Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio

Currus Biologics announces FDA IND clearance for Phase 1 trial of CUR-001 in mesothelin-positive advanced refractory solid tumours

Australian biotech Currus Biologics has won US regulator clearance to begin human testing of its lead cancer therapy, CUR-001; the company's backers include Brandon Capital, Main Sequence and Uniseed.

Denteric Pty Ltd – Vaccine for P. gingivalis-associated dementia

Profile of Denteric, a biotech developing GPV381, an injectable therapy targeting gum bacteria implicated in Alzheimer's disease; the team is seeking backers to fund its first study in patients.

Building the First New Therapeutic Approach to Periodontitis in Decades

Brandon Capital's blog interviews Denteric's operating chief about its gingipain-targeting therapy for periodontitis, trial progress, and its origins in University of Melbourne oral health research.

Kraken Coding: from hospital pharmacy to health-tech founder on a mission to help clinicians make faster, safer decisions

Interview with John Shanks, a former hospital pharmacist who founded Kraken Coding to turn clinical guidelines into digital decision-support pathways, now live in Australian health services and Canadian hospitals.

Denteric Commences a Phase I Safety Study in Patients with Early Alzheimer’s Disease

Denteric has begun recruiting early Alzheimer's patients for a Phase I trial of its gingipain-targeting therapy GPV381, with funding from the CUREator+ Dementia program and the Medical Research Future Fund.

Currus Biologics: a tale of perseverance, persistence and patience

Profile of a Peter Mac spinout advancing solid-tumour cell therapies; recounts its Series A backers, later investment, grant support, and chief executive Sam Cobb's earlier career building and listing AdAlta.

OncoRes Medical today announced it has closed an AUD $27M private funding round (‘the Funding round’) to progress clinical development and regulatory milestones for its Quantitative Micro-Elastography (QME) Imaging System, Elora™.

Perth-based OncoRes Medical has secured $27 million from Brandon Capital's BB6 Fund, Morgans, Radar Ventures and others to advance its Elora breast-surgery imaging device through an Australian clinical trial toward FDA approval.

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PolyActiva Chief Strategy Officer Vanessa Waddell on Raising, Rejection, and the Road Ahead

Profile of PolyActiva's strategy chief recalling how the eye-implant developer won its $40m Series C, including its pitch to the National Reconstruction Fund, and its Phase 3 ambitions.

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Science: The World's Shared Language That Carried One Founder Across Continents

Profile tracing Sara Prickett's path from UK labs to co-founding Aravax, the peanut-allergy biotech Brandon Capital backed, as its Phase II trial nears readout in mid-2026.

ENA Respiratory Attracts US$22.4m (AU$34m) to Fund Phase II Clinical Studies of INNA-051 Nasal Spray Designed to Protect Against Symptomatic Viral Respiratory Infections

Australian clinical-stage pharma company ENA Respiratory closed a Series B to advance its nasal antiviral spray into Phase II trials, backed by Brandon Capital, Uniseed, Stoic Venture Capital, the Gates Foundation and Flu Lab.

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Mirugen secures A$4.5M to pioneer cell (re)programming, and welcomes Charlotte Casebourne Stock as executive chair

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Peter Beattie AC appointed Brandon BioCatalyst Chair

Brandon BioCatalyst has named Peter Beattie its chair as Bill Ferris retires, with Andrew Nash joining the board and Ross King becoming deputy; manager Brandon Capital's newly raised $439 million fund was noted.

PolyActiva Secures $40M in Series C Financing to Advance Innovation in Sustained Ocular Drug Delivery

Australian biotech PolyActiva has raised A$40 million in Series C funding to advance its PA5108 ocular implant and PREZIA platform, backed by the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation and Brandon Capital.

Also Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·polyactiva.com·Startup Daily·ophthalmologybreakingnews.com·Forbes Australia

Grit, strategy, and adaptability: the sportsmanship of biotech investing

A profile of Brandon Capital partner Chris Smith, tracing his path from immunology research and a Cambridge postdoc into biotech investing, with resilience lessons drawn from equestrian sport and companies Aravax and ENA Respiratory.

Through a different lens: How Kath Giles and OncoRes Are Reinventing Breast Cancer Surgery

Profile of OncoRes Medical CEO Katharine Giles, tracing her path from surgeon to venture investor and her leadership of the Western Australian medtech firm developing a handheld device for precise breast cancer surgery.

ENA Respiratory: The Difference Between Chance and Discovery? Knowing What to Do Next.

