bioXclusters

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (14:17): My question is directed to the Minister for Health Industries. Minister, can you inform the house how the signing of a business development agreement with a major European biomedical super cluster will fast-track business results for our biomedical companies?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:17): I would like to thank the member for Ashford for the question.

Mr Knoll interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert is warned for the second and final time. It would be a pity if he got a pair this week.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: In March this year, I told the house that I had signed a memorandum of understanding between South Australia and the Piedmont region of Italy, focusing on increasing collaboration in health industries.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is called to order.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: The agreement helps our two jurisdictions work together to support the growth of life science companies in our regions, especially in the healthcare sector, and it will also increase collaboration on research and education and help the parties share best practices and knowledge for delivering better public health services.

I am pleased that last month at the BIO International Convention 2016 in San Francisco, the world's largest biomedical conference, Health Industry South Australia put pen to paper on a mutual business development agreement with four organisations representing life sciences and health clusters in Europe. This agreement will provide a framework for the exchange of market information and help open Europe up to our local life sciences companies even further. That in turn will help fast-track business results for companies and solve the common problem for small to medium enterprises of landing in new markets.

Along with the Piedmont region, we are formally linked to Catalonia, Bavaria and the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes region of France. Together, the four European clusters—Biocat in Catalonia, BioM in Bavaria, bioPmed in Piedmont and Lyonbiopole in the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes—form the bioXclusters PLUS alliance. This alliance comprises more than 3,300 SMEs focusing on drug development, health care and medical technology and is supported by the European Union.

This agreement will benefit South Australian companies targeting European markets, enabling them to create networks for potential commercialisation partners and customers. It will facilitate exports, research collaboration and commercial outcomes and provide opportunities for job creation within the high-tech health sector in South Australia. Health Industries South Australia, with the help of BioSA, signed the agreement on behalf of more than 100 health industries companies and research organisations, underlining our dedication to grow the health and life sciences sector in Adelaide.

That dedication has also been shown by the more than $3 billion that is being invested in health and life sciences infrastructure at Adelaide BioMed City, one of the largest health and life sciences clusters in the Southern Hemisphere, bringing together research, education, clinical care and business incubation and development.