Boggo Road Innovation Junction (BRIJ)

The global race for capital, talent and innovation is intensifying, and Australia's biotech sector is having to think carefully about how it stays competitive.   BRIJ General Manager Trent Munro and AusBiotech chief executive Rebekah Cassidy sat down with Paul Cross, editor of BiopharmaDispatch, to discuss the factors shaping Australia's life sciences sector: commercialisation, talent, investment, policy settings and the role innovation precincts play in accelerating the journey from research to real-world impact.    Following this year's BIO International Convention in San Diego, where Trent attended as part of the Australian delegation and AusBiotech represented the nation's life sciences sector, the conversation continues around what the country needs in order to strengthen its global competitiveness in biotech.   Read the article at Biotech Dispatch: https://lnkd.in/g-6P4QaA #BiotechInvestment #AdvancedManufacturing #InnovationEconomy

The first new treatment for childhood brain cancer in 30 years is now in human trials. The University of Queensland scientists, led by Professor Brandon Wainwright at the UQ Frazer Institute within Translational Research Institute Australia, have developed personalised mRNA cancer vaccines targeting medulloblastoma – the cancer that kills more Australian children than any other. The world-first PaedNEO-VAX trial is underway at eight hospitals including nearby Queensland Children's Hospital, part of the same Brisbane Knowledge Corridor that includes BRIJ. Each vaccine is tailored to a patient's unique tumour mutations, addressing advanced and treatment-resistant cases for which options have remained unchanged for decades. This is the kind of translational science BRIJ exists to accelerate, bringing research expertise, clinical trial capability, industry partnerships and advanced infrastructure close enough together to move discoveries from the lab to patients faster. This research draws on interstate and international collaboration, with vaccines manufactured in Brisbane. It is a journey from discovery to clinical trial, supported by UQ Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences, and a clear example of how the BRIJ ecosystem moves life-saving innovation forward. Read the Herald Sun coverage: https://lnkd.in/giJ4zSWv #BRIJminds #CancerResearch #mRNAVaccines

The strength of a precinct is measured in its people. This year's The Courier-Mail Power Lists recognise leaders from across the BRIJ ecosystem who are recognised for the influence they hold in shaping both Queensland's health system and the city taking shape around it. Together, these leaders represent organisations including The University of Queensland, Translational Research Institute Australia, Metro South Health, Mater Research, QUT (Queensland University of Technology), Microba,  QIC Cross River Rail Delivery Authority and the Queensland Government. What's striking isn't just who has been recognised, but what they represent. Collectively, these leaders demonstrate the breadth of expertise and collaboration that underpins the BRIJ ecosystem. Innovation doesn't happen in isolation. It happens when researchers, clinicians, government, industry, investors and infrastructure come together around a shared ambition. That's what makes innovation ecosystems powerful, and it's the future we're building together at BRIJ. Congratulations to everyone recognised for their leadership and contribution to Queensland's future. Read more in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘭: https://lnkd.in/gKTBzk4M #BRIJminds #QueenslandResearch #DesignedForDiscovery

Construction is progressing rapidly on ENTRI by Translational Research Institute Australia, the $100m+ biomanufacturing facility set to level up Queensland's research-to-impact pathway. Opening later this year, ENTRI Biomanufacturing will give domestic and international life sciences companies access to cGMP cleanrooms capable of supporting Phase I-III clinical trials, alongside PC2-certified laboratories and flexible engineering spaces. It means promising therapies can be developed and manufactured to rigorous global standards without leaving the state, getting new treatments to the patients who need them sooner. Multinational biopharma innovator Sanofi will be the first of ENTRI's tenants, deepening its BRIJ presence as lead partner in the Translational Science Hub. A company of such scale choosing to establish itself here speaks to Queensland's growing strength in commercialising frontier science. Before it begins operations, ENTRI features in Brisbane Open House this Saturday. With tours fully booked, the appetite to see this technology arriving on their doorstep is clear. #BuildingBRIJ #Biomanufacturing #ClinicalTranslation #InnovationEconomy 📷 Wilson Architects

Congratulations to UQ Frazer Institute on its expansion this month. The institute now spans more than 50 research groups across both ends of the Brisbane Knowledge Corridor: here at BRIJ, where The University of Queensland's researchers work with Translational Research Institute Australia and in partnership with clinicians at Metro South Health's Princess Alexandra Hospital, and now extending north to Herston with Metro North Health. Research capability of this scale, working this closely with frontline medicine, is what gets treatments to patients sooner. #HealthInnovation #ResearchTranslation #ClinicalResearch

Reflecting on Queensland's standing after #BIO2026 brought the global biotech industry together in California last month, our General Manager Trent Munro set out the case for the state in AmCham Australia’s latest newsletter. He writes: “Queensland in particular stands out – not only for research excellence, but for something more valuable in today's market: the ability to translate discovery into real-world impact.” This is the model BRIJ brings to life: clustering Brisbane's research, clinical, manufacturing and commercial strengths in one precinct, and inviting the world in. The infrastructure is already proven, from the academic research that produced Gardasil to the bench-to-bedside collaboration between Translational Research Institute Australia and Metro South Health. It is the same ecosystem that has produced spinouts worth billions and keeps drawing partners like Microba, AdvanCell, Sanofi and Thermo Fisher Scientific to build, test and scale here. #QueenslandInnovation #ResearchTranslation #LifeSciences First shared by the American Chamber of Commerce, you can read the full piece on The University of Queensland website: https://lnkd.in/gYXXyznP

