Cervical cancer vaccine success story

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide and kills 270,000 women each year. Research conducted at the Diamantina Institute by Professor Ian Frazer and Dr Jian Zhou forms the basis of the new cervical cancer vaccines, Merck’s Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix, which protect women against about 70% of these HPV-related cervical cancers. Gardasil is now approved in over 110 countries with annual sales exceeding $1.5 billion in 2007. To date, more than 40 million doses of the cervical cancer vaccine have been administered.

Professor Ian Frazer administering the first dose of the cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil.

The Diamantina Institute has a strong history of commercialising early-stage technologies and successfully translating these to the clinic. Our Manager of Innovation and Commercial Development works closely with the Institute's researchers and our partners to facilitate academic and commercial relationships and help transition Diamantina’s research discoveries from the bench to the clinic.

Commercial activities undertaken at the Diamantina Institute include:

Intellectual property management
The Diamantina Institute has an extensive patent portfolio which is continually reviewed. A number of these patents have been licensed to commercial partners (e.g. HPV vaccine technology licensed to CSL and Merck) or form the basis of start-up companies (Dendright Pty Limited, Coridon Pty Limited).

Collaborations and partnerships
We have a number of active collaborations and partnerships with both industry and academia. Our commercial activities include the negotiation and management of these relationships through MTAs, CDAs, research agreements, license agreements, consulting agreements and other commercial contracts.

Funding and Investment 
The Institute's research is supported through a variety of commercial sources including industry-funded research contracts, commercial grants, and investment into the Diamantina Institute's start-up companies. We are actively involved in identifying various sources of commercial funding and packaging our technology for investment. The Diamantina Institute has two start-up companies, Coridon and Dendright.

All commercialisation activities undertaken at the Diamantina Institute are supported by UniQuest Pty Limited, providing access to a full range of commercialisation expertise and resources. UniQuest is recognised as one of Australia’s largest and most highly regarded technology commercialisation companies with significant experience in developing early stage University research and taking these to the market.

Opportunities for industry

The Diamantina Institute has a reputation for excellence in research, which when combined with world-class facilities presents many opportunities for collaborative research with industry partners. The Diamantina Institute is able to assist industry and tailor arrangements to meet your specific requirements in the following areas:

• Consulting;
• Partnering;
• Contract research;
• Licensing; or
• Investment in start-up companies.

Current technology

We are actively seeking licensees and investors to assist in the development of a range of Diamantina technologies.

Coridon: DNA immunotherapies for the treatment and prevention of viral infections and cancer;
Dendright: Dendritic cell immunotherapies for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other immune diseases;
Diagnostic for inflammatory arthritis: Markers for ankylosing spondylitis demonstrating improved diagnostic outcomes.

For more information

Please contact our Manager of Innovation and Commercial Development, Dr Lisa Bidwell on 07 3240 2926 or email l.bidwell"at"uq.edu.au.