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By Stuart Roberts, Senior Analyst, stuart@ndfresearch.com, +61 447 247 909

By and large Australia has a well-developed Life Sciences ecosystem, with local companies and organisations providing all the support that good entrepreneurs need to build successful companies right here. Below are a few of the key organisational players.

The Australian Securities Exchange, one of around 15 exchanges globally in the 'Trillion Dollar Club' (click here), has historically been a strong advocate for Life Sciences listings in Australia.

Bioshares is the leading Life Sciences-oriented investment publication in Australia and New Zealand. These days I never miss the annual conference, in Queenstown, NZ in July. I call it 'JP Morgan South'.

Buchan is the leading provider of investor communication services for Life Sciences companies in Australia and New Zealand. Rebecca Wilson and her team are a class act.

The BioMelbourne Network advocates for the main biotech cluster in Australia, in the southern city of Melbourne, Victoria. Melbourne is cold and wet but bursting with Life Sciences innovation.

Biotech Daily is the journal of record for news from publicly traded Life Sciences companies in Australia and New Zealand. Publisher David Langsam is a great reporter.

AusBiotech, headquartered in Melbourne, is the national advocacy body for the biotech industry in Australia.

NZBio advocates for the biotech industry in New Zealand. That country is a potential powerhouse of biotech innovation given its historic economic base in agriculture.

Acuity Capital has pioneered at-the-money (ATM) equity issuance for ASX-listed companies. ATMs are a common financing tool for US-listed biotechs and are set to become so here.

Other elements of the ecosystem

Lawyers. Firms with practices in the Life Sciences field including Herbert Smith Freehills, Hive Legal, K&L Gates and Piper Alderman.

Intellectual property specialists include FB Rice and Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick.

Accountants. Firms that provide taxation and accounting services to the industry include Moore Stephens and The CFO Solution.

Investment banks that know the space including the local arm of Canaccord Genuity as well as two local banks, Wilson HTM and Morgans.

Important resources

The Code of Best Practice for reporting by Life Science companies. This remarkable document, which has no parallel in other equity markets, was jointly developed by ASX, Ausbiotech and the Victorian government (in support of the Melbourne biotech cluster) to help Life Sciences companies listed in Australia better inform the market about what they are doing (click here).

The tax incentives for Life Sciences in Australia. Click here for a good overview from one of Australia's leading accounting firms.

Victoria's Technology Plan for the Future - Biotechnology. The government of Victoria has a plan to promote biotech in their state. Check it out (click here).