The blueprint for BRIJ’s market potential

Born in UQ laboratories on this very site, this technology has the potential to eradicate the world’s fourth most common female cancer within a single generation – a market opportunity with profound human and economic impact. Pioneered by Emeritus Prof Ian Frazer AC and the late Dr Jian Zhou at UQ’s labs in the Diamantina Research Centre next to PAH in the 1990s, the human papillomavirus vaccine has prevented millions of cervical cancer cases worldwide since regulatory approval in 2006. Following intellectual property licensing to American drugmaker Merck & Co via Australian biotech firm CSL Limited, Australia led the wave of international adoption with a national HPV vaccination program. The results proved remarkable, including a 77% decrease in HPV infections among young women within five years. In addition to lives saved, the vaccine has spared hundreds of thousands from invasive treatments while preserving their ability to fully participate in their careers, families and communities.

Inspired by Gardasil’s impact, the Australian and Queensland governments partnered with Chuck Feeney’s Atlantic Philanthropies to invest over A$350m in establishing TRI under Frazer’s leadership, creating a model that connects scientists, clinicians and industry under a bench-to-bedside philosophy. Today, the ~40,000sqm facility houses more than 1100 research scientists, medical practitioners and business professionals.

BRIJ continues to address critical commercialisation barriers by providing clinical trial networks, regulatory expertise and industry partnerships that accelerate time-to-market. With Gardasil demonstrating how Queensland research can achieve global market penetration within 15 years of first laboratory findings, BRIJ offers investors early access to a pipeline of innovations with similar transformative potential. The Gardasil story is not just history – it is the template for BRIJ’s future.