As part of a four-year plan to attract investment, diversify the economy and create new jobs, the Western Australian Government has committed $8.65 million to implement WA’s first ever Health and Medical Life Sciences Industry Strategy.
Launched last year, the Strategy provides the framework to develop and grow the health and medical life science sector, outlining its potential to create highly skilled jobs and improve patient outcomes.
Building atop of WA’s multitude of strengths as a hub for research, manufacturing and investment, focus areas for the strategy include strengthening innovation, facilitating commercialisation, developing skills, attracting talent, encouraging investment and supporting advanced manufacturing.
From this $8.65 million commitment, the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation will receive $2.5 million to establish a health and medical life sciences team that will implement key elements of the strategy including:
- engaging with industry, the Commonwealth and investors to leverage collaboration and partnership funding opportunities for the sector in WA;
- funding of $250,000 for a business case to support development of common use facilities for local companies to prototype and manufacture products and devices;
- industry commercialisation and market readiness is a critical part of the strategy; and
- enterprises will receive $1.6 million to boost WA's competitiveness.
With Western Australia still transitioning from the measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, health and medical life sciences have never been more important.
This new strategy will lay the groundwork to establish WA as a global hub for research, development and commercialisation for digital health, medical technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and health and wellness products.
You can read the strategy in full here: Health and Medical Life Sciences Industry Strategy (www.wa.gov.au)
