Today's National Biotech and Medtech Development and Commercialisation Summit 2024 in Canberra brings together more than 100 of Australia's leading industry figures, policy experts, and innovators to shape the future of the nation's biotech and medtech sectors with a unified voice.
As the life sciences industry navigates both unprecedented opportunities and pressing global and national challenges, the Summit offers a vital platform for setting a roadmap that will advance the sector's translation, development and commercialisation capacity.
Australia is a global leader in scientific research, consistently ranking in the top ten worldwide on the Global Innovation Index. However, with commercialisation efforts lagging—Australia currently ranks 30th for research outputs—there is an urgent need for targeted strategies that bridge this gap.
AusBiotech CEO, Rebekah Cassidy, said the Summit comes at pivotal time for Australian life sciences companies including innovators, manufacturers and service providers.
"The factors influencing life sciences investment and growth are changing rapidly, which is why it's crucial that AusBiotech leverage its national convening power to elevate the sector's voice and lead evidenced-based policy discussions. Now is the time for a unified strategy and roadmap focused on enhancing industry's development and commercialisation capabilities to bring more life changing medical innovations to market."
MTPConnect CEO Stuart Dignam says nurturing a culture of innovation and focus on commercialisation can make all the difference.
"We need a coordinated strategy for backing life sciences innovation and supporting startups and SMEs through the difficult early years of innovation so we capture more opportunities to develop and commercialise sovereign medical products that create jobs, exports and health improvements."
In response to current and future pressures—such as pandemics, supply chain challenges, an aging population, and the global drive for health equity —Australia's life sciences sector is critical in ensuring the nation's health and economic security.
As the Government continues to prioritise biotechnology as a critical technology field, this Summit is a timely call to action to secure Australia's competitive advantage and drive national productivity.
The Summit will address four central themes identified in the recently launched Discussion Paper:
- Protecting and Advancing Australia's Health: Developing strategies to strengthen Australia's health security and ensure sovereign capabilities.
- Moving Beyond Early-Stage Development: Tackling the "valleys of death" in commercialisation to build globally competitive, sustainable businesses.
- Growing and Optimising the Capital Pool: Exploring innovative ways to increase and effectively deploy capital, crucial for scaling up biotech and medtech organisations.
- Creating a Development-Focused Workforce: Addressing the skills gaps to build a sustainable workforce that can support a mature biotech and medtech ecosystem.
Through this Summit, both organisations hope to provide a clear roadmap to government and industry stakeholders that aligns our policies, funding, and capabilities to accelerate the commercialisation of Australian innovations and position Australia as a global leader.
The outcomes from today will inform a joint communique and a white paper, outlining a pathway for advancing Australia's biotech and medtech industries.
