Lumina, within the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct - artist impression
As we prepare to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and look to the 2032 Olympic & Paralympic Games in Southeast Queensland, a crucial decade of investment in Queensland’s key innovation places is set to deliver a jobs and economic bonanza, focused on retraining and upskilling for the high-productivity jobs of the future and nurturing a flourishing start-up culture.
Our Precinct has been identified, alongside Brisbane’s two major innovation hubs, as a key driver of up to 80,000 new jobs and $11 billion in economic value-add to the Queensland economy per year by the end of the decade.
The release of a discussion paper to guide strategy development is perfectly timed as we finalise our own 5-year Precinct strategic plan, and as the Federal Government focuses on post-COVID recovery through industry transformation, driven by Modern Manufacturing and Sovereign Supply Chain funding initiatives.
Recovery stimulus, based on long-term return-on-investment (ROI) through transformational innovation, will accelerate the Gold Coast’s already strong population, diversification and business growth momentum, and together with the impetus towards the Olympics, will provide a powerful combination for success.
Our foundation, as of 2019, was already strong – almost 15,000 people employed within the Precinct, supporting a total of 21,000 jobs across the Gold Coast and contributing $3.6 billion in economic value-add to the Queensland economy.
Anecdotally, the pandemic has been an impetus for additional growth in the Precinct. Crucially, the jobs are in the high-value health and knowledge sectors, enhancing economic productivity.
This is evidenced by the recent attraction of international and interstate companies in medical and digital technologies and in recent partnerships such as that between Gilmour Space Technologies and Griffith University that will be crucial to developing our skilled workforce.
Company representatives with Griffith University Vice-Chancellor Prof Carolyn Evans and the Precinct Office team at the recent media announcement
Our Precinct looks forward to playing its critical part in a bright economic future for the city, state and nation, driven by innovation that matters.
Professor Mario Pinto, Director, Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct
Queensland Innovation Places Strategy
Queensland Premier, Hon Annastacia Palaszczuk, was joined by Minister for Tourism Industry Development and Innovation and Minister for Sport, Hon Stirling Hinchliffe, in announcing bold predictions for the state’s ROI in innovation, based on a comprehensive study by the University of Queensland.
The UQ research found the jobs and economic dividend could result from ‘simply boosting the growth of the states three most significant innovation precincts to global benchmark standards.’
The Premier said Queensland had established a successful history of investing in innovation and developing game-changing technologies and scientific breakthroughs, beginning with the Smart State initiative of former Premier Peter Beattie.
“The latest UQ study highlights a very bright future indeed for our innovation precincts, hubs and clusters and the exciting growth they will generate.
“New jobs in this sector will be vital as we transition from a short-term economic and health response to a long-term focus on productivity and competitiveness,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
Innovation Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said innovation was the key to rebuilding Queensland for the future faster than the other states and territories.
“Innovation works best when industry and researchers work together to bring new ideas and applications to life and to market,” the Minister said.
In just the past six years, Advance Queensland has invested $755 million, backing more than 7500 innovation projects.
The pivotal Smart State initiative positioned Queensland at the turn of the 21st century to develop a solid biomedical sector, with Griffith University’s Institute of Glycomics a strong case in point. It has grown from a handful of staff to an institute of 250 research scientists, research students and commercialisation experts, as it celebrates its 21st birthday.
Some of the Glycomics team members
The discussion paper sets out a vision for ‘a highly connected, engaged and collaborative system of innovation places’ with a focus on economic strengths and assets, including people. It recommends targetting specialisation with coordination, and better translation and commercialisation of high-quality research.
“Queensland’s priority sectors and technologies, based on our traditional strengths and emerging opportunities, provide significant future economic opportunity and a potential focus for our innovation places. While a focus has been on building specialisation and critical mass within our innovation places, this could be better coordinated,” the discussion paper reads. It also highlights the need to create a strong external innovation brand that attracts investors to Queensland.
Feedback is invited by 5pm, Friday, 26 November 2021 via:
A federal focus on economic recovery and transformation
Precinct representatives attended the Reimagine Gold Coast 2.0 event with members of the Southport Chamber of Commerce
Hosted by Member for Moncrief, Angie Bell MP, and her City Heart Taskforce, the event drew key business representatives from across the Gold Coast with a focus on COVID-19 recovery driven by an innovation and transformation agenda. Minister for Home Affairs, Hon Karen Andrews, MP for McPherson and Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business Hon Stuart Robert, MP for Fadden also spoke, representing the full contingent of the city’s Federal representation.
