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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-08-06 Daily Xml
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Medical Research Commercialisation Fund

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (14:31): My question is to the Minister for Science and Information Economy.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: My Dorothy Dixer is to—

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: No, it is a very good question. With the recently opened SAHMRI building rapidly becoming a landmark on North Terrace, can the minister inform the house about what steps the government is taking to develop South Australia's innovative health and medical research into tangible economic benefits for the state?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:31): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. The new SAHMRI building on North Terrace may be a high-profile symbol of the emphasis which we place on scientific research in this state, but it is also just the tip of South Australia's burgeoning bioscience sector. South Australia has a rich history of biomedical research that deserves a chance to grow, to garner widespread attention, and to develop innovative and groundbreaking medical therapies and technologies. Despite these successes, there has been a lack of early-stage funding in South Australia to commercialise new therapies and technologies.

On Wednesday 30 July I was able to fulfil a commitment made before the last state election that will help South Australian researchers attract national and international investment and marketing opportunities. By joining an established venture capital fund, the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund, an exciting new chapter for medical research in this state opens up. South Australia now joins other Australian states and well-established Australian superannuation funds in the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund which will deliver dedicated investment for the commercialisation of research carried out by its member medical institutes.

The state government, through the Department of State Development and SA Health, has agreed to invest $600,000 over four years to help establish the fund in South Australia. The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, with its more than 600 leading scientists and researchers, has signed on to the fund and will provide in-kind support of $30,000.

While SAHMRI will be South Australia's first institute to join the fund, we are obviously very much looking forward and encouraging other South Australian research organisations to join up as well. Access to this multimillion dollar venture capital fund gives medical research institutions and hospitals access to early-stage funding to commercialise their research into new therapies, diagnostics and medicines that can help not only improve the health of people but also clearly have economic benefits as well.

Further, the partnership will better link businesses and researchers to form new ventures and investment opportunities in South Australia, potentially creating new jobs for local industry. The fund will provide SAHMRI and future members with the opportunity to tap into a global network of industry experts, to guide early-stage investments and development, and then attract follow-on venture capital funding and also potentially other partnering opportunities.

It is indeed timely that we announce this investment on the eve of National Science Week from 16 to 24 August. Australia's record of biomedical innovation, as I said, is impressive. I need only point out the significance of one of South Australia's Nobel Prize winners, Lord Howard Florey, for his contribution to the development of penicillin. The complete list of the nation's achievements is extraordinary: the cochlear implant or bionic ear, the Relenza flu vaccine, the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, and many other achievements. Now the challenge is to bring such innovation into the commercial sphere to the benefit of all Australians.

Should members opposite consider that we are talking about a marginal industry, I would refer them to the federal government's 2013 McKeon review, the Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research, which acknowledged the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector as now being our largest manufacturing exporter, worth $4 billion per annum. In the past we have done some great science here in South Australia, and through participation in the national Medical Research Commercialisation Fund we will take the next step forward and make sure that ideas from our best and brightest people are not abandoned and left to be exploited internationally by others elsewhere.

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