About this work

This Regulatory Navigation resource is designed to complement and build upon the existing commercialisation ecosystem at the MacDiarmid Institute, and therefore does not cover important topics covered by other initiatives, such as patent law and IP. Instead, it brings together real-world examples of regulation-related challenges faced by local startups, emphasising to MacDiarmid Institute researchers the importance of regulatory planning when scaling up from the lab to the market. The content of this resource should not be regarded as legal advice, and it is recommended that qualified professionals are consulted when taking actions informed by this resource.

This project was compiled by Dr Ned Treacher and funded by a MacDiarmid Institute internship.

Acknowledgements

A huge thanks to all those who helped build or were consulted for this project. Thanks to:

The Regulatory Navigation project leaders:

• Professor Juliet Gerrard, University of Auckland (who had the idea for the project).
• Dr George Slim.

The startup founders who provided the case studies and other valuable insights:

• Dr Anna Henning, MBIE.
• Jonathan Ring, Zincovery.
• Dr Jack Chen, Spherelose.
• Professor Lyall Hanton, University of Otago.
• Dr Olivia Ogilvie, Opo Bio.
• Dr Eldon Tate, Inhibit Coating.

The government specialists who provided helpful regulation-related and networking advice:

• Chris Burgess, NZTE.
• Dr Alan Coulson, MBIE.
• Dr Nicole Herr, MBIE.
• Dr Gill Jolly, MBIE.
• Professor Louise Parr-Brownlie, MBIE and University of Otago.
• Professor Emily Parker, MBIE and Victoria University of Wellington.
• Dr Peter Dawson, NZ EPA.

The commercialisation and industry experts who helped shape this project and gave networking advice:

• Kevin Sheehy, The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology.
• Associate Professor Natalie Plank, Victoria University of Wellington.
• Liz Prendergast, Victoria University of Wellington.
• Ela Romanowska, Wellington UniVentures.
• Jeremy Jones, Wellington UniVentures.
• Dr Emma Brown, University of Auckland.
• Professor Geoff Willmott, University of Auckland.
• Professor Jadranka Travaš-Sejdić, University of Auckland.
• Professor Ian Bissett, University of Auckland.
• Will Charles, Auckland UniServices.
• John Henley-King, Massey University.
• Professor Aaron Marshall, University of Canterbury.
• Dr Andrew Chen, NZ Police.
• Andrew Clews, Callaghan Innovation.
• Claudia Epskamp, Callaghan Innovation.
• Professor Justin Hodgkiss, Advemto.
• Dr Shivali Gulab, Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
• Yaara Yarmut, Alimetry.
• Professor Kjesten Wiig, Malaghan Institute of Medical Research.
• Jennifer Anderson, Malaghan Institute of Medical Research.
• Gabrielle Sturrock, Malaghan Institute of Medical Research.
• Tama Braithwaite-Westoby, Malaghan Institute of Medical Research.
• Nadine Williams, Instinct Lab NZ.
• Dr Madeleine White, LabMates.