When their 11-year-old dog Sasha began to show signs of lameness after exercise, Dan and Corina Bright went looking for solutions. They were already in the human health industry and had sufficient knowledge to question why veterinarians did not have a scientifically proven natural joint health treatment that could be taken long-term without side effects.
The challenge to find comfort for their dog ultimately led to the development in 2000 of the Sashas™ range of veterinary products and of their now globally successful, Ballarat based Australian company Interpath Pty Ltd. The company has both medical and veterinary health divisions and is an industry leader specialising in scientific research and development for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory disorders in humans and animals. Interpath now exports to 22 countries and continues research in Australian and overseas universities and facilities.
“We recently completed a Pioneer Program for Innovators funded by the Victorian State Government and were impressed with the depth of the program and the level of expertise of the Pyksis team who delivered the program. They went out of their way to find and introduce us to leading industry personnel and knowledge. Both Pyksis and the State Government should be commended for their commitment to support regional innovators wanting to improve their outcomes,” said Dan Bright. “It is one of the best things we’ve ever done for our business. I could not endorse it and the people involved enough.”
Currently Interpath directly employs 7 people and is set for growth as it tackles a global market for inflammatory treatments worth an estimated A$105 Billion and growing at a phenomenal rate, with aging world populations and a greater emphasis on pet and animal health.
Pyksis Director of Learning Services, John Hemphill says, “Interpath was well advanced on its commercialisation pathway and we could recognise where we might make successful interventions to accelerate and enhance that process. We have been able to achieve that by introducing Interpath to our companion program, Mentoring for Commercialisation Funding (MCF), which caters for early stage commercialisation. This is another State government initiative that is delivering tangible results for regional companies.
The Pioneer Program mixes group and intensive 1:1 learning and culminates with the presentation of business cases to an Expert Panel that advises participants on their likelihood of subsequent
success. The 13 businesses that completed the Pioneer Program with Interpath forecast aggregated Year Three sales of more than $100m. “While it is not expected that all companies will achieve their targets, it represents impressive opportunities for new job creation,” John Hemphill says.
The complementary MCF Program enables qualifying companies to take those next important steps in making their innovations a commercial reality. And this is what Interpath is now doing.
Entry to the Regional Technology Commercialisation Program and the Mentoring for Commercialisation Program are subject to assessment of each candidate’s needs. Applications can be made through local Regional Development Victoria Offices. For further information see
www.pyksis.com Home Page, Quicklinks, RTCP and MCF.