Ternarx: developing next-generation cancer drugs

Dr Jameson is Business Development Lead at WEHI and is currently responsible for the commercialisation of inventions across immunology, inflammation, infection, global health and early stage drug discovery.

With over 15 years’ experience in commercialisation and business development, she has led the commercialisation of new technologies through partnerships with major industry and biotech companies and has been involved in the conception and formation of biotech spinouts, securing deals in a range of fields. Over the last year she has been central in securing more than a dozen collaboration, license and commercialisation agreements for translational projects, as well as initiating discussions on many others.

Dr Jameson is also a non-executive director for Transcendomics, which is making genomic testing simpler, safer and more scalable through the Genomical® software platform.

Dr Jameson has a PhD in Chemistry, a Master of Entrepreneurship and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

A highly strategic and respected Business Development and Commercialisation executive with extensive experience in the comprehensive leadership of biomedical and public health research activities. The combination of Alison’s scientific background (PhD and over 13 years of leading research in HIV biology) coupled with her Business Development, Partnership Development, Legal and Research Management expertise means she is uniquely positioned to drive major research initiatives and partnerships, identify and source translational/commercial research opportunities and conduct best practice research management and operations. Alison holds expertise in key aspects of stakeholder/partner relationship development primarily for research activities, key account management, business planning, tender and grant writing, contract drafting and negotiation, intellectual property identification and management. Identification of appropriate commercial vehicles to establish certain research activities and comprehensive research grant management facilitates Alison’s effective strategic identification and driving of significant projects. 

Dr Chris Burns is an experienced drug discovery leader having worked in various roles in pharma, biotech and academia for over 30 years.

After completing a PhD in Organic Chemistry at the University of Melbourne, Dr Burns undertook postdoctoral studies in the USA before moving to Pfizer UK, as a senior scientist. After 5 years he returned to Australia and worked as Head of Chemistry for the biotech company Ambri. He then moved to the Melbourne-based biotech Cytopia as Head of Medicinal Chemistry and later as Research Director. Over this time Dr Burns led teams in the discovery of two anti-cancer agents that entered clinical trial (including the drug momelotinib which was recently approved by the US FDA).

Dr Burns was recruited to WEHI as a Laboratory Head and then Business Development Manager, before taking on executive and leadership roles with a number of privately-held biotechnology companies in Melbourne. Dr Burns is the inventor on over 30 patents and a co-author on over 65 scientific publications, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. Dr Burns is Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Amplia Therapeutics, an ASX-listed biotechnology company.