When A/Prof Arutha Kulasinghe spoke about innovation in lung cancer care on Nine's Weekend Today alongside patient advocate Michel Itel - OAM, he drew on research that could only take shape within the environment that BRIJ provides. The study – which identified protein signals in blood samples that could match lung cancer patients to more precise treatments earlier – required medical oncologists, surgeons, pathologists, immunologists and data scientists to work in close concert. "The intersection of fundamental and translational science fostered at BRIJ means the expertise we need is always within reach," A/Prof Kulasinghe explains. "That proximity keeps our research anchored to the daily realities of the clinicians grappling with the need for better biomarkers for patient triage, treatment prediction and personalised therapy." He continues: "At BRIJ we have genuine opportunities for convergence science, where unexpected connections across disciplines drive the most impactful discoveries." UQ Frazer Institute | The University of Queensland | Metro South Health | Translational Research Institute Australia In collaboration with QUT (Queensland University of Technology), Wesley Research Institute, SurgeCare and others. #PrecisionMedicine #ResearchTranslation #DesignedForDiscovery #BRIJminds

How do you study microplastics in human tissue when plastic contamination is everywhere, including the lab itself? Dr Cassandra Rauert of The University of Queensland solved that problem, designing pioneering infrastructure that earned her a place on National Geographic's 2026 list of global changemakers. Based at UQ's Dutton Park campus within BRIJ, Dr Rauert and her team at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences and UQ Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences built the world's first plastic-minimised laboratory in 2022 with support from Minderoo Foundation. Nicknamed ‘the submarine’ for its near-total stainless steel construction, the 23sqm air-locked facility reduces environmental contamination to at least 100 times below conventional levels, allowing scientists to accurately analyse microplastics and nanoplastics in human samples. The stakes are high. Microplastics have been detected in human blood, lungs, placentas and brain tissue, with emerging studies probing links to heart disease, dementia and rheumatoid arthritis. Without reliable measurement, we cannot regulate exposure or remediate contamination, making labs like this critical to understanding the true scale and impact of the issue. Dr Rauert has open-sourced the lab’s design to help establish a shared model for the field, with the team recently publishing its first peer-reviewed findings. The #NatGeo33 recognition places this work alongside that of an international cohort of scientists, activists and founders tackling some of the world’s most urgent challenges. It is a powerful example of BRIJ’s role in bringing visionary talent and specialised infrastructure together to advance discovery with implications far beyond the lab, spanning human and planetary health. Read the 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤 profile: https://lnkd.in/dPYzjZaQ #BRIJminds #planetaryhealth #microplastics #nanoplastics

The full biotech pathway – from discovery to global market access – is available within a single precinct at Boggo Road Innovation Junction (BRIJ). 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 starts with The University of Queensland, many of whose researchers are based at the pioneering Translational Research Institute Australia, alongside scientists from CSIRO. Underpinning it is state and federal government support, including National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy assets too specialised for any single institution to fund alone. 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 are where proximity makes the difference. Scientists sit within metres of clinicians at Metro South Health's Princess Alexandra Hospital, allowing discoveries to move into trials with minimal friction. That closeness runs both ways, the daily cycle of patient care and frontline insight at the hospital surfacing the next generation of research questions. 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 capability takes a leap forward with ENTRI Biomanufacturing by TRI when it opens later this year. This critical link allows science to move from lab to clinical-scale production without leaving the precinct. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 follows, with industry leaders like Thermo Fisher Scientific helping translate discoveries into products that reach patients around the world. When complete, Cross River Rail will place this concentration of capability within minutes of Brisbane's CBD, and within easy reach of the airport and beyond. More of the BRIJ network: 360biolabs, a BioAgilytix company | AdvanCell | Brandon Capital | Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation | Department of Primary Industries (Queensland) | EMVision Medical Devices | Griffith University | Infensa Bioscience | Life Sciences Queensland Ltd (LSQ) | Mater Research | Microba | Microbio | Ocugene | Oroborus | Orygen | PSC Biotech - Australia | Queensland Health | QUT (Queensland University of Technology) | Sanofi | Therapeutic Innovation Australia | UniQuest | UQ Strategic Partnerships 🔗 brij.au #Biotech #Biomanufacturing #Biopharma #BIO2026

Our general manager Trent Munro is part of a formidable Queensland contingent at #BIO2026 in San Diego this week, representing Team Australia (booth 5335) to the people shaping global biotech investment and collaboration. He is joined by fellow Brisbane delegates connected to BRIJ, including representatives from Translational Research Institute Australia, The University of Queensland, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Microbio – all part of the precinct's pathway from discovery to clinical trials, manufacturing and commercialisation. 🤝 Trade and Investment Queensland | Queensland Government | Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning 🌐 Biotechnology Innovation Organization #BRIJminds #GlobalFromBrisbane #QueensLandofOpportunity