A Melbourne startup developing a needle-free approach to IVF drug delivery has received $1 million in funding to advance its technology, with the project aimed at reducing the burden of injections for fertility patients.
Innovation Victoria and RMIT University are each investing $500,000 in GonGlobal through Innovation Victoria’s $100 million University Innovation Platform. The funding will support the development of Ovulair™, an inhaled drug delivery system designed to allow IVF medicines to be administered through inhalation rather than injection.
The partnership brings together RMIT’s engineering expertise and GonGlobal’s work on drug delivery technology. The company is co-founded by Dr Igor Gonda and his daughter Ellen Gonda, who became involved in developing the technology following Ellen’s own experience with IVF treatment.
IVF can involve repeated self-administered injections over multiple treatment cycles, adding to the physical demands of an already challenging process. Australia has one of the highest rates of IVF use globally, with more than 100,000 cycles carried out each year.
GonGlobal’s proposed system is intended to provide an alternative way of delivering medicines used during IVF. The company says its goal is to make treatment less painful while improving the precision of drug delivery.
The funding forms part of the Victorian Government’s wider support for university-linked innovation and startup development. Victoria is home to more than 4,400 startups, with the sector valued at $139 billion, according to the government.
Melbourne is also ranked third globally for startup creation, ahead of Sydney, Singapore and Berlin, the government said.
Economic Development Minister Anthony Carbines said the project demonstrated how research and industry partnerships could support the development of new technologies in Victoria.
“This innovation shows what Victoria can do, taking world-class research and turning it into a global breakthrough that can change lives,” Carbines said.
Innovation Victoria CEO Rod Bristow said GonGlobal illustrated how targeted support could help emerging technologies progress towards commercialisation.
GonGlobal co-founder and CEO Ellen Gonda said the company was focused on improving the experience of people undergoing IVF.
“Our mission is simple: to radically improve the IVF patient experience and success rates by making treatments less painful, more precise and far more joyful,” she said.
RMIT University Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation Distinguished Professor Calum Drummond AO said collaboration between universities, industry and government was important in developing new technologies.
“Transformative research doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens when universities, industry and government bring their complementary strengths together,” he said.
The project is expected to contribute to the growth of Victoria’s innovation sector and create high-skilled jobs as GonGlobal develops its technology.
The proposed treatment remains under development, and the funding will support further work on Ovulair™ as the company seeks to advance the technology towards potential use in IVF treatment.
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