|
5 years ago, I had just joined a very early-stage startup that was awarded an MVP grant from the NSW government. Our team went on to achieve some outcomes in the cellular agriculture space that a lot of folks would have called - sometimes still call - impossible. Today, it feels really satisfying that Media City Scientific has been awarded the same MVP grant from Investment NSW. This non-dilutive funding will support the remaining external pilot testing stages for FBS Replacement Solution (FRS) before we scale and fully commercialise. A more personal note: I’ve cultured cells nearly every day for the past 18 months - often at night and doing my longest lab days on weekends. A relentless mental game, but one that usually hasn’t felt like “work.” And yet, for every day I come out of the lab, enthused and proclaiming to the family that “stock is up!”, there’s a day where I’m riddled with self-doubt and wondering whether this whole bootstrapping a biotech company thing - especially alongside raising young children - is grounds for insanity. Receiving this funding was a little emotional because while money is only a tool, it’s become an opportunity to pause and blow our own minds a little bit at how far we’ve come with a shockingly tiny amount of resources. Truly, I didn’t think we could get this far in biotech on grants, bootstrapping and mutually beneficial collaborations alone (plus grit & a healthy hustle). It’s really, really fun to prove to your past self that you’re capable of more than you thought. Thanks everyone who’s been a part of this crazy ride so far - and thanks NSW government for helping to build up the local biotech economy. We truck on. 
0 Comments
Katie is heading to AusMedTech in Sydney next week - catch Media City Scientific pitching our latest technology achievements during lunch on May 7th at the Bioinnovation Spotlight Stage! We’ll be especially looking to meet folks who want to be involved in the final pilot testing stages for our chemically defined, clean and animal-free replacement for FBS. We’re also making plans for what scale-up, manufacturing, and distribution should look like as we go fully commercial, so will be keen to chat with anyone who’s in that space. And of course, Katie is looking forwards to meeting a few of the many people she has met via Linkedin this year in person for the first time! A big thank you to the AusBiotech Innovation Program through the 2025 Industry Growth Program for facilitating our attendance.  |
What's been happening?Sharing the Media City journey is important to us because we want to encourage the next generation of scientists to establish companies that will advance scientific research. Check back regularly for the "building in public" updates on what it looks like to establish a scientific company. Archives
May 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed
