Pharmaceutical entrepreneur turns to disease prevention

July 2007

With several bioscience achievements already under his belt, Dr Tim Morgan (BPharm 1992, BPharm(Hons) 1995, PhD 1999), will this year launch a new consumer-driven health care initiative.

Victorian College of Pharmacy alumnus Dr Morgan is executive director of Lachesis Biosciences Pty Ltd, a company he founded in 2005. The company aims to tackle preventable diseases.

“In westernised countries, OECD data shows that less than three percent of the health care spend is on public health and prevention. This is unsustainable given that the majority of our disease burden is chronic and preventable,” said Dr Morgan.

The new health care service Dr Morgan plans to launch is called Personal Health Optimiser ® (PHO). The unique concept involves consumers subscribing from the convenience of their home, to receive a quarterly health report which they can share with their doctor. The service should encourage users to identify any health risks and focus on these in order to prevent disease.

“Primarily, the goal of this consumer-driven preventive health care service is to help people stay healthy and live longer,” he said.

PHO is not the first innovative idea Dr Morgan has implemented. As a PhD student at Monash during the late 1990s, he joined Emeritus Professor Barry Reed (PhC 1963, BPharm 1969) and former College staff member Dr Barrie Finnin to develop breakthrough spray-on drug delivery technology. The technology allows drugs to be absorbed through the skin in a way that cannot be achieved by oral preparations or patches applied to the skin.

The patented technology won Dr Morgan the Mollie Holman Medal in 1999, a Monash University award given to PhD students who present the best thesis of the year. The invention was also commercialised through pharmaceutical company Acrux Ltd, which he co-founded in 1998.

Dr Morgan left Acrux in the middle of 2005 following its successful listing on the Australian Stock Exchange in September 2004. Acrux has a current market capitalisation of about $220 million and a range of quality commercial partners that plan to market its products.

While many shy away from entrepreneurial environments, Dr Morgan enjoys the creativity, dynamic teams, corporate culture and opportunity to build social awareness. He looks forward to the challenges of his latest venture, Lachesis Biosciences.

“Every new start-up company has its own set of risks. Finding talented people to help you along the way is important as well as the required dose of perseverance to ensure you are successful,” he said.