A new Griffith University spin-out company called Flo Axiom has been established to develop innovative technology to make medicines for cancer treatments, vaccines, and immune therapies easier and more affordable to produce.
Based on research led by Professor Bernd Rehm and Dr Stefanie Buchholz from Griffith’s Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics, and with investment from biotech company creator Proto Axiom, the spin-out will focus on improving one of the most important steps in how these medicines are made.
Many modern medicines, known as biologics, are produced by living cells, however, once they are made, they must be carefully separated from everything else in the cell before they can be safely used in patients.
Professor Rehm said: “This step is both complex and expensive as specialised materials are used that act like a fishing net, catching the medicine we want while letting everything else wash away.”
“We’re developing new materials which can do this faster and more efficiently, which could help lower the cost of producing these medicines.”
Biological medicines were used to treat a wide range of serious and chronic conditions.
Dr Stefanie Buchholz said the work being done by Flo Axiom would have potential positive implications for many diseases such as breast cancer, lymphoma, rheumatoid arthritis, COVID-19 and multiple sclerosis.
“If we reduce manufacturing costs and speed up production, it means more people can access these life-saving treatments when they need them,” she said.
“It also opens the door to developing and manufacturing new medicines, especially for rare diseases where high costs often make it more difficult to invest.”
CEO of Flo Axiom and Operating Partner at Proto Axiom Anthony Haddad said: “At Proto Axiom, we focus on identifying research with clear commercial application and building companies around it.”
“Flo Axiom reflects that model, with a clear pathway to more efficient and scalable manufacturing operations that can be developed and deployed from Australia.”
Inventing, developing and commercialising new biomedical technologies is the core mission of the Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics to improve the health of communities globally.
Professor Rehm’s research team received $540,000 in funding from the Australian Research Council and $500,000 from the Australian Economic Accelerator program to conduct critical research and development activities enabling formation of the spin-out company, Flo Axiom.
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Bernd Rehm
Stefanie Buchholz
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