Protein key to brain control of appetite, Sydney researchers find.

A national bioinformatics network has been established following a $2.2 million grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.

G2 Therapies, a spin-off company from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, has signed a licensing agreement worth up to AUD$137 million with Denmark's Novo Nordisk to develop, manufacture and commercialise new anti-inflammatory therapies based on G2's C5a receptor antibodies.

Melbourne and California-based ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CXS) has been awarded two linkage project grants worth AUD$525,000 in cash from the Australian Research Council (ARC) over the next three years.

Cure Cancer Australia has announced the winners of its 2005 young researcher awards, which recognise outstanding cancer researchers in the early stages of their career.

The prime minister has officially opened the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) Unit for Molecular Genetics of Cancer at Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney.

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'.

AGT Biosciences (ASX: AGT) has expanded its stable of programs in diabetes and obesity research, signing a collaborative research agreement with Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research to identify molecules as potential therapeutics for type II diabetes.

A leading scientist is to be the inaugural director of the $50 million Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Queensland Premier, Peter Beattie, announced.

More than $AUD73 million has been awarded to 11 research teams based in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland in the latest round of the NHMRC's program grants.

A new council has been established to advise the Commonwealth government on priority issues in biotechnology, including R&D, international links, commercialisation, public interest and ethics.