John Kurek
Investment Director @ Uniseed
Melbourne, Australia
John Kurek is a seed investor at Uniseed in Melbourne focused on Biotechnology and Therapeutics. John joined Uniseed as an Investment Manager in Melbourne. He is responsible for working closely with Melbourne Ventures Limited, the University of Melbourne's commercialisation group, in identifying new investment opportunities, and also covers Uniseed's overall biotechnology opportunities.John brings 10 years industry experience asa Biotechnology Manager with a focus on the strategic design and implementation of drug development programs. John's previous roles have included Pharmaceutical Development Manager at BioDiem Ltd, where he was responsible for managing the preclinical, clinical and regulatory aspects of BioDiem's drug development programs, and Preclinical Development Manager at Amrad Corporation Ltd where he was responsible for the management of preclinical drug development projects. His experience extends from drug discovery, to the phase I-II clinical phases of drug development. John has a PhD in Neuroscience and a Post Graduate Diploma in Drug Evaluation and Pharmaceutical Science, both from the University of Melbourne and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
- Total investments:
- 5
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 0%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries John Kurek invests in
Stages John Kurek invests in
Countries John Kurek invests in
Investment Focus
Industry
- Biotechnology 3 (60%)
- Therapeutics 1 (20%)
- Service Industry 1 (20%)
- Health Diagnostics 1 (20%)
- Enterprise Software 1 (20%)
Stage
- Seed 1 (20%)
- Grant 1 (20%)
- Funding Round 1 (20%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
Lucia Bio
|
Lucia Bio is a biotechnology company that focuses on developing Syk inhibitors that help in the treatment of immunological diseases. | $1.9M / Seed / Aug 19, 2025 | |
Certa Therapeutics
|
Certa Therapeutics is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing innovative therapies for the treatment of fibrotic diseases. | $16.8M / Grant / Jun 04, 2018 | |
Hatchtech
|
Hatchtech is an Australian company developing a locally developed proprietary technology platform that will enable the creation of a new generation of lowtoxicity pest control products. Specifically, the patented technology allows the complete blocking of pest species egg hatch through a novel mode of action. The technology has applicability forcontrolling ectoparasites and other egg laying pests of humans, animal, crops and the built environment. | $8.5M / Oct 31, 2013 | |
|
Hatchtech
|
Hatchtech is an Australian company developing a locally developed proprietary technology platform that will enable the creation of a new generation of lowtoxicity pest control products. Specifically, the patented technology allows the complete blocking of pest species egg hatch through a novel mode of action. The technology has applicability forcontrolling ectoparasites and other egg laying pests of humans, animal, crops and the built environment. | $8.1M / May 01, 2012 | |
|
Hatchtech
|
Hatchtech is an Australian company developing a locally developed proprietary technology platform that will enable the creation of a new generation of lowtoxicity pest control products. Specifically, the patented technology allows the complete blocking of pest species egg hatch through a novel mode of action. The technology has applicability forcontrolling ectoparasites and other egg laying pests of humans, animal, crops and the built environment. | $6.3M / Oct 26, 2010 |
Co-Investors
About Uniseed
Uniseed was established in October 2000 as a $20 million joint venture between the University of Melbourne (UM) and the University of Queensland (UQ). This proof of concept fund (Fund-1) operated with significant input and support from the commercialization offices of the two universities (UniQuest and Melbourne Ventures Limited), with staff ofthese organizations making up the majority of the Investment Committee and leading due diligence and management of most investment opportunities. Over 20 investments, typically of $250,000 - $500,000 were made from this fund.A new $40 million venture fund (Fund-2) ran from 2005-15, with the addition of a third leading university, the University of New South Wales, and a major private institutional investor, the Westscheme superannuation fund. The founding universities (UQ & UM) also committed further funds. Australian Super took over Westscheme's essets and commitments in July 2011.With the start of Fund-2, an independent management team was established, consisting of the CEO and three Investment Managers; one at each university catchment. The Investment Committee was restructured, with dedicated committees established for biotechnology or other technologies. The nominal investment limit was increased to $2.5 million to allow participation in follow-on funding rounds so as to preserve Uniseed's equity position.On 1 November 2015, Uniseed started its third and largest fund (Fund-3) with the addition of the University of Sydney and the CSIRO to the Universities of Queensland, Melbourne and NSW. This followed three high profile exits in the preceding 14 months (Fibrotech; Spinifex & Hatchtech). Each of the five partners committed $10 million over 10 years to the new fund (total fund $50 million).Uniseed’s partner research organisations spent nearly $4 billion on research, making up over 40% of the total research spend at 67 research organisations in Australia. Together, these organisations accounted for nearly 500 invention disclosures (34% of total) and 500 new registered IP rights filed (45% of total) over the same period(2013 National Survey of Research Commercialisation). Unlike private venture capital funds, Uniseed is dedicated to the needs of its research partners, and committed to servicing them consistently over the long term, irrespective of the short term conditions in external capital markets. It works in very close partnership with the research partner commercialisation companies and staff, providing a valuable adjunct to the capabilities these companies and staff provide. They in turn provide a best-practice commercialisation service tailored to their respective organisations. These companies are able to leverage to great effect the scale of operation and expertise of the Uniseed network.The fund is run with commercial discipline, ensuring independence and financial rigor in its investment decision-making processes. Success is measured by a balance of return on investment (including the flow of funds for research to further the commercialisation of intellectual property generated within the research partner catchments), the establishment of viable start-up companies, the generation of research income for research partners and the improvement of partner commercialisation processes.
Uniseed Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Alastair Hick
CEO
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John Kurek
Investment Director
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Jeffrey Bourne
Investment Manager
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Laura Droessler-Dansie
Investment Manager
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Liza Yeo
Investment Manager
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FAQ
What does John Kurek invest in?
John Kurek invests primarily in Biotechnology, Therapeutics and Service Industry startups, most often at Seed and Grant stage. Most of the 5 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Australia. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
When did John Kurek last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for John Kurek closed in Aug 2025. Shizune tracks 5 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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