Our research translated: Discoveries with real-world impact

Monash’s commitment to being a world-leading education provider in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences extends well beyond the classroom or even the research laboratory.

The Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is making a real difference when it comes to translating and commercialising discoveries so that they have real-world impact.

Making a difference

“Traditionally, in the health sciences, a gap has existed between academic research and real-world application,” says Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor Arthur Christopoulos FAA FAHMS.

“One factor that separates Monash is our commitment to overcoming this gap by actively engaging in the translation of our academic discoveries into practical solutions that make a tangible difference in society.”

“But we can’t do that alone, which is why partnership and collaboration are at the heart of our approach,” he says. “We also need to structure ourselves in a way that provides the right environment and resources to allow our research to take the path to practical application.”

MIPS' commitment to translation

L-R: Professor Chris Porter and Professor Arthur Christopoulos, FAA FAHMS.

The main vehicle through which the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences translates its research discoveries into real-world impact is the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS). Established in 2008, MIPS employs more than 280 scientists who are actively involved in researching drug discovery, design, delivery and use.

MIPS Director, Professor Chris Porter, says that the institute was established in part to provide better drivers of “non-traditional endpoints” for academic research.

“Too often in the past, great ideas and great research stayed in academia,” he explains. “However, there is an increasing understanding that the powerful discoveries our researchers make can, and where possible should, be translated into practical, useful endpoints that not only deliver better health outcomes but also generate jobs and new companies and help grow the Australian economy.”

Chris says that this shifting understanding of the role that academia should play has been driven by both government policy and societal expectations.

“There is a growing expectation - and I agree completely - that universities should contribute not only to knowledge generation but also to the economy and the public good,” he explains.

Increased investment and focus

L-R: Gaby Bright and Dr Katie Leach.

Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Manager, Research and Graduate Research, Gaby Bright, notes that - in line with this - there is a growing pool of capital available globally for drug discovery.

"Increasingly, there is funding for the translation of research to take it beyond fundamental scientific discoveries into real-world applications,” she says.

“In some ways, it’s hard to know whether this is being driven by the growth in the number of discoveries or the increase in translation funding. However, the broader societal view is that research needs to be more than just research in and of itself."

“Knowledge generation will always remain a part of a successful university's DNA, but the translation of that knowledge into tangible impact should also be part of the research agenda,” Gaby explains.

“That said, Australia is newer to the field of academic drug discovery and translation than many other countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, where this way of thinking has been entrenched for some time,” she says.

Another real driver of commercialisation has been the COVID-19 pandemic, which rammed home the importance of drug discovery and brought it into the mainstream public consciousness in an unprecedented way.

“The pandemic showed how we could really accelerate things if we collaborated,” Gaby says. “It also showcased how committed the medical research community across the world is to solving problems.”

“It revealed that governments and institutions can respond when we need solutions quickly.”

Meanwhile, Arthur says that, post-COVID, it became clear to many that Australia needed to take sovereign medicine development and related manufacturing processes seriously.

“This period has underscored the importance of having an end-to-end local ecosystem that can link up different precincts and resources for developing medicines and medical technologies to drive clinical trials and attract more venture capital," he explains.

How to translate a discovery

Despite a growing willingness to invest in drug discovery, the main challenge is that it requires exceptionally deep pockets.

In fact, one study estimated the global median capitalised research and development investment to bring a new drug to market was US$985.3 million (A$1,514.2 million). Meanwhile, the mean investment was estimated at US$1,335.9 million (A$2,050 million).

“Clearly, you can’t afford to do this alone, and not many local companies have the kinds of resources needed to invest to the end of the drug discovery pipeline,” says Dr Katie Leach, Senior Business Development Associate.

“That means you need to be able to attract global investment, not just local investment. So you need to be doing research and translation work that stands out internationally to investors.”

“Collaboration is key in our journey of drug discovery and development," Chris says.

"It's simplistic to assume that any university can embark on this complex journey alone. Partnerships are vital at every stage, especially during the discovery phase, where a blend of expertise from biologists, chemists, and pharmaceutical scientists is crucial.”

“Although we have significant in-house capabilities, our most impactful projects usually involve working with external groups."

The pathways to commercialisation

Chris notes that there are two broad ways MIPS can translate discoveries in a commercial sense.

“The first is to ‘spin out’ a company and build it here in Australia,” he says. “The second would be to take the idea and licence it to an external organisation, be that in Australia or overseas.”

He believes that choosing which pathway to take is also key to the commercial viability of any discovery program and that getting it right requires experience and knowledge. That’s why MIPS has gone about systematically building a framework to support scientists in making the right decisions about their research.

This includes having a Business Development Unit (BDU) that focuses on pre-commercial drug development and building interactions with commercial groups. The BDU is also complemented by a commercialisation panel, which provides advice to MIPS scientists on how to go about translating their discoveries.

“Many people that sit on that panel are external, with deep experience on how to develop drugs and take them to market,” Chris explains. “They advise our academics who are trying to get new discoveries off the ground. This is an invaluable source of information.”

“After all, before you have any hope of attracting investment, you need to get your discovery a certain way down the development pipeline. Usually, this means de-risking it to the point where a venture capital (VC) firm will think it's worth funding or a company thinks it’s worth licensing.”

A culture of entrepreneurship

Chris believes that even the most well-thought-out plans are only effective if the organisational culture also supports them. Here, he says the nature and temperament of the staff within the Institute matter more than anything.

“There is this fallacy that people are either basic scientists or applied or translation-focussed people,” he says. “I’ve found the truth is that the best scientists - the ones making the breakthrough discoveries are also often the best at translation and commercialisation.”

“We’ve also found that once scientists see their colleagues having success down this path, and they can see startups happening and licence deals being done, then they see what’s possible, and it encourages them to go down the same path.”

“This also has the effect of creating a pool of people with experience, that other scientists can speak to about how to get it done.”

“That’s the kind of culture we are trying to promote within MIPS.”

Translation only as good as the discoveries behind it

Chris argues, however, that Monash’s growing emphasis on commercialisation and translation is not coming at the expense of fundamental research. In fact, it is sharpening the focus of research and leading to even better work.

“Not for one minute do we stop thinking that traditional discovery research is important,” he explains. “It’s key and underpins everything we do. Without making world-class fundamental discoveries, we simply have nothing to translate,” he says.

Monash is not sitting still when it comes to the future of translation and commercialisation. It has recently spearheaded a new national body aimed specifically at translating drug research into proven treatments.

MedChem Australia, which is headquartered at MIPS and is a collaboration with WEHI and the University of Sydney, will guide early-stage projects through the process of identifying drug candidates with potential commercial value.

Arthur says: “The MedChem Australia initiative is pivotal for pushing the development of early discoveries to a point where they are commercially viable.”

“It represents the prospect of translating Australian innovation into new companies, jobs, and patient benefits."

Another project that is being undertaken is to expand MIPS through the University’s recent acquisition of the former CSIRO building in Parkville. The new acquisition, which is discussed in detail here, will enable MIPS to expand its activities in neuroscience, medicinal chemistry and drug candidate optimisation, and in particular will co-locate research platforms aimed at research translation.

Related stories