Gilmour Space CEO Adam Gilmour talked up the future of spacetech
A highlight was a presentation by Gilmour Space CEO Adam Gilmour, who shared his vision for an Australian Space Manufacturing Network, including what he pitched would be the world’s third-largest spacetech facility, sited in the Gold Coast/Brisbane area, creating more than 850 local jobs in the next five years. It is envisioned as a hub for collaboration between more than 30 space industry companies across Australia to boost the nation’s share of the $700 billion global space industry. He also spoke of the close collaboration with Griffith University to skill a new generation of high-tech workers for the industry.
Ministers Andrew and Robert and Angie Bell MP (centre) address the media at the event
Presentations by Ministers Stuart Robert and Karen Andrews highlighted the impact of border closures on skilled workforce numbers and the imperative to address this through retraining and via immigration initiatives, once international borders re-open.
Industry 4.0 technologies and future Industry 5.0 transformation were also in focus, with Regional Development Australia (RDA) Gold Coast CEO Estella Rodighiero speaking about local opportunities and highlighting the need for growth in Australia’s digital supply chain, along with the significant opportunity presented by a burgeoning clinical trials sector.
Mayor Tom Tate, with Griffith Vice-Chancellor Prof Carolyn Evans and researchers views the BiVACOR artificial heart
A US-based company behind the world’ first rotary artificial heart (BiVACOR), and another developing a novel surgical laser technology in Silicon Valley (Precise Light Surgical), have been joined by a Netherlands blockchain technology company (TYMLEZ) to base operations in the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct (GCHKP).
Investment attraction incentives endorsed by City of Gold Coast, together with strong research collaboration opportunities at Griffith University and the opportunity to link with the Precinct’s clinicians, helped attract the companies to join a growing cluster of medical, health and digital technology businesses.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate joined Griffith University Vice-Chancellor Professor Carolyn Evans to welcome the companies into the Precinct, touring the university’s world-class mechanobiology lab to view the BiVACOR artificial heart being tested for optimum blood-flow, before visiting Cohort Innovation Space, where two of the businesses will be based.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate with a 3D printed anotomical wrist model and biodegradable artificial implant
Mayor Tate, who also viewed Griffith-developed artificial wrist technology being tested on a specialised orthopaedic robot, says the GCHKP provides the perfect place for innovative companies to scale-up and grow knowledge-based jobs for the city.
“These companies are in the growth industries of the future and will build the ecosystem of innovation that is developing in the Precinct alongside Griffith University and the hospitals,” Mayor Tate says.
“Our incentives are aimed at supporting their early growth phases so that they can expand highly-skilled jobs here and undertake collaborative research locally to commercialise these exciting new technologies.”
BiVACOR, founded in Brisbane by biomedical engineer and CEO Daniel Timms and headquartered in Houston Texas, has based its international office and software, electronic hardware, and blood compatibility R&D in the Precinct as it continues collaboration with Griffith University’s world-class Mechanobiology Research Laboratory, and prepares its durable total artificial heart for use in the first patients.
Precise Light Surgical (PLS) will base its CEO, Australian R&D and commercial team in the Precinct and plans to roll-out Australian manufacture of its patented Optical Scalpel (O-Pel™) system that precisely removes selected tissue while sparing surrounding anatomy such as nerves and blood vessels. PLS has approval in Australia, the US, and Europe for more than 80 different surgical indications, across eight specialties.
ASX-listed TYMLEZ, founded in the Netherlands and also operating in Germany, offers enterprise-grade blockchain solutions with a focus on supporting clean energy sustainability, along with other opportunities to develop healthcare products that rely on secure, trackable and traceable data transfer.
Griffith University Vice-Chancellor Prof Carolyn Evans tests the BiVACOR artificial heart
Griffith University Vice Chancellor Professor Carolyn Evans, who joined Mayor Tate on the visit to the university’s mechanobiology lab , said industry co-location was critical to taking research out of the lab and providing jobs for graduates.
“There is an increasing focus on linking university research with industry for commercial outcomes and social impact,” Professor Evans said.