A profile of ENA Respiratory traces its INNA-051 immune-boosting nasal spray from an accidental lab finding to Phase 2 trials, noting AUD 49 million in funding, a US Defence contract and Flu Lab investment.

Meet Proxima Bio: Australia's next-generation biotech startup aiming to clean up cancer-causing proteins.

Profile of Australian biotech startup Proxima Bio, covering its founding, an early MRFF grant through the CUREator program, Brandon Capital's guidance, and a later larger investment that grew the team.

Vaxxas Completes Enrollment for Largest Clinical Trial of High-Density Microarray Patch (HD-MAP) For Vaccine Delivery

Vaxxas has finished enrolling 258 volunteers in its Phase I trial of a needle-free HD-MAP avian flu vaccine, funded by a US BARDA contract, with early findings due mid-2025.

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ENA Respiratory Receives US$5m Investment from Flu Lab to Support Clinical Development of Novel Intranasal Antiviral Host Defence Immune Enhancer, INNA-051

Melbourne pharmaceutical company ENA Respiratory has received US$5 million from California's Flu Lab to advance clinical testing of its nasal immune-boosting antiviral candidate INNA-051.

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Vaxxas Named Stage Winner of United States’ BARDA Prize to Advance Microarray Patches for Vaccination

Vaxxas has won the concept stage of BARDA's Patch Forward Prize, earning US$2 million (A$3.2 million) to progress its microarray patch vaccine platform alongside the University of Queensland's BASE facility.

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Certa Therapeutics Expands GPR68 Platform through Acquisition of OccuRx

Certa Therapeutics, a Melbourne biotech, has acquired OccuRx, uniting two GPR68-focused fibrosis companies founded by Professor Darren Kelly and consolidating clinical-stage candidates; a Series B raise is planned.

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Pathios Therapeutics Announces Dosing of First Patient in Phase 1/2 Clinical Study of GPR65 Inhibitor, PTT-4256 in Patients with Advanced Solid Cancers

Pathios Therapeutics has begun treating patients in an Australian Phase 1/2 trial of its GPR65 inhibitor PTT-4256 for advanced solid tumours. Backers to date include Canaan, Brandon Capital and Bristol Myers Squibb.

PolyActiva Showcases Promising Clinical Data Highlighting its Polymer Technology's Potential to Transform Glaucoma Care

PolyActiva reported Phase 2 results showing its PA5108 ocular implant lowered eye pressure safely in glaucoma patients, with a phase 2b trial planned, after presentations at two ophthalmology conferences.

Aravax Completes Recruitment into Phase 2 Study of PVX108, a novel immunotherapy for the Treatment of Peanut Allergy

Aravax has finished enrolling 95 young patients in its Phase 2 peanut-allergy immunotherapy trial across US and Australian sites, with results expected in the first half of 2026.

Brandon BioCatalyst’s CUREator Incubator Boosts Preclinical and Health Security Biotech Innovations with $1.865m in funding.

Brandon BioCatalyst's CUREator incubator has granted an extra $1.865m across four Australian biotechs working on antibiotic prescribing, schizophrenia, muscular dystrophy and autoimmune therapies, on top of their initial awards.

ENA Respiratory Announces Extension of U.S. Department of Defense Funding for Novel Prophylactic Antiviral

Melbourne's ENA Respiratory has won a further US$3.18 million US Defense Department contract to widen its INNA-051 Phase Ib trial to younger adults, extending the US$8.18 million the agency had already committed.

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Respirion offers hope for people living with cystic fibrosis

A Telethon Kids offshoot, Respirion Pharmaceuticals, is trialling its antibiotic-booster therapy RSP-1502 in the US and Australia, with backing from Brandon Capital and an American cystic fibrosis foundation.

Funding Australia's Future Economy: CUREator Deploys $7.21 Million to Propel local Life Sciences Potential

CUREator, Brandon BioCatalyst's grant program, is rolling out $7.21 million of Medical Research Future Fund money to eight local biotechs, with clinical-stage awards and preclinical top-ups itemised.

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ENA Respiratory Announces FDA IND Clearance for its Prophylactic Intranasal INNA-051 – a First-in-Class Antiviral Innate Immunomodulator

A Melbourne clinical-stage company has won United States regulator clearance to progress a Phase 1b trial of its nasal antiviral powder, with a local study expected to begin in mid-2024.

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Aravax closes Series B round with US$42m to accelerate Phase 2 development for peanut allergy therapy

Biotech Aravax has completed its Series B at US$42.2 million, adding five investors to the syndicate alongside Brandon Capital and Tenmile to advance its peanut allergy therapy into Phase 2.

