This beggars the question as to why the trials were not done in Australia rather than Thailand.
They would have been faster if nothing else.
Australia proves its reputation as ‘go-to’ destination for clinical trials - *Australiaproves its reputation as ‘go-to’ destination for clinical trials
- MTPConnect said Australia has a global reputation as a ‘go to’ destination to conduct clinical trials
- Sector generated $1.6bn for the Australia economy in 2022, up by more than 4% on 2019 figures
- Argenica said cost to conduct trials in Australia is much cheaper and they receive automated approval as an eligible R&D tax activity
Australia has a strong reputation as a top clinicaltrials destination, generating $1.6bn for the economy in 2022 and growing bymore than 4% on 2019 figures, according to MTPConnect’s latest Clinical Trials Sector Report.
MTPConnect CEO Stuart Dignam said growth was achieved despite the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic downturn and underscores Australia’s hard-earned global reputation as a ‘go to’ destination to conduct clinical trials.
“Clinical trials are a critical step in the R&D pipeline for new treatments and as well as ensuring Australian patients receive the best, safest and most effective treatments,” said Dignam.
“These new figures also show clinical trials are more valuable for the economy than ever before.”
MTPConnect is an independent not-for-profit operating life sciences accelerator programs supporting ‘homegrown’ development and commercialisation of cutting-edge medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical innovations.
The organisation’s clinical trials sector report was first published in 2017 and has become a valued resource for state and federal governments, local and international sector participants and financial investors.
‘Can’t take success for granted’
Dignam said while the figures show the value of clinical trials to the economy has increased, there are signs of stagnation in other key metrics and Australia can’t afford to become complacent with its success in the area.
“In 2022, the clinical trials sector in Australia employed 7,700 Australians, slightly less than the 8,000 employed in 2019,” he said.
“Around 90,000 Australians participated in trials, down from 95,000 in 2019 and there were 1,850 trials started, slightly lower than the 1,880 trials started in 2019.”
There’s no doubt Covid-19 restrictions blunted growth, with significant falls in key metrics seen in 2020, noted Dignam, adding:
“While there was a robust rebound in 2021, demonstrating the life science sector’s resilience, we’ve not been able to maintain some of those post-Covid gains into 2022.
“The figures show that we can’t take success for granted and need to keep innovating and investing in order to stay competitive with other international markets like Singapore, the US and South Korea.”
MTPConnect has identified key areas in the sector for ongoing attention including improving efficiency in trial start up, enhancing data transparency, increasing patient awareness to support recruitment and expanding the workforce to support clinical trials growth.
Dignam said that the Australian Government’s National One Stop Shop supports three of MTPConnect’s priorities. That’s an initiative that makes it easier for patients, researchers, industry representatives and sponsors to find, conduct, participate and invest in high quality and ethical research in Australia.
“It presents an opportunity for Australia to leverage its reputation for excellence in early phase trials to become more competitive in attracting late phase trials and deliver more life-saving innovations to Australian patients.”
Patient-centric trials on the rise
Patient-centricity in trials is on the rise, noted Dignam, enhancing engagement and outcomes, while digital health solutions are improving access to trials for our underserved regional and rural populations.
The emergence of precision medicine and innovative trial designs are revolutionising the clinical trial process and attracting greater investment into the clinical trials economy.
“Additionally, with regulatory change and uncertainty in the European Union and United States, Australia is well-positioned to leverage its faster trial startup environment to capture a greater share of the global market for medical device trials,” said the MTPConnect CEO.
Dignam emphasised that it was imperative for Australia to ramp up investment in clinical trials to uphold its global competitiveness and continue delivering world-class healthcare to its people.
In another move to boost innovation, MTPConnect and Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Hub unveiled a joint accelerator named the Biomedical AI Sprints Accelerator (BASA) at the BIO International Convention held in San Diego earlier this year.
BASA aims to help high growth Australian biomedical companies harness the power of data and artificial intelligence (AI). The accelerator will help address AI expertise gaps, which MTPConnect’s recent skills gap analysis work identified as potentially holding back growth of Australia’s life sciences sector.
In Australia there are several ASX companies conducting clinical trials. * spoke with a couple of stand-outs.
