Developing Advanced Manufacturing in Australia: Response to the Inquiry by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Resources

This submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Resources inquiry into developing advanced manufacturing in Australia addresses the terms of reference as they apply to medical products, including medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and medical devices. Research Australia points to recent investments by CSL, Moderna, Sanofi and BioNTech, state mRNA initiatives and growth in listed biotech market capitalisation, along with Australia’s strengths in clinical trials and more than $8 billion a year spent on health and medical research. Noting that in 2019 Australia exported US$3.2 billion of pharmaceuticals (0.55% of global exports) while importing US$7.38 billion, and that COVID-19 exposed supply chain vulnerabilities, it proposes a National Medical Products Industry Plan with a goal of making Australia a net exporter of medical products by 2035, coordinated with the proposed Australian Centre for Disease Control and the $1.5 billion medical products allocation of the National Reconstruction Fund. It identifies a shortage of facilities for manufacturing clinical trial materials as a key barrier and recommends support through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) Investment Plan and the Fund, including a feasibility study. It also recommends an Australian equivalent of the United States Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and its manufacturing centres, using government procurement to support domestic products such as point-of-care diagnostics for rural and remote areas, and an Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Strategy that builds on programs such as MTPConnect’s $32 million Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry initiative.