Providence, Rhode Island, USA and Perth, WA, Australia – Perth Biodesign (administered by The University of Western Australia) and the New England Medical Innovation Center (NEMIC) have announced a partnership aimed at providing their associated start-up companies with insights and guidance to navigate the US and Australian health and medical life sciences ecosystems respectively.
Memorandum of Understanding being signed by UWA’s Professor Kevin Pfleger (left; Chair of Perth Biodesign) and Mr Aidan Petrie (right; NEMIC co-Founder and Managing Partner) in the presence of (left to right) Minister Stephen Dawson, Maey Petrie (NEMIC Executive Director), Lydia Shin (NEMIC co-Founder and Managing Partner) and Brett Smiley (City of Providence Mayor).
“Perth Biodesign and NEMIC have similar philosophies and cultures in their quest to support entrepreneurship and innovation,” said Professor Kevin Pfleger, Chair of Perth Biodesign and Director Biomedical and Health Innovation at The University of Western Australia. “There is a real meeting of minds and we are looking forward to helping each other’s innovators progress their solutions to unmet clinical needs, to ultimately reach those that need them internationally.”
“Partnering with Perth Biodesign is absolutely a win-win,” said Mr Aidan Petrie, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of NEMIC. “Over the last few years we have worked with dozens of overseas companies, but in this case we see value for both parties as the synergies are very nicely aligned. It looks like both NEMIC and WA have a developed model to help startups navigate this important but complex space and that has great potential value as we progress.”
The Memorandum of Understanding between NEMIC and Perth Biodesign, administered by The University of Western Australia, was signed on March 4, 2024 at the Cambridge Innovation Center, Providence, Rhode Island, USA by Mr Aidan Petrie (NEMIC) and Professor Kevin Pfleger (Perth Biodesign), in the presence of the Western Australian Government’s Hon Stephen Dawson MLC, Minister for Emergency Services; Innovation and the Digital Economy; Science; Medical Research; Minister assisting the Minister for State and Industry Development; Jobs and Trade, and Mayor Brett Smiley, Mayor of the City of Providence, Rhode Island.
“It’s exciting to witness this new partnership between Perth Biodesign and NEMIC,” said Minister Dawson. “This looks set to be an amazing opportunity for Western Australian innovators and startups to gain entry into the US market and for Rhode Island based companies to enter the Australian market through WA.”
###
The New England Medical Innovation Center (NEMIC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit located in Rhode Island, USA, that provides expert education, connections to funding, and specialized expertise to innovators and entrepreneurs in the medical technologies space. As the region’s premier HealthTech venture hub, NEMIC deploys its unique gap analysis approach, draws on an extensive network of subject matter experts, and facilitates clinical access in order to bridge the valley and turn ideas into reality.
About Perth Biodesign
Perth Biodesign programs are experiential in nature, focus on biomedical entrepreneurship, are designed for the Australian biomedical environment, and thrive on support from industry, the healthcare system, academic organisations and professionals. Program offerings include industry internships with concurrent Biodesign training (iPREP Biodesign), the 7-month flagship Perth Biodesign course, the capstone of The University of Western Australia biomedical engineering degrees, and the Biodesign Next mentoring program.
The 7-month flagship Perth Biodesign course, and iPREP Biodesign are currently open for applications.