Ximbio expands into Australia

Over the last year, Ximbio has been expanding into Australia, creating new partnerships with universities such as the University of Sydney, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash University and the University of Adelaide.

The University of Sydney has over 70,000 students and 7,500 staff members from over 130 nationalities. In 2018, Sydney researchers were successful in securing over A$16 million in funding for 28 projects.

Hudson Institute of Medical Research is a non-profit medical institute with centres focusing on Cancer Research, endocrinology and metabolism, innate immunity and infectious diseases and reproductive health.

Monash University is the largest university in Australia, ranked in the world’s top 100 and a member of the prestigious Group of Eight. In 60 years, Monash University has grown from a single campus into an education and research powerhouse with a presence on four continents, committed to the challenges of the age. With four Australian campuses, one in Malaysia, and over 100 international partners, Monash University’s work is making an impact all over the world, from bringing clean water to villages in Africa to creating new life-saving medicines.

The University of Adelaide is a Go8 member with over 30,000 combined research staff and students spread over 50 specialist research centres and disciplines. Key research areas include the medical and biological sciences, child and adolescent health, pregnancy and birth as well as fertility and conception, among many others.

Since partnering with Ximbio:

The Hudson Institute of Medical Research has commercialised 12 reagents from 40 leads discovered through its Ximbassador Program. It is hoped that more of these 40 leads will provide reagents in the future. These 12 reagents include:

• Anti-SOX9 (Polyclonal) - Sox genes encode putative transcriptional regulators which have been implicated in the process of development and cell fate.
• Human AGS NOD1 KO Cell lines (Clone 41A8) - This cell line was developed to study the Helicobacter pyroli infection and the effect of the NOD1 mutation on epithelial cells. The NOD1 mutation confirms the importance of NOD1 in host defence mechanisms against the H. pylori infection and may aid in developing gastric cancer treatments and preventing gastric carcinogenesis.
• Mutant Inhibin A, Recombinant Peptide – A peptide that has been engineered to provide purified, potent, active inhibin analogs. Loss of inhibin at menopause may contribute to decreased bone mass in osteoporosis. Inhibin A has been shown to restore bone growth in in vivo models of bone degeneration. This peptide could be of particular use in researching novel treatments for osteoporosis.
• MMTV TET-LRH-1 Transgenic Mouse - Induces key genes to regulate metabolic process, ovarian function, cancer cell proliferation, and steroidogenesis. In the breast, LRH-1 modulates and synergizes with endogenous estrogen signaling to promote breast cancer cell proliferation. 

The University of Adelaide expects to add new reagents to the Ximbio portfolio shortly, including a strongly neutralizing monoclonal antibody (mAb) against Bird Flu H5N1virus. This mAb would have strong applications for the study of virus neutralization, vaccine production and diagnostics.

Both Monash and University of Adelaide are looking into setting up the Ximbassador program on their campuses.

“We are really excited by this opportunity and look forward to working with Ximbio in the future.”

Eric Wei, Commercialisation Officer, University of Sydney

“Distribution through Ximbio is an effective way to broaden the reach of reagents developed by our researchers. The appointment of a Ximbassador should help to improve the efficiency with which we can disseminate our scientific materials more broadly.”

Nadim Shadiac, Commercialisation Manager – Adelaide Enterprise, University of Adelaide

Ximbio is delighted by its continued growth worldwide as it allows us to provide you with a truly global service. Ximbio’s portfolio now includes a wider range of reagents from areas including endocrinology and metabolism, innate immunity and reproductive health, ensuring you can simply and quickly find the reagent you need for your experiments. In addition, your reagents are now available to an increased number of institutions and researchers, allowing you to increase your international profile.