Three experienced venture capital fund managers have been selected to help turn biomedical discoveries into high growth potential companies which will benefit Australian patients.

Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Greg Hunt and Minister for Health and Aged Care, Sussan Ley, today launched the Fund at CSIRO in Canberra.

The three managers announced today will support Australia’s world class biomedical talent to create new drugs, devices, and therapies and improve patient lives.

The selected fund managers – Brandon Capital Partners, OneVentures Management and BioScience Managers – will manage $250 million in government capital to be matched by more than $250 million from the private sector.

“The Biomedical Translation Fund (BTF) is ultimately about improving the lives of thousands of Australians through better healthcare, creating jobs and growing both new and established businesses,” Minister Hunt said.

“The BTF will stimulate both the health and medical research sector and the broader economy – creating more jobs and better health outcomes.”

Minister Ley said: “This is a ‘smart money’ investment that leverages the talent of our home-grown innovators to deliver real health benefits to everyday Australians.

“The BTF will help upskill early-stage medical research here in Australia and create more jobs.

“Australia’s biomedical talent is world class and this investment capital will help to bring new drugs, devices, and therapies to market where they can improve the lives of patients.”

Australians are capable innovators, but all too often great biomedical ideas and discoveries are lost overseas because of a lack of local funding for the costly process to test and commercialise them.

“The investments made by BTF funds into biomedical start-ups will help the businesses mature into internationally competitive companies solving unmet health needs and create new markets for healthcare,” Minister Hunt said.

Under the BTF, Brandon Capital Partners has been licensed to manage $115 million in Commonwealth capital and $115 million in private capital.

OneVentures is a licensed fund manager with combined Commonwealth and private capital commitments totalling $170 million.

BioScience Managers is a licensed fund manager with combined Commonwealth and private capital of at least $100 million.

Further information on the BTF is available on the Government's Business website.