Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia has named the finalists for its awards to be given out for best commercial deal and for best creative engagement strategy.

Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia (KCA) has announced the finalists for its inaugural KCA Research Commercialisation Awards. The awards will honour one of three nominees for best commercial deals, and one of four nominees for best creative engagement strategy.

The spin-out companies and research projects nominated for best commercial deals are as follows.

Curtin University sold Scanalyse to engineering company Outotec for an undisclosed amount in February 2013. Scanalyse has developed laser scanning technology that can monitor the interior condition of mills and crushers in the mineral industry.

Griffith Enterprise – the technology transfer company of Griffith University – commercialised Silicon Carbide Coast, and attracted several million dollar contracts with UK-based Spts Technologies and China-based microeletronics specialist Sicc Materials.

Queensland University’s commercialisation arm UniQuest closed a funding round for a new drug that treats rheumatoid arthritis. The round was led by pharmaceutical company Janssen, which has been setting up the drug for a phase I clinical trial.

The nominees for best creative engagement meanwhile are as follows.

Adelaide University has created the world’s most comprehensive database for antimicrobial resistance in animals. The project has been run in conjunction with Zoetis – majority shares in which Pfizer sold in May 2013 – and 22 government, private and university laboratories. The bacterial infections kill more than 9,000 people in Australia each year, more than breast cancer, prostate cancer and car accidents combined.

Curtin University’s West Tech Fest – OzApps Awards are awarded once a year in Perth to entrepreneurs. The university raises up to $1m in prize money and in kind contributions. The awards are credited with creating a more diverse economy in the area.

Swinburne University of Technology worked with industry to produce Australia’s first 3D Imax film, using images from telescopes and watched by more than 700,000 people.

Griffith Enterprise is behind The Seed Project, which reunites its creative arts students to develop and market a music album each year. The project runs in partnership with the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.

KCA bills itself as the peak body for organisations and individuals associated with technology transfer, and aims to provide a bridge between public bodies, industry and academia. The awards ceremony will be held on September 18, 2014 in Brisbane.

Frank Hurley, chief executive at Wrays, the awards’ sponsor, said: “Through our support, we hope to raise awareness of the importance of understanding often undervalued intellectual property to leverage new ideas, and subsequently nurture relationships with future entrepreneurs by enabling them to protect and also generate wealth from their innovations.”