Australasian Biotechnology (backfiles) AusBiotech ISSN: 1036-7128 Vol. 11, Num. 4, 2001, pp. 3-4

Australasian Biotechnology, Vol. 11, No. 5, 2001, pp. 3-4

Tony Coulepis, Executive Director

Code Number: au01048

Since my last report to Members in the May/June edition of the Journal, AusBiotech has been "on the move" preparing for, and commencing from 1/7/01, the implementation of the organisations 3-year Business Plan entitled Growing Australian Biotechnology.

The key projects undertaken by AusBiotech in July/August included:

BIO2001 and CHIF/ABA

AusBiotech participated in the key international and national biotechnology conferences, namely BIO2001 in San Diego and CHIF / ABA in Sydney, as outlined by Peter Riddles in his President's Report. Also, there are articles about these activities elsewhere in this Journal by Keith Maxted, General Manager of Invest Australia (ie the BIO2001 Report) and Anne Howard from Howard Partners (ie the CHIF/ABA Report).

Taxation Environment

In July, AusBiotech commenced a consultative process to explore the taxation environment in which the biotechnology industry is operating with the aim of developing a series of suggestions and recommendations which have the ability to "make a difference" and foster the growth of the industry. A series of "working group" discussions were held in Victoria, NSW, SA, Qld, WA and the ACT. The inputs from these working group discussions are being developed and will be discussed with biotechnology stakeholders, including Government, prior to submission to all political parties, as the view from industry about what will stimulate the growth of the industry.

Centre(s) of Excellence

A series of consultative gatherings were initiated to discuss the Federal Government's Centre(s) of Excellence program in order to stimulate dialogue, awareness and collaborative to ensure the most appropriate use of the $46 million which has been allocated to this initiative. Round table discussions were held in Victoria, NSW, SA, Qld and WA.

Biotechnology Directory/Database

AusBiotech initiated a process for investigating the creation of a peak, dynamic and interactive Biotechnology Directory/Database, as a "one-stop-shop" for biotechnology information in Australia. The new service would be owned, managed and maintained by AusBiotech for the benefit of Members and biotechnology stakeholders.

Celera Genetics Database

A joint activity was commenced, in partnership with Biotechnology Australia, to explore the feasibility of an Australian consortium to cost effectively access the Celera Genetics Database for commercial purposes.

National Steering Committee

AusBiotech continued to participate in the National Steering Committee, chaired by Peter Riddles, to coordinate national biotechnology activities, such as Australia's involvement in the BIO meetings.

This committee comprises of representatives from State and Federal Governments, as well as national authorities such as Biotechnology Australia, Invest Australia and AusTrade. The Committee was initially formed to coordinate a "national approach" to BIO2001 in San Diego and it now continues with the coordination of BIO2002 in Toronto, Canada as well as overseeing other national activities such as the BioTechnica and BioPartnering Meetings in Germany and the UK respectively in October 2001.

AusBiotech's Membership Base and Branch Structures

AusBiotech has initiated an active program to strengthen its Membership Base and Branch Structures. To this end, a number of functions were organised around Australia, as outlined throughout my Report. These functions were very well attended and I would like to thank Members for their support (sometimes at very short notice!!!) and I look forward to your continued participation in these activities. If any Member is interested in becoming involved in the various Branch activities, please contact the AusBiotech office.

In relation to the Membership Base and Membership Renewals, the AusBiotech Directors and I are delighted with the record list of new Members appearing elsewhere in this Journal and the corresponding increase of new Corporate Members. In addition, it is terrific to see the active response to the Membership renewal process which was commenced on 1 July, 2001. The AusBiotech Membership is now progressing towards 800 which reflects the growth of our industry and the enthusiasm of stakeholders to be involved and informed, which are key elements of AusBiotech's Business Plan. Therefore, I welcome our new Members and thank our existing Members for their continued support.

The Biotechnology 2001 Report

AusBiotech hosted a series of biotechnology awareness activities to disseminate information concerning the Ernst Young /Freehills Biotechnology 2001 Report with initial functions held in Victoria, NSW, and WA.

Career Nights

A series of Biotechnology "Career Nights" was initiated with the first function being held in Victoria. This was a successful activity with over 120 people attending. Further activities will be held in other States as career information, and the fostering of careers in biotechnology, is very important for our industry and an integral part of the AusBiotech Business Plan.

A New Home for AusBiotech

In parallel to the above activities, AusBiotech relocated its operating premises from Gardenvale to Burnley over the weekend of 21st and 22nd of July. The contact details of AusBiotech's new home are elsewhere in this edition of the Journal together with a picture of AusBiotech staff (ie. Margaret Dorevitch, Anne Greig and Shirley Walker) in the middle of the relocation process (see page 23). As with any move, there was some significant "pain" and "teething problems". Therefore I would like to take the opportunity to thank AusBiotech Members for their patience and understanding during this period of time. Hopefully, we should have responded to all outstanding communications and correspondence. However, if we have overlooked anything, please call the AusBiotech office.

I would like to take the opportunity for a special mention of thanks for the AusBiotech staff, namely, Margaret, Anne and Shirley, for their tremendous effort to pack, move, settle in and still maintain services to AusBiotech Members. The AusBiotech Staff have made a significant personal and professional contribution to assisting the organisation over its rapid growth phase over the past several months.

I would also like to thank our new landlord, AMRAD Corporation, and the AMRAD staff for their assistance with our relocation, and also to our colleagues at Blake Dawson Waldron for their guidance concerning the "paperwork" matters.

Finally, I would like to thank my colleague Tami Wong, who many of you would have either spoken to or interacted with since 1 January, 2001 when I took on the role of the founding Executive Director of the then ABA. Tami worked with me in my previous position and agreed to assist me with what was initially a 3-month assignment to prepare and develop the 3-year Business Plan.

However, as the organisation rapidly grew, Tami remained beyond the Business Plan project to assist us with several other projects including the BioAsia Pacific Meeting, the AusBiotech General Meeting in May, the BIO2001 Meeting and many of the initial AusBiotech functions.

AusBiotech is now in the process of moving forward to employ staff, as per the 3-year Business Plan, in order to deliver the planned benefits to AusBiotech Members.

As I hope Members can appreciate from the above list of activities, the last few months have been extremely hectic and busy. However, we are now moving into the "consolidation and delivery" phase of AusBiotech's development.

There is still much to do ranging from the revamping of AusBiotech's website, the organisation of AusBiotech's flagship "industry" meeting between 18 - 21 August, 2002, the development and articulation of policies which underpin the AusBiotech's 3-year Business Plan as well as the delivery of activities and benefits to Members.

I therefore look forward to working closely with Members, Branches and Biotechnology Stakeholders to resource and implement the AusBiotech Business Plan in order to foster the growth of the Australian biotechnology industry.

Copyright 2001 - AusBiotech