WEHI announces $66m VC fund to support medical innovation
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The news: Australian medical research institute Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) has announced a $66 million strategic investment fund called 66ten to drive biomedical innovation over the next decade.
The numbers: 66ten plans to invest the funds over 10 years, making it the largest internal pre-seed and seed fund created by an Australian medical research institute. The fund has already invested in several medical innovation projects.
The context: The fund, managed by WEHI Ventures, aims to bridge the gap between scientific discoveries and commercial viability.
66ten is designed to provide sustained support to ideas developed at or in collaboration with WEHI, maximising the potential of the fund's proprietary commercial project portfolio.
The fund is structured into different investment streams to support projects at various development stages, from initial ideation to more advanced projects.
One of the early projects receiving significant investment targets is Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) — a rare neurodevelopmental disorder affecting an estimated one-in-10,000 to one-in-30,000 people worldwide.
What they said: Dr Anne-Laure Puaux, CEO at WEHI Ventures, said: "66ten was established to transform groundbreaking discoveries into innovative commercial programs that can deliver outcomes for patients and financial returns to investors".
Professor Ken Smith, WEHI director, added: "This inaugural WEHI fund was born with the vision to support the ultimate goal of our scientists: to translate innovative research into the treatments, diagnostics and devices needed to help transform patient outcomes."
The source: WEHI media release
