Success has been swift for Victoria’s 360biolabs. In 9 years, the company has grown from 8 staff to 145 people across 2 state-of-the-art facilities. The contract service organisation (CSO) provides bioanalytical services to global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies trialling life-changing therapies in Australia.
‘Exports make up 95% of our business,’ says Angela Luttick, 360biolabs’ Co-founder and Executive Vice President, Commercial. ‘Sixty per cent of our business comes from the US, and 40% from the Asia-Pacific region, principally China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.’
360biolabs’ export success has led the company to expand its Melbourne facility. It now comprises 3,000 square metres of purpose-built laboratories and offices, allowing the company to expand its capabilities and capacity in the coming years. It will also accommodate an expected 30% growth in business over the next few years.
‘Our vision was to be the most comprehensive and diverse bioanalytics lab in Australia – and I think we’ve achieved that,’ says Luttick.
Diverse, first-in-market bioanalytical services
Luttick and her two co-founders, Alistair Draffan and Melinda Pryor, previously worked in the biopharmaceutical industry. They launched 360biolabs to fill a gap in the Australian market for bioanalytical services. Today the company has 2 facilities, in Melbourne and Brisbane.
360biolabs analyses samples from clinical trials, with a smaller proportion of samples from non-clinical studies. The company provides pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic services for a wide variety of modalities, as well as vaccines. A central laboratory and logistics team ensure samples are received, logged and stored in 24/7 monitored biobanks.
‘There weren’t any labs offering extensive pharmacodynamic services in 2015, so that’s what we focused on when we launched,’ says Luttick. ‘We have multiple departments that can support bioanalytical chemistry, immunology (PK/ADA), biomarkers, virology and molecular biology.
‘Our Brisbane facility is also set up for time-sensitive analysis, for example, PBMC isolation or real-time flow cytometry,’ adds Luttick. ‘Our extensive services have expanded the clinical trial sector in Australia, allowing Australia to support more complex modalities. Previously, samples would be shipped outside of Australia for analysis.’
360biolabs’ expanded Melbourne facility will accommodate an expected 30% growth in business over the next few years.
Export-based business with multinational clients
The majority of 360biolabs’ clients are small to mid-sized biotechnology firms, along with pharmaceutical companies conducting clinical trials in Australia.
‘Australia is one of the 3 preferred destinations for outsourced clinical trials,’ says Luttick. ‘We’ve got world-leading clinical trials infrastructure, a pragmatic and streamlined approval process, and a multicultural population.’
Importantly, Australia is an OECD country. Data from clinical trials conducted in Australia is accepted by regulatory bodies globally, including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA).
In 2021, 360biolabs was acquired by BioAgilytix, a global contract research laboratory with facilities in the US and Europe. The acquisition gave 360biolabs access to new opportunities in 2 of the world’s most important biotech and pharmaceutical markets. It also allows bioanalytical lab services to continue once studies progress past Phase 1 in Australia and into Phase 2 in the US, Europe or APAC, where larger patient populations are located.
Government assistance supports international expansion
360biolabs has worked closely with Austrade and Global Victoria to grow its business. Luttick singles out attendance at trade shows, curated roadshows and conferences as instrumental to the company's growth and expansion into new markets.
‘We’ve travelled to key biotech events with Austrade and Global Victoria,’ she says. ‘We visited China for the first time in 2018 with the support of a curated Global Victoria roadshow. China has since become our second largest market.
‘We also had some great outcomes in the US in 2022 and 2023 after attending Austrade-curated clinical trial road shows, where multiple service providers from Australia collaborate to promote the Australian clinical trials ecosystem. Austrade’s network in North America is very strong so outreach to engage audiences for events is always successful.’
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