“Working with these co-located companies, our researchers will be able to directly contribute to translating improved healthcare and initiatives for a sustainable future, while our students will have access to internship and training opportunities, and our graduates will have great local job opportunities.”
BiVACOR CEO Daniel Timms
BiVACOR CEO Daniel Timms said the company, which has recently raised a further $22milion to develop its device as a viable alternative to transplantation for end-stage heart failure, was confident in the opportunity on the Gold Coast for successful research translation, and a smooth pathway to bringing the technology to the first Australian patients, as part of a consortium of universities and hospitals.
“After coming back from the US where we work very closely with the world-renowned Texas Heart Institute, to see the expansion of this area was really attractive for us to bring our technology back to work with a world-leading laboratory at Griffith, which didn’t exist when we started almost 20 years ago,” Mr Timms said.
“Central to our device is one spinning disk that pumps the blood, and we use magnetic levitation technology so that it is suspended in the blood and there is no mechanical wear, which has been the limitation of artificial hearts to date, with pulsing sacs that will eventually wear out and break.
We’re going to be able to have a situation where the heart device is unlikely to fail, and the patient is able to rely on their implanted artificial heart to pump the blood they need for the rest of their life.”
Prof Carolyn Evans with Precise Light Surgical CEO Richard Nash and Mayor Tate
Precise Light Surgical CEO Richard Nash, an experienced medical technology executive with more than 10 years in management with industry giant Medtronic, said support from City of Gold Coast added to the attractiveness of the Medtech ecosystem in Southeast Queensland as an Asia Pacific base, working alongside their global headquarters in Silicon Valley.
“The Gold Coast has much more to offer than just lifestyle. We see it as the icing on the cake,” Mr Nash says.
“The GCHKP offers a unique opportunity for medical device companies, in having major hospitals and a reputable university. Combined with all resources within Southeast Queensland, the region provides everything required to establish and commercially scale a technology company.
There is significant opportunity for future market validation clinical trials, with an initial company focus on robotic urology procedures in Australia. PLS has also entered discussions with Gold Coast Health and Gold Coast Private Hospital about undertaking local real-world Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) clinical registries.
In 5 years, we hope to have built a successful international HQ on the Gold Coast, with local APAC manufacture and significant employment.”
TYMLEZ CEO Daniel O’Holloran speaks to media at the announcement
TYMLEZ CEO Daniel O’Halloran, said local connections and support, together with its growing Australian investment base, were key factors in the decision to shift the Rotterdam-based company’s global headquarters down-under, where they can combine their European expertise with local talent.
“Our software is designed to create enterprise-grade solutions that can build and manage blockchain-based ecosystems as quickly and as cost-effectively as possible, replacing traditional databases with decentralised records that can’t be disputed,” Mr O’Halloran said.
We are focusing our product development on disruptive applications to enhance sustainable green energy through smart buildings and smart cities, while also enabling exploration of major healthcare opportunities for our platform software.”
The three new companies join Belgian-based global 3D printing pioneer Materialise, who located key Australian staff onto the Griffith campus in 2018 to work alongside experts at the university’s Advanced Design and Prototyping Technologies facility and grow opportunities for medical additive manufacturing.
Kyle Shapland from Materialise with Griffith Researchers and the 3D printed artifical wrist model and implant being tested on an orthopaedic robot
The Health and Knowledge Precinct, with Griffith University on the Gold Coast is the place we chose to be, and we believe that for medical device companies in Australia and globally it is the place to be for the future
Kyle Shapland, Materialise Australia Business Manager
Left - BiVACOR artifical heart, Top - PLS Optical Scalpel, Bottom middle - Materialise 3D printed heart models, Bottom Right - Griffith 3D printed artificial wrist and implant
The COVID-19 pandemic has also seen increasing interstate interest in the GCHKP, with Melbourne-based artificial intelligence (AI) company Silverpond recently locating a Queensland team to service its energy and utilities clients, and to collaborate with an emerging cluster of AI in healthcare businesses, led by local data-driven technology company Datarwe, which has developed an acute care medical research data platform.
PLS is setting up an office and lab space at Griffith University, while BiVACOR and Tymlez are based at the Cohort Innovation hub, within the Queensland Government’s Lumina commercial cluster in the Precinct.
