About the Event

Commercialising medtech innovations involves overcoming a range of barriers...

How do you turn an unmet need into a practical, usable product? How do you find the right product designer? What is the role of clinicians in medtech product development? What are the best strategies for small-batch manufacturing and how do you scale up?

Cochlear, an Australian-founded medtech company, stands as a prime example of overcoming such challenges. With a mission to provide implantable hearing solutions, they've delivered over 750,000 devices, empowering individuals of all ages to connect with life's opportunities through sound.

Contributing to this conversation is Associate Professor Lauren Ayton. From benchtop medical research to pioneering clinical applications, A/Prof Ayton translates science into effective and practical treatments for inherited retinal diseases and provides a clinical researcher's lens on product design, usability, and workflow integration.

Jumar Bioincubator has partnered with the Victorian Medtech Skills and Devices Hub (VMH) to host this exciting fireside chat. Join us as we explore how Cochlear made it big, and walk away with insights and tips to fuel your own journey.

Brief agenda:

4:30 - 5pm: Arrival + short networking

5 - 5:15pm: Welcome by Camille Shanahan, General Manager of Jumar Bioincubator and Professor Andrea O’Connor, Co-Director of the Victorian Medtech Skills and Devices Hub

5:15 - 5:45pm: Fireside chat with Robert Gay from Cochlear, led by Associate Professor Lauren Ayton

5:45 - 6:05pm: Audience Q&A

6:05 - 7:30pm: Networking, drinks, canapés

Our speakers:

Robert Gay | Director Pharmaceutical Approaches at Cochlear

Robert was Head of Molecular Biology at Lonza Biologics in the UK before moving to Australia in 2005 to join ASK listed Arana Therapeutics (formerly known as Peptech Limited). There he led the early development, large scale GMP production, fill and finish, GLP pre-clinical toxicology and GCP Phase I and II clinical trials of a novel monoclonal antibody for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Following the acquisition of Arana by US pharma company Cephalon, in 2012 Robert joined Cochlear Limited, initially working in the Global Regulatory Affairs team. There he was responsible for the global approvals of a range of cochlear implant systems including Nucleus 6, Kanso and Nucleus 7 along with associated Apps and Programming Software. Moving to the Advance Innovation BioSciences Team in 2018, Robert currently applies his scientific, biopharmaceutical, biotechnology and business development experience to the monitoring of drug development advances in the hearing loss space. He also manages a number of novel research projects which aim to integrate drugs into Cochlear’s medical devices to improve performance and patient outcomes.

Lauren Ayton | Acting Associate Dean (Innovation & Enterprise), Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne
A/Prof Lauren Ayton is a clinician-scientist with research interests in retinal disease, low vision and vision restoration. Lauren has an international reputation in the fields of retinal disease and vision restoration, having been a lead investigator on both local and international vision prosthesis (“bionic eye”) programs, including Bionic Vision Australia, Monash Vision Group and the Boston Retinal Implant Project (Harvard). She is the founder and Co-Chair of the HOVER taskforce, which published gold standards on the assessment of patient outcomes in vision restoration trials. Currently, she co- leads a team with Dr Thomas Edwards (CERA) on exciting new gene therapy programs for inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) and age-related macular degeneration. Lauren's research group also work on non-invasive low vision interventions, such as electronic aids and sensory substitution devices, and lead a large natural history study of inherited eye diseases called the VENTURE registry.

About the organisers:

The Victorian Medtech Skills and Devices Hub (VMH) is an Australian-first medical technology hub working to accelerate the growth of Victoria's vibrant medical technology sector. A Victorian Government initiative, they work with industry, academia, and government to build future-ready courses, connections and education programs, creating job-ready graduates and more specialised Medtech professionals. Through their education offerings industry-guided courses, they will improve boost the international competitiveness of the Victorian Medtech sector, creating skilled job opportunities and improving access to advanced medical care for Australians.

Jumar Bioincubator provides early-stage and scaling biotech ventures with affordable lab and office space, practical support, and community activities to unlock the potential in early scientific discoveries. Jumar was established by CSL, WEHI and the University of Melbourne, with backing from innovation investor Breakthrough Victoria and operator Cicada Innovations. Our mission is to connect early-stage biotech ventures with the support they need to progress discoveries towards real-world treatments and therapies, build a critical mass of scientists with the knowledge and confidence to run successful biomedical ventures - and the power to influence and impact global health outcomes.

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