Associate Professor Graham Pegg, Head of CQU’s Chemical & Biomedical Science School, recently was invited to join the Australian and Queensland Government sponsored Austrade delegation to the Bio Japan Exhibition, held in Osaka from September 13-15.

Dr Pegg’s diverse research background over many years in new molecule discovery, drug design and development, biochemistry, pharmacology and biotechnology commercialisation enabled him to discuss a wide variety of new research products and ideas directly with Japanese scientists.

He said that Japan’s biotechnology sector is worth more than US$20 billion per annum, and its pharmaceuticals industry is worth US$60 billion per annum to the Japanese economy.

“Japan has an excellent entrepreneurial scientific research culture, and many new spin-off companies from the university sector were exhibiting their latest products and ideas," Dr Pegg said.

As well as the Japanese exhibitors, the large pharmaceutical companies from throughout Europe, Britain and the USA were also exhibiting, and seeking out new partnerships with Japanese companies.

Dr Pegg said that an increasing trend in the biotech-pharma sector over recent years was deal-making occurring between smaller biotechnology companies and the large multi-national pharmaceutical companies.

“The larger companies provide cash and technology expertise investment in smaller companies in exchange for future licensing rights to new products under development.

“I was particularly interested in strong interest in the nutraceutical sector in Japanese biotechnology research and development. These alternative and supplemental health food products are now big business throughout the world, and a new product can be brought to market in this sector more quickly compared to a new drug or pharmaceutical product".

Dr Pegg said CQU was one of the first Australian universities to provide courses in biotechnology commercialisation to undergraduate science students.

“In our offshore Singapore Biomedical Science program for example, our graduating students are finding work in a rapidly developing biomedical science research and development industry.

"Similarly in Queensland, the State Government is pushing the development of a strong biotechnology R&D platform within the Smart State initiatives.

“Our science graduates need to understand how inventions in the laboratory are patented and the processes through which this intellectual property is able to be exploited to create new enterprises and jobs of the future".

Photo: CQU's Associate Professor Graham Pegg in front of the Australian stand at Bio Japan with Lisa Evans, a Business Development Manager with Austrade and the Australian Consulate General in Osaka, Japan.