Australia’s flagship deep tech incubator Cicada Innovations has been awarded a $7.8 million grant to enable health and medtech startups to transform world-leading research into lifesaving innovations, which will be housed in the Westmead Health and Innovation District.
The incubator will be the first health-focused incubator sponsored by the NSW government, bridging the gap between research and commercialisation and assisting in bringing life-changing research with real-world patient results to market sooner.
Katie Knight, CEO of Investment NSW, stated that the new Westmead Biomedical Incubator will create jobs and improve medical care around the world.
“With more than 20 years’ experience, Cicada Innovations was the best choice to lead this effort,” Knight said.
She stressed that with the proper incentives, NSW companies can bring real-world patient outcomes to market faster, which benefits everyone in NSW.
“Specialists in medical technology including cell and gene therapy, cancer research, infectious diseases, immunology, and vaccines will all benefit from working within this inclusive ecosystem in the heart of the Westmead Health precinct,” Knight explained.
Meanwhile, Sally-Ann Williams, CEO of Cicada Innovations, stated that the new incubator will provide early-stage incubation, capacity-building programs, and connections to institutional finance, mentoring, expertise, and support.
“New South Wales, and in particular Western Sydney, has all the elements of a world leading innovation precinct already in place. We are incredibly proud and grateful to extend our expertise and knowledge to startups seeking to improve global health,” Williams said.
She added, “We have nurtured deep tech startups for the past two decades, including successfully delivering NSW Health’s largest Commercialisation Training Proram for the past nine years to over 2,500 researchers and innovators.”
For more information about the Westmead Health and Innovation District, you may visit this link.
