Australia could shine brightly in medical manufacturing. Pic: Getty Images
Health & Biotech
Australia has “huge economic potential” to manufacture health and medical products onshore, commercialising world-leading research and developing a skilled workforce.
In the second part of our series we hear from industry leaders about the state of Australia’s health and medical products manufacturing sector and what lies ahead.
AusBiotech CEO Rebekah Cassidy told Stockhead the life sciences industry is very much on the Federal Government’s agenda as it proactively works to modernise Australia’s economy and build sovereign capability in key sectors.
“The sector not only has huge economic potential, currently contributing over $250 million to the country’s gross domestic product, but it provides patients access to innovative therapies for unmet medical needs, translates Australia’s high-quality research into commercial products, and creates skilled jobs for Australians,” she says.
“The Federal Government’s Medical Science Co-Investment Plan, released in April this year, outlines the government’s ambition to boost onshore medical science manufacturing aligned to its Future Made in Australia agenda.
“We are engaging with government to ensure industry has a role in shaping and supporting policy and initiatives dedicated to building Australia’s late-stage life sciences ecosystem.”
The biggest company on the ASX health care index CSL (ASX:CSL) has manufacturing facilities in various locations worldwide including Germany, Switzerland, the UK, US, China and Australia.
CSL Behring has the largest plasma fractionation facility in the Southern Hemisphere in Melbourne.
CSL Seqirus’s Parkville facility in Melbourne produces essential products for Australia, including antivenoms and the Q fever vaccine.
The facility also manufactures both egg as well as cell-based vaccines for seasonal, pre-pandemic, and pandemic influenza for both Australia and the world, while developing candidate vaccine viruses for the World Health Organisation in the Asia Pacific region.
CSL Seqirus is also in the process of building another manufacturing facility in Tullamarine, Melbourne. The facility will provide seasonal and pandemic cell-based influenza vaccine manufacturing along with antivenoms and Q-Fever vaccine manufacturing.
CSL says the construction phase is ending and the qualification phase is set to begin on the facility which will boost CSL Seqirus’ global manufacturing network and Australia’s sovereign capability for vaccine production.
Australia’s first large-scale mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility is now being constructed at Monash University in Melbourne as a result of a decade-long partnership between the Australian Government, Victorian Government and global pharmaceutical company Moderna.
It will be Moderna’s first mRNA vaccine manufacturing site outside of North America.
Other big ASX healthcare names, including leader in obstructive sleep apnoea and other sleep-related respiratory disorders ResMed (ASX:RMD) along with hearing specialist Cochlear (ASX:COH), also maintain production capabilities in Australia.
A spokesperson for RMD says the company manufactures in Australia, Singapore, France, and the US.
“With both R&D and manufacturing co-located at our local headquarters Bella Vista, ResMed has grown to be one of Australia’s largest exporters of medical devices,” the spokesperson said.
“ResMed is proud to be Australian-born and remains committed to making Australia the most attractive place for the next generation of manufacturers.”
The spokesperson said in the last 12 months, RMD has actively participated in the Federal Government’s Inquiry into developing advanced manufacturing in Australia aimed at further supporting Australian industry, creating jobs and investing in the country’s ability to make world class healthcare products here in Australia.
“ResMed is looking forward to working constructively with the Australian Government on the implementation of important recommendations and incentives to encourage companies to design in Australia, build in Australia, employ in Australia, and export from Australia.”
While not ASX-listed, advanced medtech manufacturer Neo-Bionica was founded in 2021 in Melbourne, specialising in developing and manufacturing neurotechnologies and smart Medtech devices.
Neurotech devices are medical technologies designed to interface with the nervous system to prevent, diagnose, monitor, or alleviate medical conditions.
Examples include hearing implants, deep brain stimulators, and spinal cord stimulators, which are used to treat conditions such as hearing loss, Parkinson’s disease, and chronic pain, respectively.
The company was established to meet a gap in the Australian market. Before being established Australian neurotech innovators needed to go overseas to prototype and manufacture their devices.
Neo-Bionica is also the only contract manufacturer to provide hermitisation services in Australia. Hermetisation is a critical manufacturing capability needed for sealing and producing reliable and safe implantable devices such as cardiac pacemakers, deep brain stimulators, and biosensors.
The global neurotech market, projected to reach ~US$38bn ($58bn) by 2032, is growing at a CAGR of ~11.5%, driven by advancements in biomaterials, miniaturisation of electronics, and increasing market acceptance of neurotechnology and implantable devices.
As a result of this growth, there has been a surge in investment in the development of new neurotech devices.
In 2021, US$7.1bn ($10.8bn) was invested in neurotech companies, which increased from US$1.1bn ($1.7bn) in 2014.
Recent attention from Elon Musk’s Neurolink is also helping to further encourage investment in this area of medical innovation.
”I see an opportunity for Australia to develop manufacturing capabilities in areas of engineering and biomedical complexity that also allow automation to be utilised,” Neo-Bionica CEO Dr Ludovic Labat told Stockhead
“We should also concentrate on areas that leverage existing, world-class expertise.
“This approach has proven successful at Neo-Bionica. We have built a highly respected team by drawing from Australia’s strength in neurotechnology.
“Our team in Melbourne includes engineers and researchers with experience in leading Australian academic and commercial organisations such as Synchron, Cochlear, Saluda, the University of Melbourne, and the Bionics Institute.”
Labat says the world-class calibre of its Australian team is evident in the company’s ability to attract top-tier international talent and successfully win international clients.
“In just three years, approximately 60% of our revenue has been earned from international clients,” he says.
“I take great pride in our role in enabling the rapid translation of medical research to the domestic market and exporting Australia’s deep expertise in neurotechnology to the world.”
Dr Megan O’Connor, the managing director of boutique medtech and biotech consultancy Kantara Consulting, says improving domestic, industry-based manufacturing capabilities enhance our ability to capture more value from Australia’s world-leading medical research.
“The economic opportunity for improving our commercialisation rates of medical innovation is great,” she says.
“The market is global, and the demand is increasing.
“Both the state and federal governments play an important role in establishing new onshore manufacturing capabilities, and encouragingly, governments have been very active in the space since covid.
“However, any government investment should be strategic and coordinated, matched to existing world-leading expertise, growing market opportunities and avoiding unviable replication across the country.”
READ: Australia’s medical manufacturing sector – a global success story in the making
Health & Biotech
Health & Biotech
Health & Biotech
