The Australian life sciences sectors is thriving and with many exciting developments and events coming up we thought a chat with our sector specialist Joe Dodd might be in order. We sat down with Joe to find out about everything from Aussie biotech to what he likes on his pizza.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Joe Dodd. Sometimes addressed as Joseph by the authorities. I am Senior Trade Development Manager for UK Trade & Investment in Australia. Based in Melbourne I lead on the Life Sciences sectors of Medical & Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology.
How did you end up in Australia?
After a degree in Microbiology & Biotechnology at Sheffield University I worked for Amersham (now GE Healthcare) as a microbiologist then moved on to business roles with pharmaceutical information and API trading. I immigrated to Australia in 2006 after picking up an Australian wife in London.
Why is Australia a good market for UK biotechnology companies?
Australia is ranked the 6th largest biotechnology industry in the world behind the US, UK, Canada, Germany and France. For a population of just over 22 million that it is pretty good. Opportunities are widely available in Australia for British companies looking to market services in drug discovery, development, clinical trials and contract manufacturing.
Also for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies looking to partner with world-leading research institutions and those wanting to market therapeutics into the well-funded healthcare sector.
Are there any key biotech events coming up in Australia this year?
Together with the BioIndustry Association we are running a mission to the national Ausbiotech2013 conference from 29th October in Brisbane. There is up to £2,000 grant funding available for UK companies who want to take part to assist in conference costs. We are also organising some events in Melbourne prior to the conference for companies to get involved in.
Are there any other programmes that might be of interest?
I am running a CRO Partnership Programme to facilitate introductions between Australian and UK based providers of drug discovery and development, pre-clinical and clinical research services. The aim is to enable companies to collaborate with others offering complementary services in order to win major business. It should also help both UK and Australian companies expand their geographic reach to potential new clients.
Apart from Biotechnology, what else do you get excited about?
I am rather proud of the wood fired pizza oven I have recently finished building in my back garden. It cooks pizzas in around 2 minutes at 400oC. A personal speciality is pesto, goats cheese and prosciutto. I have completed the journey to full-on pizza snob. Never put them in a cardboard box!
How can I find out more?
I am presenting a webinar on the opportunities in Australia for UK biotechnology companies on Wednesday 12th June at 9.30am UK time: register here.
Alternatively simply contact me by email; joe.dodd@fco.gov.uk or phone: +61 3 9652 1605.
I also provide pizza dough recipes and advice.