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Vaxxas Announces and Publishes Successful Phase I Clinical Trial for Measles and Rubella Vaccine Delivered Using its Proprietary High-Density Microarray Skin Patch; Plan for Phase I/II Trial in The Gambia, Africa

Vaxxas reports positive Phase I results for its needle-free skin-patch delivery of a measles-rubella vaccine, with Gates Foundation grant funding and a planned PATH-sponsored Phase I/II trial in The Gambia.

Certa Therapeutics presents positive data from a Phase 2 clinical study highlighting the potential benefit of FT011 as a novel treatment for scleroderma

Australian biotech Certa Therapeutics reports Phase 2 scleroderma trial results for FT011 at a US rheumatology meeting, showing efficacy and safety, with a pivotal study planned.

Cicada Innovations to launch new health-focused hub in Westmead Health Precinct alongside Brandon BioCatalyst

Deep tech incubator Cicada Innovations is opening a health-focused facility at Sydney's Westmead precinct with Investment NSW backing, working with Brandon Capital and Brandon BioCatalyst to help early medical startups commercialise.

State Government Backs OncoRes Medical with Funding to Manufacture Digital Cancer ImagingDevice in WA

Western Australia's government has granted OncoRes Medical $3 million via its Investment Attraction Fund to localise manufacture of its breast cancer imaging device, lifting the Perth company's lifetime funding to $22 million.

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Vaxxas Appoints Dr. Rochelle Chaiken as Chief Medical Officer

Vaxxas has appointed 23-year Pfizer veteran Dr Rochelle Chaiken as chief medical officer; the announcement also recaps the vaccine-patch company's early backing by OneVentures, Brandon Capital and others.

EBR Systems meets endpoints early in pivotal SOLVE-CRT trial: paves way for FDA approval application and commercialisation

EBR Systems' wireless cardiac pacing system hit its trial endpoints early, supporting a planned FDA application; the piece recalls its 2021 ASX listing and backers' AU$30m-plus contribution.

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Healthcare Veteran, Zach Henderson to lead Global Kinetics as CEO

Global Kinetics, a Melbourne-based digital health company focused on neurology, has appointed industry veteran Zach Henderson, formerly of Glooko, as chief executive, while also adding BioScience Managers' David Atkins to its board.

Nasal Spray Significantly Accelerates Respiratory Virus Clearance in Phase 2a Clinical Study

Drug developer ENA Respiratory reports positive Phase 2a results for its INNA-051 nasal immunomodulator against influenza, with its Series A backed by Brandon Capital managed funds, the Minderoo Foundation and Uniseed.

Vaxxas initiates Phase I study for needle-free seasonal influenza vaccine delivered using High-Density Microarray Patch (HD-MAP)

Vaxxas has begun an Australian Phase I trial of its needle-free influenza vaccine patch. The article also recalls the company's founding equity financing led by OneVentures with Brandon Capital Partners and other co-investors.

Coming in from the cold: needle-free patch technology for mRNA vaccines aims to end need for frozen storage and improve access

Vaxxas signs a partnership with CEPI, which commits up to USD4.3 million for preclinical testing of its needle-free patch for mRNA vaccines; the piece also recounts Vaxxas's founding financing led by OneVentures.

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ENA Respiratory Awarded $4.38 Million U.S. Department of Defense Agreement to Fund Development of Broad-Spectrum Antiviral INNA-051

ENA Respiratory receives a USD 4.38 million U.S. Department of Defense agreement to develop an intranasal dry powder antiviral; its past Series A backers are also recalled.

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Billionaires Andrew and Nicola Forrest take aim at peanut allergy

Biotech Aravax has received a US$20 million Series B commitment from Brandon Capital and Tenmile to advance its peanut allergy therapy PVX108 into Phase 2 trials.

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Aravax commences Phase 2 development for peanut allergy therapy with $20m commitment to Series B round from Brandon Capital and Tenmile

Aravax has begun its Series B with a US$20 million investment from Brandon Capital and Tenmile, money that will take its peanut allergy immunotherapy PVX108 into Phase 2 testing.

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Vaxxas Raises US$23 million (A$34 million) to Clinically Advance Needle-Free Vaccines, Including a Next-Generation COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate

Vaxxas completed a US$23 million (A$34 million) financing led by OneVentures and UniQuest to advance its needle-free vaccine clinical programs, including a COVID-19 candidate, with board members, management and individual investors also participating.