As COVID-19 accelerates the digital health revolution, the inaugural LuminaX health tech accelerator program, delivered by Cohort Innovation Space to support 15 ambitious founders with 10 start-up businesses, could not have been better timed to ride a wave of health and tech sector interest and growing consumer demand.
Running an intensive in-person program over 14 weeks during a pandemic, was no mean feat in itself!
Patients and hard-working healthcare workers were front and centre, as the 10 LuminaX teams made their passionate pitches to solve health problems and potentially save lives during an upbeat demo-day event, with hearing impaired founder Elliot Miller taking out top prize for his gamified auditory training program that has the potential to assist 430 million hearing-impaired people worldwide.
Drawing on his own experience after receiving a Cochlear hearing implant, Elliot realised that this amazing device and Australian innovation success, was just the start of his hearing journey – he needed to train his brain to adapt to an auditory world, and existing training programs were simply inadequate. Hearoes was born.
“Receiving the implant was like being given a car, but without ever having driven a car before, let alone having a driver’s license,” Elliot told the audience.
With a Bachelor’s degree in Games Design and the support of clinicians, Elliot has brought a fellow designer onboard and their initial gamified and modular product has already attracted 1,000 active consumer users in a month, while almost 50 clinical users have also signed on. Queensland Health has supported the proof-of-concept, purchasing 25 program licenses for $92,000, ahead of a $500,000 seed funding round.
Elliot Miller, Founder, Hearoes
Health and economic costs from hearing loss are estimated at $41b per annum in Australia alone and the program is proving to be a universal solution that cuts across languages and can help people with different types of hearing loss. The two-pronged (B2C and B2B) business model targets both end-users and the healthcare industry, with a combined annual revenue forecast of $101m by 2026.
“We’re already building a world where people with hearing loss can achieve their full potential,” Elliott enthused.
CoSpaces CEO Ben Howe
Cohort and CoSpaces CEO Ben Howe said the accelerator’s success was built on the wealth of expertise they were able to bring together from across the Precinct to assist the start-ups with 400 hours of coaching, with the 30 mentors representing the brightest industry and clinical minds, including eight clinicians from Gold Coast Health.
Health is a hard industry in which to innovate, so it is has been great to see teams who are not only motivated to solve big problems and build great businesses, but who genuinely care about helping others in need.
From an acute care medical research data program, to an online platform preparing children to cope with medical procedures, programs to enhance medical and healthcare training, and an online health and wellness program for those with disabilities, the solutions developed by the ten teams have already attracted almost $1m in funding and seen 8 new jobs added across the group during the accelerator period.
Taylor Hobbs founder of Comfort Quest took out the LuminaX AI Prize for his platform that aims to take the anxiety out of medical procedures and hospital admissions and which has already attracted partnerships with the Queensland Children’s Hospital and the Meg Foundation.
Queensland Minister for the Environment, Great Barrier Reef, Science and Youth Affairs, Meaghan Scanlon MP, with the female founding team members
The other participants were:
Able Digital Wellness – an online community and digital wellness platform designed to improve the lives and health of those living with a disability.
Beyond the Clinic – A two-sided marketplace that empowers patients to take their health into their own hands, whilst providing doctors with data to analyse patient outcomes.
Datarwe – An acute care medical research data platform, enabling medical researchers to develop next-generation artificial intelligence clinical diagnostic tools and technologies.
Edify Medical – A new digital ecosystem designed to break down the barriers of language, cost, and access to information that creates healthcare inequality across the globe.
Virtual Psychologist – A psychology and counselling business that delivers text-based mental health services by qualified professional staff through a global IT platform.
Bundle of Rays – Immersive learning tools such as VR and AR to deliver education and training within the health care space.
Oncana – An integrated digital health and wellness experience that bridges the gap between treatment and care for people living with and beyond cancer.
Fwards – A digital platform that provides clinical nurses the tools to connect, reflect and grow together, aiming to improve burnout and turnover within the nursing sector
LuminaX was delivered in partnership with the Queensland AI Hub and IntelliHQ and with the support of the Queensland and Australian governments. Applications for the next program will open in January 2022.
As we prepare to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and look to the 2032 Olympic & Paralympic Games in Southeast Queensland, a crucial decade of investment in Queensland’s key innovation places is set to deliver a jobs and economic bonanza, focused on retraining and upskilling for the high-productivity jobs of the future and nurturing a flourishing start-up culture.
