Mater finding "magic bullets" to fight disease

Mater Medical Research Institute (MMRI) and Mater Pathology Services are two of seven leading national and international research, health and pharmaceutical bodies that are coming together to form the federally funded Cooperative Research Centre for Biomarker Translation (CRC–BT).

MMRI Director, Professor Derek Hart, said the vision of the CRC–BT was to transform diagnosis and treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease by developing antibodies to attack disease.

“Antibodies are the holy grail because they act like magic bullets on a seek-and-destroy mission to wipe out the disease without affecting healthy tissue,” Professor Hart said.

Professor Hart said the outcomes from the CRC-BT would enable faster, more accurate diagnosis and highly targeted, personalised treatments which promised to be much more effective.

“While patients will benefit most from the CRC-BT, it will make a difference right across the community, from the medical professionals who treat patients to the medical researchers who will gain from a better understanding of antibodies and the immune system.”

Professor Deon Venter, Co-Director, Mater Pathology Services, emphasised the synergies within the CRC-BT between basic scientific research and the ability to rapidly translate such discoveries into improved patient care.

“Mater Pathology is unique in having the personnel and technologies on board that will fast-track the CRC-BT discovery pipeline, and then implement diagnostic tests capable of identifying patients who are likely to benefit from the novel antibody-based therapies.”

MMRI will be involved in most areas of CRC-BT research activity including molecule discovery, clinical trials, and commercialisation.

Professor Hart said MMRI and Mater Pathology’s inclusion in the CRC-BT was a testament to the quality of research and health care being carried out on the campus.

The details of the CRC-BT, which is to be part of an Australian Government programme administered by the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST), are currently being finalised.

Other participants in the CRC-BT are:

• La Trobe University
• Child Health Research Institute
• Burnet Institute
• Institute for Medical and Veterinary Science
• Becton Dickinson Biosciences (USA)
• Amgen (USA).