In development. Features, timelines and partnership models are subject to final settings and approvals. Figures marked as targets are indicative.

The translation gap · Australia · 2024

For every $100 of public research,
women's health receives $3.30.
The economy loses billions.

Women's Health Foundry is being built by Proto Axiom to close the translation gap — specialist de-risking, milestone-gated capital, and partner pathways for Australian women's health ventures.

Where the gap lands

% of national total

  • Endometriosis

    15× gap

  • Menopause & midlife

    13× gap

  • Maternal health

    5× gap

  • Cardiometabolic (women)

    6× gap

Share of burdenShare of research $

Illustrative, derived from AIHW burden-of-disease + NHMRC/MRFF allocations, FY2023–24.

The gap

Burden is concentrated. Funding is not.

Across conditions that disproportionately affect women, disease burden routinely outruns research investment. The gap compounds down the pipeline: fewer programs, fewer clinical assets, fewer approvals.

Share of disease burden
Share of women-specific research $

Representative selection. Illustrative ranges derived from NHMRC, MRFF and AIHW datasets + Temkin et al. (2023). Ratios rounded.

The $7.4–9.7B drag, by category

% of national total

Reproductive & maternal

burden 9.2%·spend 1.1%·8.4× gap

Endometriosis & pelvic pain

burden 4.4%·spend 0.3%·14.7× gap

Cardiovascular (in women)

burden 11.8%·spend 2.9%·4.1× gap

Cancers (female-specific)

burden 7.1%·spend 4.2%·1.7× gap

Mental health (women)

burden 12.4%·spend 3.1%·4.0× gap

3.3%

Research $ to women-specific programs (FY2023–24)

$7.4–9.7B

Estimated annual GDP drag from under-addressed disease

Median burden-to-spend gap in the categories above

The thesis

A specialist platform, not another fund.

The Foundry is the operating layer. Capital rides on top — milestone-gated, co-invested, and governed by independent review.

Program shape — indicative

Cohort size

ventures per intake

6–8

Tranche sizes

per stage, per venture

$150k – $2M

Co-investment

strategic, institutional, philanthropic

Required

Governance

investment + clinical review committees

Independent

  1. I

    Structural mispricing

    Women's health is under-translated, not just under-funded. The gap between discovery and patient impact is an operations problem with measurable economic consequences.

  2. II

    Category specialism compounds

    Specialist milestones, regulatory maps, and partner networks outperform generic incubation across every stage of the pipeline.

  3. III

    Milestone-gated capital

    Tranches tied to decision-grade de-risking — not undifferentiated runway — produce better portfolio-level outcomes and clearer stop points.

  4. IV

    Co-investment, not substitution

    Public investment unlocks matched strategic, institutional and philanthropic capital. Built with universities, health services, industry and consumers as shared infrastructure.

The mechanism

Five linked stages. Milestone-gated capital. No drift.

Full operating manual

Stage 02

Stage 1 de-risking

Fund work that removes the next material uncertainties — technical, regulatory, commercial.

Deliverables

  • Evidence plan
  • Regulatory map
  • Key experiments

Typical funding

$150–400k

Duration

6–9 mo

What triggers advance

  • Evidence answers the next material question for regulators or capital
  • Operating and commercial plan updated with what was learned
  • Independent reviewer signs off on readiness for next stage

Why now, why us

Ready to deploy. Built on a working operation.

The Foundry is the next scale of an operating platform already running. Staffing, selection process, review governance and partner network are in place — the mandate extends proven infrastructure to a specialist women's health cohort.

Operator track record

A team that has already done the work

Proto Axiom has run translation programs across Australian universities and health services, attracting $19.5M+ in non-dilutive follow-on to portfolio teams and convening 950+ researchers, clinicians and industry partners through national programs.

$19.5M+

Non-dilutive follow-on

11

Teams incubated

950+

People convened

200+

Applications reviewed

Category specialism

Purpose-built for women's health translation

Specialist milestones, endpoints and evidence sequencing. Category review embedded at selection, not bolted on. Designed with clinical and consumer partners across reproductive, cardiometabolic, oncology and mental-health programs.

4

Priority categories

14

Institutions engaged

4

States represented

100%

Consumer-reviewed selection

Mission fit

Aligned to MRFF translational priorities

Moves Australian research through de-risking, evidence and commercialisation pathways into patient impact — directly addressing MRFF priorities around women's health, translation and the national research workforce. Co-investment structured for leverage, not substitution.

Co-invest

Required

Gated

Milestone capital

Independent

Review committees

National

Reach by design

Governance

Built by operators. Governed independently.

Proto Axiom designs and runs the platform; investment decisions sit with an independent committee. Clinical and consumer advisory panels review category, evidence and ethics.

“Strong programs stall not because teams lack ambition, but because the next step is unclear. The Foundry exists to make the next step obvious.”

Sue MacLeman · Inaugural Chair of the Board

Investment committee

Independent. Meets each gate. Approves tranche advance, scope change, or stop.

Clinical advisory

Category experts. Review evidence plans and endpoint choices pre-funding.

Consumer review

Patients and advocates. Embedded in selection and design, not consulted post-hoc.

Proto Axiom operating team

Builder-operator. Runs screening, incubation, and partner pathways day to day.

Why separation matters

Milestone capital is only credible if a body independent of the operating team can say “stop.” Investor, clinical and consumer review sit outside day-to-day operations by design.

Ecosystem

Organisations active in this space

Proto Axiom has worked with researchers and teams at many of these institutions. Formal platform partnerships are being established as governance settings are confirmed.

University of Sydney
UNSW
Monash University
University of Melbourne
Royal Women's Hospital
St Vincent's Hospital
QIMR Berghofer
AusBiotech

Register interest

Tell us your role and context.

We use this to prioritise outreach as the platform is finalised. Founders, partners, investors and community members each get a tailored brief.

Founders / researchers

Stage, category, and institution. We route to the right reviewer.

Partners / advisors

Sites, expertise, networks. Where you can contribute.

Investors / supporters

Tranches and timing. Updates on the anchor round.

Community / consumer

Lived experience and advocacy partners for review panels.