$21.8 million to turn medical research into better patient care

The Morrison Government is investing more than $21 million to help turn vital medical research into better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for patients.

The grants announced today will support projects targeting a range of health issues affecting Australians, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. They are:

• $10 million from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Targeted Translation Research Accelerator to create a Cardiovascular Disease Research Centre, the Australian Stroke and Heart Research Accelerator
• $10 million from the MRFF Targeted Translation Research Accelerator to create a Diabetes Research Centre, the Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations
• $1.76 million in industry-led fellowships for researchers and clinicians from the MRFF Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry (REDI) initiative.

Australian medical researchers are among the best in the world. Our Government’s investments will help take their innovations from bench to bedside and ensure that their research is pursued, to make a real difference to people’s lives while also boosting our economy and creating jobs.

The MRFF funding to establish the research centres for cardiovascular disease and diabetes will be used to accelerate the development of new therapies towards clinical practice and improved patient care.

This investment will be supplemented by substantial co-contributions from the sector, with more than $11 million in cash and $23.3 million of “in kind” support committed by the research centres’ partner organisations, leveraging the Government’s own $20 million commitment.

Both national research centres are uniquely placed to foster collaborations across academia, industry, and community and consumer groups, enabling considerable advances towards tangible products and solutions for sustainable health and economic benefits.

The Australian Stroke and Heart Research Accelerator will help to transform the field of cardiovascular disease research in Australia by bringing a new sector-wide focus on clinical impact and clinical entrepreneurship.

The Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations will deliver novel interventions for debilitating diabetes complications, building an ecosystem of translation, commercialisation and clinical impact for the diabetes sector.

I am also pleased to announce the next cohort of REDI Fellowships to support Australian researchers, clinicians, and professionals in medical technologies, biotechnologies and pharmaceuticals gain real world experience and skills by being deployed into industry settings.

REDI is a four-year initiative supported by the MRFF and delivered by MTPConnect.

The ten researchers and clinicians selected as REDI Fellows will be working on priority research projects covering a broad range of fields, from robot-assisted electrode insertion to precision cancer diagnostics and new antibiotics targeting drug-resistant “superbugs”.

The MRFF is a $20 billion endowment fund which is providing a sustainable, long term boost to Australia’s medical research sector.