http://www.smh.com.au/technology/into-the-dragons-den-20110929-1k...

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/into-the-dragons-den-20110929-1kyik.html

Eric Knight
September 30, 2011 - 1:50AM
Opinion

There is a well-worn Australian narrative. We are an island nation, a million miles from the world's centre of gravity. And we are a mining and resources economy, leaking talented individuals like water through a sieve. When, in the 1960s, Donald Horne described Australia as The Lucky Country, he meant lucky ironically. Our best resources lay underground, and our best people ventured overseas.

There is something depressing in this characterisation of Australia. But there is also something seriously dangerous about it. The danger is that we assume it is true. Martin Rogers, the CEO of Prima Biomed, shows that the opposite can be more accurate. Prima Biomed is a small Australian start-up commercialising a vaccine to tackle ovarian cancer.

The technology is Australian, and the company's headquarters are in Sydney. Together with a small set of companies like Mesoblast and Acrux, Prima Biomed is using Australia's advanced manufacturing power to sell pharmaceutical products on the world's stage. If these companies face barriers, they are not caused by distance or a small local market. Their biggest challenge is the lack of financial support from Australian private investors.

"The biggest problem is not that we lack big ideas," Rogers tells me as we meet in the foot of one of Sydney's skyscrapers. "It's that we lack the venture capital investment in our start-up companies." As we sit in Sydney's financial epicenter, the irony is not lost on us.

Rogers places the largest blame with private investors, not the public sector. Recent changes to public tax incentives around research and development make Australia a relatively attractive destination for high-tech innovation. The problem is getting private investors to see the same opportunity. Despite having one of the world's largest funds-under-management industries, Australia has a mere 26 venture capital funds of which only about 10 are active. Venture capital is money invested in more risky enterprises with the expectation that they offer an out-of-the-ballpark return. With venture backing, entrepreneurs like Rogers can turn small companies into national icons. Without it, they are forced to approach US investors to make investment in Australian IP.

Venture capital funds are just vehicles through which asset owners direct investment. The real risk aversion lies with the institutional investors themselves, such as pension funds. Even the Future Fund, Australia's sovereign wealth fund mandated to invest in nation-building infrastructure, education projects, and healthcare, has been shy about investing in the country's entrepreneurial future....]

The article goes on but is not about Prima.

I find it a little strange that Prima is referred to (including by Rogers himself) as a start-up company. It's been developing the CVAC technology for 13 years if I'm not mistaken. Start-up - lol!

On the other hand, a good point is made about the limitations for inward investment within Australia. Stroll on Nasdaq you total Babe that is hard to catch!

Good Friday all