[Music plays and Monash University, CSIRO and Monash Health Translation Precinct logos appear]
[Image appears of a piece of robotic medical equipment in operation and then the image changes to show Dr Gordon McPhee talking to the camera and text appears: Dr Gordon McPhee, Monash Health Translation Precinct]
Dr Gordon McPhee: The translational phase is something that’s often referred to as the “Valley of Death” for potential medical treatment.
[Image changes to show a person operating equipment in a clean room and the camera zooms in on the person’s face and then on to their gloved hands working inside the equipment]
It’s where you are in a research environment, you have promising results that you need to trial in humans, in phase one clinical trials in humans and that step has traditionally been very expensive, with clean room space being very limited.
[Image changes to show Michael De Veer sitting in an office and talking to the camera and text appears: Dr Michael De Veer, Monash Biomedical Imaging]
Dr Michael De Veer: And that’s where Monash MedTech comes in, definitely.
[Music plays and images move through of a robotic arm working inside a clean room and then the image changes to show a person operating a computer]
[Image changes to show Dr David Haylock talking to the camera and text appears: Dr David Haylock, CSIRO Manufacturing]
Dr David Haylock: As a collective it really does provide all the things that a small manufacturing enterprise would need to develop products in the medtech sort of sector.
[Images move through of a piece of robotic equipment moving backwards and forwards over plastic trays and then the image changes to show Dr David Haylock talking to the camera]
The BMTF is CSIRO’s key contribution. Our people have great capabilities.
[Image changes to show a computer screen displaying different medical images of a human head]
So, apart from the infrastructure we have people with extensive expertise in polymers, surface coating technology, biofabrication and biocompatibility testing.
[Camera zooms in on an image looking down on the human head]
Dr Michael De Veer: Imaging is great.
[Image shows a computer screen display image showing a female operating the PET MRI scanner and then the image changes to show the female actually operating the equipment]
Everyone knows seeing is believing.
[Image changes to show computer screen displays of a female operating the PET MRI scanner and then the image changes to show Dr Michael De Veer talking to the camera and text appears: Dr Michael De Veer talking to the camera]
Probably the most exciting new piece of equipment we’ve got is the new PET MRI that SIEF funded, which is right next to us.
[Image shows a female operating a computer behind Dr Michael De Veer and then the camera zooms in on the screens and images she is working on]
That’s a great piece of kit. Simultaneous PET and MRI. So, we can really image for a long time and get very high-resolution PET images as well as those really beautiful, high resolution MRI images.
[Camera zooms out again to show Dr Michael De Veer talking to the camera]
We really can go from that pre-clinical model and scale right up to human imaging. So, we sort of offer that full suite of imaging.
[Camera zooms in on the imaging on the computer screen again and then the image changes to show Dr Gordon McPhee talking to the camera]
Dr Gordon McPhee: We are a translational hub. We like to take advanced research to the clinic.
[Image changes to show two female workers in the certified facility and the camera zooms in on one of the females squirting liquid into specimen jars]
We have a rather unique assortment of equipment within the cell therapies platform here all housed in an ISO 8 certified facility.
[Image changes to show a female seated with her hands inside gloves working in the Biospherix ex-vivo GMP isolator while Dr Gordon McPhee looks on]
One of them is the Biospherix ex-vivo GMP isolator for biological processing and expansion of cell therapy products.
[Images move through of Dr Gordon McPhee’s face as he watches, Dr Gordon McPhee working on a computer in the facility, the computer screen and then Dr Gordon McPhee working on the computer]
We also have a G7 3-D bioscaffolder as well, which we operate in a class 2 bio safety cabinet, designed specifically to take advanced research through to a pre-
clinical setting.
[Image changes to show Dr Michael De Veer talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a female working in a clean room facility and writing on a specimen jar]
Dr Michael De Veer: Behind the scenes there we’re all working together, pulling together to give the company the best output. So, they get all of our intellectual input but realistically without having to separately engage with us all.
[Images move through of the female’s face, a hand operating the control board on a piece of equipment, a female looking at the piece of equipment and Dr David Haylock talking to the camera]
Dr David Haylock: All of that capability is very expensive typically and often out of the scope of small manufacturing enterprises. Well we offer that sort of enormous infrastructure, very important infrastructure so they can develop prototypes and enable them to take the next step in product development.
[Music plays and images move through of a plastic tray and a piece of robotic equipment lifting the plastic tray and moving it]
[Text appears: Science and Industry Endowment Fund, This infrastructure is supported by SIEF]
M2 has been created by CSIRO, Monash University and Monash Health Translation Precinct (MHTP).
The new ‘one stop shop’ will bring the best minds and technology together to turn great ideas into a reality for Australia’s flourishing medtech industry and benefit millions of patients as a result of the breakthroughs expected.
Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Senator Arthur Sinodinos, today officially launched the M2 precinct at CSIRO’s new Biomedical Materials Translation Facility (BMTF) in Clayton, Victoria.
“From life-changing cochlear implants, to life-saving vaccines, world-first 3D printed bone and tissue replacements, Australia has an incredible track record when it comes to medical technologies and pharmaceuticals,” Senator Sinodinos said.
“M2 will help to accelerate development of technology like this, not only vital for the improvement of the lives of Australians facing medial challenges, but also leading to job and economic growth for Australia.”
Australia is home to more than 500 companies working in the Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals (MTP) sector. Many of these are small and medium enterprises, which can struggle to make the expensive, time consuming transition from prototype to clinically tested product.
M2 closes this gap for Australian businesses, providing a research ecosystem to transition new discoveries from the bench to prototyping, pre-clinical testing, industry evaluation and commercialisation.
“M2 leverages some of Australia’s best medtech expertise, experience and equipment,” CSIRO Director of Manufacturing Dr Keith McLean said.
“When a company comes to us we can use CSIRO and MHTP facilities to develop and analyse production scale prototypes, whilst the Monash Biomedical Imaging facility can provide advanced pre-clinical and clinical testing and imaging.”
With global populations ageing and emerging markets seeking better health care, there’s huge growth underway in the MTP sector. It’s expected to be worth almost $3 trillion by 2025, while $18 billion and 28,000 new jobs could be added to the Australian economy over the next eight years.
“Monash is determined to help build a new, globally competitive biomedical industry with our partners,” Monash University Provost and Senior Vice-President Professor Marc Parlange said.
“This initiative will deliver real health benefits to all Australians. Our healthcare spending is expected to almost double to 16 per cent of GDP by 2040. Cheaper and more effective medical solutions are better for our health and Australia’s financial future.”
This infrastructure is supported by the Science and Industry Endowment Fund.
