50 Million euro investment for LUMC spin-off RougeTx advances therapies for inherited bleeding disorders.
Denmark’s King Fredrik X and Queen Mary toured reNEW Melbourne’s state-of-the-art stem cell medicine labs, based at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), on March 18. These have produced breakthrough discoveries into childhood heart disease, pioneering research stems from a partnership between reNEW and MCRI.
Insights into stem cell-derived heart models
The Danish royals were welcomed by MCRI Director, Professor Kathryn North AC, reNEW CEO and MCRI Chief Scientist, Professor Melissa Little and MCRI Chairman, Patrick Houlihan. The royal couple then toured the Stafford Fox Stem Cell Laboratories and had the opportunity to meet Professor Enzo Porrello, the node director of reNEW Melbourne, who described his team’s ongoing research.
“My team makes stem cell-derived heart models in the lab to screen for drugs that could treat congenital heart defects,” Porrello told the royal couple.
“They have also created a heart patch, engineered human cardiac tissue grown from stem cells, which in pre-clinical trials has successfully restored function to the failing heart.”
Spotlight on Danish-Australian innovation & research collaboration
Porrello also explained how reNEW’s newly launched spin-out company Ibnova Therapeutics, will accelerate the above-mentioned cellular therapy. Based in Denmark, Ibnova Therapeutics is backed by the BioInnovation Institute (BII) Venture Lab program and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Cellerator, initiatives designed to allow researchers to transform their scientific breakthroughs into viable therapies.
“MCRI was proud to welcome the Danish royal family and to showcase the strong ties between the two counties. Almost 100 reNEW researchers have engaged in exchanges between Melbourne and Copenhagen, enabling the sharing of expertise, training emerging leaders and accelerating joint discoveries,” Little said.
“This partnership aims to enable treatments for currently incurable disease to be fast-tracked from the lab into clinical practice.”
Royal visit coincided with MCRI’s 40th anniversary
The visit coincided with the 40th anniversary of MCRI, Australia’s largest child health research institute and one of the top three globally for research quality and impact. Located in the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct, MCRI has over 1,800 researchers working across more than 150 childhood diseases, from allergies and asthma to cancer and genetic disorders.
