Exhibitors on the Australian Pavilion at BIO 2008 in San Diego

South Australia doesn't bother trying to compete with larger states in volume terms in the biotech game - it just does things a little differently, writes Kate McDonald.

South Australia's rapidly expanding biotechnology industry now has access to AUD$35 million in venture capital, with Bio Innovation SA securing a deal with one of Australia's most successful superannuation funds, MTAA Super.

BresaGen (ASX:BGN) has been awarded a Commercial Infrastructure Grant of AUD$200,000 from Bio Innovation SA, the South Australian government's biotechnology agency.

A major venture capital investment of tens of millions of dollars is currently being secured for the South Australian bioscience industry.

Dr Ralf Brandt's company VivoPharm has been in profit virtually since it opened for business 15 months ago in Bio Innovation SA's Thebarton biotech breeder precinct in Adelaide, despite a monthly mouse bill that ranges between $15,000 and $25,000.

Australia is home to a thriving and dynamic biotechnology industry with a firm footing in the world-class research base found in the universities and research institutions 'Down Under'.

Start-ups are the easy bit -- it's the quality and consistency of post-natal care that determines whether young biotechnology companies will survive, according to Dr Jurgen Michaelis, the man behind the rapid rise of South Australia's biotechnology industry.

Bio Innovation South Australia has a special offer for Australian biotech companies eying the lucrative European market: set up in SA, and take a free one-month working holiday to Germany to court potential business and research partners and clients.

A new South Australian initiative aims to give scientists in that state easier access to expensive research equipment and expertise.

A $1.5 million Biotechnology Fellowship Fund, launched last week by the South Australian government agency Bio Innovation SA, will bring three internationally renowned scientists to South Australia's universities.