Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Industry Growth Centre Launch

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Press Conference at Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney
10 December 2015

SUBJECTS, National Innovation and Science Agenda;Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Industry Growth Centre Launch

Christopher Pyne: Well thank you very much for coming and being part of this launch today. I am here obviously to launch the Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Industry Growth Centre; I’m pleased to have Bronwyn Evans here, who will be the Chairman of the new Industry Growth Centre, and of course Sussan Ley is here as the Minister for Health, and she’ll comment on the Biomedical Translation Fund, one of the key elements of the National Innovation and Science Agenda.

So today we are launching the Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Industry Growth Centre. It will be housed here at the University of Sydney. Bronwyn Evans will be the Chairman of it, and it’s one of the six Industry Growth Centres that are driving technology, innovation, the interface between industry and universities, bringing together what we know about a particular industry and trying to expand it to export markets, to expand supply chains, to provide literature and support for businesses within that particular Industry Growth Centre. And we have identified six areas where we think there is great potential for expanding what we already do now, and do well.

In Australia, medical technologies, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals are a very significant industry. The pharmaceuticals industry itself employs 16,000 Australians. There are 1800 individual firms in the medical devices and medical technologies sector of the economy, and they’re exporting $2.5 billion of value every year. So we want to turbocharge that part of the economy. And as part of the National Innovation and Science Agenda, we’ve launched on Monday plans for a cyber-security Industry Growth Centre because, again, Australia is at the forefront internationally of cyber-security and research in that area, and we believe the US$71 billion industry across the world, Australia needs to get a slice of that particular part of economic activity so we can grow jobs and grow growth. And in medical technologies and pharmaceuticals there is the great capacity to do that. So I’m glad that Bronwyn’s taken on that role on behalf of the Government, and I know that this Industry Growth Centre, along with the others in advanced manufacturing, food and agriculture et cetera, will be great drivers of jobs and growth for the economy.

Sussan Ley: Thank you Christopher, it’s lovely to be here at the Charles Perkins Centre at Sydney University, and we’re here because this centre could well be a perfect partner in the Biomedical Translation Fund. This is the Government investing $250 million over two years to bring projects from research into commercialisation. We’re all familiar with the so-called valley of death, which is that lull between the concept, the early stage clinical trials, further work needs to be done, lots of demonstrations to national and international bodies, safety and efficacy, and finally commercialisation. This Biomedical Translation Fund will indeed help bridge that gap. And it’s really exciting that the sorts of industries that Christopher has described in medical devices and pharmaceuticals, which too often are not manufactured in Australia; they may be packaged here and they may be distributed from here, but there’s not enough local manufacturing. This will address those issues, those concerns. Because every Australian knows that we’ve got the smarts, we’ve got the ideas, we’ve got the initiatives, we’re really, really good at the early stage research, and one thing Australians really don’t like is when that early stage research gets commercialised offshore. So I’m absolutely delighted to be spending a couple of days in Sydney and really appreciating the opportunity that Sydney University is providing to the initiatives that we’re discussing today.

Christopher Pyne: Bronwyn did you want to add something, as the incoming Chair?

Bronwyn Evans: Thank you. And thank you Minister Pyne and Minister Ley. The Growth Centre that we’re really launching today, the Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Growth Centre, being part of that overall ecosystem for innovation in this area I think is a really great start for us to be putting the Australian, as Senator Ley said, putting Australian companies and innovation right out there at the forefront. We’re really just starting that journey as a Growth Centre, and it’s great to be here at Sydney University, and what a better symbol of that innovation than the Charles Perkins Growth Centre. So thank you for coming along today to do this launch, and thank you to Sydney University for putting in the bid and being the successful host for our Growth Centre. So thank you.

Christopher Pyne: Thank you Bronwyn. Okay. Thank you very much.