. CUREator+ retain no legal rights, liens, or rights of refusal over any participating SMEs technology. SMEs accepted into CUREator+ will need to demonstrate that all background IP and project IP flows to the participant company.

Successful applicants will need to meet specific conditions and terms with the Commonwealth, including providing a duly executed Commitment Deed Poll with the Commonwealth on execution of the grant agreement. Details of the Commonwealth’s Commitment Deed Poll and Commercialisation Terms will be shared with shortlisted applicants at the Full Application stage.

Do you fund clinical trials?

CUREator+ will fund clinical and commercial studies where desired endpoints are considered to be highly relevant to the successful commercialisation of a company’s technology.

Can funding be used to cover the costs associated with IP protection, patent lodgement etc?

If the IP strategy is part of your approved project activities, then some IP related costs can be covered. For example, if the company was seeking IP advice from firms and IP professionals with experience in supporting innovation specific to your technology, then this may be supported. The program will not fund any direct costs of patent/trademark/copyright etc registration fees and licenses, which are deemed ineligible expenditures within the MRFF funding guidelines.

What kinds of organisations can receive CUREator+ funding and how is this defined for eligibility?

The EOI and Full Application process is open to any Australian SME, or researcher at an Australian university or research institute intending to incorporate a for-profit Australian registered business prior to award (Q2 2024).
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Successful applicants may be a private or public, listed or unlisted (Pty Ltd. or Ltd.) Australian SME. An Australian SME is defined as a business that employs less than 200 people, is based in Australia and is a registered Australian corporate entity (i.e., registered with ASIC).

Unfortunately, not-for-profit organisations (NFPs), university TTO’s/IP holding companies, companies registered outside Australia, Australian companies with 200 or more employees and other Australian business entities and structures are not eligible to receive CUREator+ funding. These criteria reflect the requirements of the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) grant that CUREator+ operates.

Can I submit more than one application?

Only one application may be submitted by the same business entity. However, universities, research institutes or other publicly funded research organisations (PFROs) may submit applications on behalf of multiple projects within their organisation. Where universities, research institutes or other PFROs are coordinating proposals on behalf of multiple projects, the project (and ABN/ACN) must be clearly identified and distinguishable for each application.

Can I re-apply, or submit an application if I have previously submitted a proposal to CUREator or ANDHealth+ that was not successful?

We encourage previous applicants whether successful or unsuccessful recipients of CUREator, ANDHealth+ or other funding schemes to apply for CUREator+. Applicants should submit applications for biomedical technologies demonstrating significant unmet need with clear commercial potential. Applicants are requested to describe any feedback they have previously received and how the proposal addresses the feedback. You do not need to have applied to these programs previously to be considered for funding through CUREator+.

We already have MRFF funding, can we still apply?

Yes, however, you cannot ‘double dip’ on activities already funded under an MRFF agreement or any other funding for that matter. Companies must ensure clear delineation of how CUREator+ funding will be utilised outside of ‘business-as-usual’ activities and existing or future committed funding.

What happens if my project has grant funding, equity investment, or matching capital from other sources?

Matching capital (and in-kind support) will be well regarded as part of application review. Applicants should ensure that it is clear what the CUREator+ funding will be used to achieve and how this is measurably distinct from use of any other funding or support from other sources. Applicants will be required to delineate how funds will be utilised outside “business-as-usual” activities and applicants must ensure they have sufficient runway and resources to fully deliver the program.

How confidential/independent is the proposal review process?

All application information is treated commercial in confidence. All members of selection and advisory panels and committees operate under confidentiality agreements. If confidential information is provided, please preface this with [Confidential]. It is not expected that you will disclose confidential information in the application to submit a successful EOI application. However, it is imperative that you can share enough technical information to demonstrate differentiation and novelty in the EOI, but it may not be necessary to disclose confidential information in order to do so.

Applications will be reviewed by the CUREator+ Investment Review Committee (IRC), consisting of independent members, a nationally representative sub-committee of the Brandon BioCatalyst IRC, and representatives from the ANDHealth network. During the full application process, the applications will be review by the committee described in the EOI process and will be assessed by an International Advisory Committee (IAC).

Can I get any feedback on submitting an EOI application or on my submitted EOI application?

Unsuccessful EOI applications will be advised as soon as possible during the review process. However, owing to the volume of applications we receive, applicants are not expected to receive further feedback at the EOI stage.

Can I talk to someone about the program and my application?

Yes, we encourage prospective applicants to book a 30-minute meeting with the CUREator+ team to discuss their opportunity.

To arrange a meeting to discuss any opportunities related to drugs, devices and diagnostics or general enquiries, please contact the CUREator team at: info@cureator.com.au

To discuss any opportunity related to digital health, connected devices or software-enabled medical devices or general enquiries, register for a 30-minute meeting with the ANDHealth team here.

What will the full application form entail?

The full application will expand on the information provided in the EOI to provide a full outline of the project. Details and template documents will be provided via the application platform upon the opening of the full application period.

My application is stuck/lost in the system. What should I do?

Although we strive to offer a great application experience, sometimes these things happen. Please get in touch by emailing the CUREator+ team at info@cureator.com.au with specific details of the issue you are facing.

Contact CUREator+ Team: ANDHealth
Contact CUREator+ Team: Brandon BioCatalyst

CUREator+

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