Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: Wisconsin research institutions and bioscience enterprises should consider collaborating with their Australian counterparts to conduct clinical trials due to the favorable conditions created by Australia’s regulatory, economic and health care systems.

Australia is recognized internationally as one of the best places to conduct clinical trials due to the presence of world-class medical research and health care infrastructure, socioeconomic stability, efficient regulatory and intellectual property systems, and a rapid clinical trial approval system. For over three decades, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies from across the globe have relied on Australian clinical trial sites to deliver timely results and fulfill quality and ethical standards.

Every year, around 1,000 new clinical trials begin in Australia, representing $800 million ($1billion Australian) in investment. The world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies alone invest around $155 million ($200 million Australian) each year in clinical trials in Australia. The Australian government also provides funding to the sector, primarily through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA). Each year the NHMRC disburses around $700 million ($900 million Australian) through this account, and of that, more than $78 million ($100 million Australian) goes towards clinical trials.

As a state, Wisconsin is recognized for its strong international leadership and research capabilities in the bioscience sector, and encouragingly, several examples exist of joint projects between Australian and Wisconsin research institutions in this space:

Other Wisconsin organizations with R&D capabilities, medical devices and medical technology solutions may also find opportunities to form partnerships in Australia through research collaboration, as part of a consortium or by establishing an in-country presence and tapping into local funding.

Wisconsin companies interested in exploring opportunities to undertake clinical trials in Australia are therefore encouraged to: