BioInvest Catalyst Dinner: Turning Conversations into Capital

The latest instalment of BioNSW's BioInvest Catalyst Dinner series was held on 21 July 2026. The sell out dinner brought together life sciences leaders and investors at The Oriana Sydney, against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, for an evening focused squarely on one goal: unlocking capital for the NSW biotech sector.

As BioNSW Investment Committee Chair Christian Toouli reflected afterwards,

“It was a fabulous event: an engaging format, a great venue, plus an interesting and diverse guest list of industry professionals.”

Attendees included high net worth investors, VCs, fund managers and stockbrokers who networked with private and publicly listed biotech, medtech and diagnostic company CEOs and other senior life sciences professionals. Investors, innovators and deal enablers alike appeared engaged and appreciative of the connections and conversations the evening created.

A New Format: The Expert Panel

For the first time, the dinner featured an expert panel discussion, centred on the theme "Investing for Impact: how capital, collaboration, and conviction are shaping the future of healthcare."

The panel was moderated by Jane Lowe, Founder and Managing Director of IR Department, and featured:

• Holly Stefl, Founding Director of Aurora Bio Partners and Senior Advisor at Paddington St Finance

• Michael Corcoran, CEO of Novar Impact Capital

• John Hester, Senior Analyst at Bell Potter

The discussion explored what it actually takes to turn healthcare innovation into real-world outcomes, from the mechanics of capital deployment to the collaboration needed to get there.

Thanks to Our Sponsors

BioNSW extends its thanks to Paddington Street Finance and to IR Department for their support in bringing the evening together. These events are heavily subsidised by sponsorship – BioNSW welcomes approaches from existing and potential sponsors for our future events.

Investors, Innovators and Enablers in the Room

Feedback from the evening reflected genuine engagement from investors, innovators and enablers, strong endorsement for the expert insights provided by the panel, and appreciation for the connections and conversations made possible via the event. Getting an evening like this right takes real coordination, and the result showed in the room on the night.

If you attended, we encourage you to follow up and foster the connections you made. If you missed this one and want to register interest for the next BioInvest Catalyst Dinner, get in touch via info@bionsw.org.

BioNSW's BioInvest Catalyst Dinner series is designed to deepen engagement between investors and life sciences entrepreneurs across NSW, translating networking into real capital outcomes for the sector.

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