Dr Michael Kassiou – BI deal and MedChemAustralia
Professor Michael Kassiou is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry. His research focuses on driving new approaches to drug discovery for challenging health conditions such as brain disorders and cardiovascular disease. Combining medicinal chemistry, disease biology and advanced imaging, has resulted in several first-in-human studies and his discoveries have been commercialised by three start-ups. As a leader and mentor, he also fosters the next generation of medical innovators. Michael’s contributions to drug discovery research in Australia has been recognised through numerous awards including the 2023 Eureka Prize for Leadership in Innovation and Science
Centre for Drug Discovery Innovation
Established in 2019 with Professor Michael Kassiou as the academic director, the University of Sydney’s Drug Discovery Initiative (DDI) sought to develop a dynamic and interdisciplinary network to bring together the best people, technologies and tools to enable early-stage drug discovery research at the University. From ground-breaking fundamental research to preclinical screening and lead optimisation, the DDI has over 400 research members across the University with significant capability in five major disease areas. The success of this program is highlighted by the University repositioning the DDI as the Centre for Drug Discovery Innovation in June 2024. This repositioning aims to promote excellence among our researchers, prioritise impactful interdisciplinary research, and foster strategic partnerships.
Partnership between Kinoxis Therapeutics and Boehringer Ingelheim
In May 2023, Kinoxis Therapeutics, announced a partnership worth up to $273 million with Boehringer Ingelheim to develop oxytocin-targeting precision treatments. The partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim will use compounds discovered through medicinal chemistry programs led by Kinoxis Therapeutics co‑founder Professor Michael Kassiou as a starting point to develop treatments aimed at improving the quality of life for people living with psychiatric disorders.
NSW Organoid Innovation Centre
With Professor Michael Kassiou as academic lead, the University of Sydney will lead the establishment of the NSW Organoid Innovation Centre in collaboration with the University of NSW and the Children’s Medical Research Institute at Westmead. The Centre is a new multi-institution facility that will apply the latest stem-cell techniques to accelerate drug discovery and design. Funding of $2.5 million for the centre was delivered by the NSW Government through the Emerging Industry Infrastructure Fund. The University of Sydney will invest an additional $1.3 million in the centre. As of June 2024, several cutting-edge equipment are now available for use, with the full capabilities of the Centre set to launch in 2025.
MedChem Australia
The Commonwealth Government’s Medical Research Future Fund has invested into establishing MedChem Australia, a new national medicinal chemistry initiative. This project will bring together Therapeutic Innovation Australia and three leading medical chemistry groups from the University of Sydney, led by Professor Michael Kassiou, Monash University and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. In addition to the government’s investment, the four partners will together contribute funds toward the establishment of MedChem Australia, bringing the project’s total seed funding to $15 million over five years.
MedChem Australia will help to fill a significant capacity gap in the drug discovery pipeline. This gap exists between fundamental drug discovery biology programs and the generation of defined and optimised candidate drug molecules that have the potential to attract the commercial partnerships required to support formal clinical development programs.