On 5 June the second-ever NSW Drug Discovery Forum was held at the ICC Sydney as part of the Annual ARCS Australia conference. Ten presenters from universities and research institutes based far and wide across NSW delivered bold new solutions to address global health challenges.
An audience of researchers, industry professionals and biotech investors attended five sessions based around neurological and CNS disorders, infectious diseases, oncology, cardiometabolic diseases and an open category. From broad-spectrum antibiotics to tackle the antimicrobial resistance crises, to a drug-based means of inducing therapeutic hypothermia for the treatment of stroke, panellists responded with insights into how these ideas could enter the global pharmaceutical market.
Sponsored by Ab Inito Pharma, BioIntellect and Ausbiotech, three presenters were awarded for the scope and translational potential of their ideas.
Many congratulations to the DDF 2025 Pitch Awardees:
AbVance Commercialisation Award
Dr Daryl Ariawan (Macquarie University) – Cyclic peptide therapeutics to treat Alzheimer’s Disease
BioIntellect Target Product Positioning Award
Nathan Bryant (The University of Newcastle) – Small interfering RNA for the treatment of rhinovirus infection
Ausbiotech 2025 Registration Award
Dr Pegah Varamini (The University of Sydney) – Targeted peptide-drug conjugate platform enabling precision therapy for triple-negative breast cancer
The NSW Drug Discovery Forum will return in 2026. For updates about pitch applications, sponsorships and more follow us on LinkedIn.
