Drug derived from snake venom to be commercialised

A new company has been launched to commercialise an innovative blood-clotting agent derived from the venom of one of Australia’s most dangerous snakes.

The agent, which is a protein, was isolated from the venom of the Australian brown snake by University of Queensland researchers and is able to promote the formation of a blood clot within seconds of being applied.

The product will have surgical and trauma applications anywhere open wounds are treated including doctor’s surgeries, emergency rooms, ambulances and military triage.

Commercialisation of the clotting agent will be carried out by HaemPatch Pty Limited, a company launched by UQ’s technology commercialisation company UniQuest, which has obtained a $500,000 investment from the seed venture capital company UniSeed for the venture.

UniQuest’s Managing Director David Henderson said the investment was targeted to complete laboratory testing and undertake pre-clinical development (prior to trials on humans).

“Investment in the clotting agent at this stage of development will allow HaemPatch to add value to the technology and then offer a very attractive later stage investment opportunity," he said.

The isolation of the blood-clotting protein was carried out by collaboration between Dr Paul Masci and Professor Martin Lavin from UQ’s School of Medicine and Professor John de Jersey from UQ’s School of Molecular and Microbial Sciences.

Media: For further information, contact Brad Turner at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2659 or email: communications@uq.edu.au).