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QUE Oncology's non-hormonal therapy reduces hot flushes and night sweats in women with breast cancer, published in The Lancet

QUE Oncology reports its non-hormonal drug Q-122 eased hot flushes in breast cancer patients on endocrine therapy, with Phase II results in The Lancet; the Emory–UniQuest venture is backed by Brandon BioCatalyst and Uniseed.

Vaxxas Announces Initiation of Phase I Clinical Study of First Needle-Free COVID-19 Vaccine Delivered Using High-Density Microarray Patch (HD-MAP)

Vaxxas has begun an Australian Phase I trial of its needle-free COVID-19 vaccine patch, built on a University of Texas at Austin candidate; the article also recalls the company's early financings led by OneVentures.

First Aussies to get needle-free COVID-19 vaccine patch

Brisbane biotech Vaxxas has begun human testing of its microneedle patch for COVID-19 vaccination and plans a phase two study; the venture-backed company has raised over $66 million.

First in-human use of OncoRes Medical's cancer imaging technology successful

OncoRes Medical reports positive results from the initial surgical-trial use of its QME imaging device for breast surgery, published in Cancer Research; the Perth company's April $9.5m raise and $3m government grant are recalled.

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Azura Ophthalmics Announces Formation of Scientific Advisory Board (SAB)

Eye-drug developer Azura Ophthalmics, working from Melbourne and Tel Aviv, has assembled a seven-member scientific advisory board of ophthalmology specialists to guide clinical development of its lead candidate AZR-MD-001.

Glyscend Therapeutics Releases New Phase 1 Biomarker Results and Initiates Phase 2 Clinical Trial under an IND for GLY-200 as a Potential First-in-Class Type 2 Diabetes Treatment

Glyscend reports encouraging Phase 1 biomarker data for its diabetes drug GLY-200, announces US FDA clearance of its investigational new drug application, and has begun enrolling patients in a Phase 2 trial.

$16m cash injection to progress first-in-class therapy for inflammation and fibrosis

Australian biotech OccuRx announced a 16 million dollar package co-led by Brandon BioCatalyst and Uniseed, including a CUREator grant, to advance its kidney disease therapy into clinical trials, and appointed two executives.

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Azura Ophthalmics Secures Grant to Evaluate AZR-MD-001 for Improved Vision Quality Related to Contact Lens Discomfort

Azura Ophthalmics announced a CUREator grant, managed by Brandon BioCatalyst, funding a study of its lead treatment for contact lens discomfort, building on prior work with UNSW researchers.

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Australia’s first national biotech incubator announces round one funding to support life science breakthroughs

Brandon BioCatalyst's CUREator incubator names its first-round awardees, distributing government-backed funding across 23 Australian life science companies working on treatments from schizophrenia to diabetes, with round two applications now open.

CUREator, the national biotechnology incubator, backs 23 start ups

Biotech incubator CUREator has awarded its first grants, totalling $17.4 million, to 23 early-stage medical startups including Phrenix and RAGE Biotech, aiming to ready them for commercial investment.

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Amaroq Therapeutics hits early milestones and makes key appointments to Scientific Advisory Board

New Zealand biotech Amaroq Therapeutics reported early progress toward clinical trials and appointed four leading scientists to its scientific advisory board, strengthening its lncRNA cancer therapy programme.

Australian medical device company secures additional $12.5m to advance its breast cancer imaging system towards clinical trials

Perth medtech OncoRes Medical announced $12.5 million: a $9.5 million Series A2 co-led by Brandon Capital and Australian Unity, plus a $3 million government grant, and hired a new R&D vice president.

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Glyscend Therapeutics Announces Completion of Phase 1 Clinical Trial of its Oral, Gut-restricted, Polymer Therapeutic, GLY-200, as a Potential Type 2 Diabetes Treatment

Biotech Glyscend reports its Phase 1 trial of GLY-200 for type 2 diabetes completed safely, and appoints Mark Fineman as Chief Development Officer ahead of a planned US regulatory filing and Phase 2 work.

ENA Respiratory Selected for BLUE KNIGHT™ to Accelerate Development of Pan-Antiviral Nasal Spray

Antiviral nasal spray developer ENA Respiratory has joined the Blue Knight program run by JLABS and BARDA, the first Australian company selected; background notes recall its Series A backing by Brandon Capital, Minderoo Foundation and Uniseed.

Aravax appoints Dr Brett Haumann to Board of Directors

Australian collaboration and AU$10m investment fuels Ankere Therapeutics’ efforts to target inflammatory lung conditions

Biotech startup Ankere Therapeutics launches with a $10 million seed round co-led by IP Group and Brandon Capital to develop inflammatory lung disease therapies, building on research from Monash and UniSA scientists.

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