Health and life sciences

From United States of America

“Australia is not only a great place to work, but also a fun place to live and explore!”

Zachary Smith is a scientific leader in the research of neural prostheses for restoring the sense of hearing. As Director of Algorithms & Applications at Cochlear Ltd in Sydney, Smith works on the next generation of an Australian invention, the cochlear implant, to improve the lives of those with debilitating hearing loss.

Smith says he’s especially driven to improve access, effectiveness, and usability of cochlear implants so more people can stay connected with family, work, and community in a world full of sound.

From Iran

“Australian researchers are pioneering work in health and personalised medicine.”

Dr Fatemeh Karimi is a biomedical scientist/engineer. She joined the University of New South Wales (UNSW) after receiving the highly prestigious and competitive Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellowship and started her own research team. She completed her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Melbourne.

Dr Karimi is a multidisciplinary researcher with extensive knowledge, skills, experiences, and expertise on design, synthesis, and development of polymers, biomaterials, and delivery platforms for various biomedical applications including cardiovascular disease, diabetic wound healing, tissue engineering, and tissue regeneration.

Stryker taps into Australian medtech innovation with new R&D Lab

US medtech giant Stryker has opened its first R&D Lab in Australia. Based in Brisbane, Queensland, the Lab will focus on digital health, robotics, clinical software and advanced manufacturing.

The investment will see Stryker work with some of Australia’s leading universities and medical research institutes.

‘Stryker touches the lives of more than 100 million patients globally each year,’ says Stryker Chair and CEO Kevin Lobo. ‘We have a strong heritage of innovation. The possibilities of what will be developed in this lab are inspiring.’

Australia: a leading destination for health innovation

Dr Homer Stryker, an orthopaedic surgeon, founded Stryker in 1941. Today, the company makes medical and surgical equipment, neurotechnology, orthopaedics and spinal products.

The company arrived in Australia in 1984. It now has over 800 employees in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

The genesis of the R&D Lab is the Just-In-Time project. This was a 5-year collaborative research project between Stryker and the following Australian organisations:

• Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC)
• RMIT University
• University of Melbourne
• University of Sydney
• University of Technology Sydney
• St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne.

The project combined 3D printing, robotic surgery and advanced manufacturing to create just-in-time tailored implants for people with bone cancer. It transformed the development and delivery of implants for musculoskeletal tumour patients.

Brisbane’s medtech hub

Stryker’s new R&D Lab will be based in the Herston Health Precinct in Brisbane. The precinct is home to over 30 health facilities. It is also home to around 13,000 clinical and non-clinical scientists, researchers, students and other health workers.

‘This medtech ecosystem allows the R&D Lab’s researchers and engineers to collaborate with clinicians,’ says Maurice Ben-Mayor, President of Stryker South Pacific. ‘We can understand their current and future needs — all at the site of care.’

The R&D Lab builds on existing partnerships in Australia. This includes partnerships with clinicians, researchers, universities, healthcare providers and government.

‘These partnerships have demonstrated the power of collaboration,’ says Ben-Mayor. ‘The R&D Lab is poised to have a profound impact on the future of healthcare [and] we’ve expanded our focus to include digital health, robotics, clinical software applications and advanced manufacturing.’

Investment assistance from the Queensland Government

The Queensland Government provided a multimillion-dollar grant to support the R&D Lab’s establishment.

‘This new R&D base is testament to the world-leading scientific research talent and medical infrastructure we have here for global and local companies,’ says Yvette D’Ath, Queensland Minister for Health and Ambulance Services.

‘The new Stryker R&D Lab will mean Queensland researchers and patients will have access to the latest products and technologies.’

Austrade also supported Stryker’s investment. Advisers gave strategic input into its business case. They also introduced Stryker to state and federal government representatives.

Medical research with Australian universities

The new Lab includes academic partnerships: Stryker, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), The University of Queensland (UQ), Metro North Hospital and Health Service (MNHHS) and Queensland Health have entered a Master Research Agreement.

Projects include looking at how artificial intelligence and machine learning can improve healthcare applications. The aim is to develop new data-driven approaches to clinical problem solving. These could deliver faster, deeper insights to support real-time clinical decision-making. 

‘The establishment of the R&D Lab allows us to meaningfully collaborate with clinicians, researchers, scientists, and institutions from across Australia,’ says Lobo. ‘It allows us to transfer our leading research into real-world patient outcomes.

Aussie unis fired up by robotics prospects

University officials believe the tie-up will boost research into robotics.

‘The partnership with Stryker will provide another critical pathway for UQ research,’ says UQ Vice Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry. ‘We believe the collaboration between industry, academia and government will help drive community impact in Queensland, in Australia and around the world.’

QUT says its focus will be on digital health and robotics technologies. It foresees that these areas will take centre stage in medical innovation over the coming decades.

‘QUT has long been an international leader in robotics and biomedical engineering,’ says QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Sheil. ‘We look forward to seeing how our researchers will work together with Stryker as a partner in this facility.’

Contributing to Australia’s COVID-19 response

Stryker has already experienced the agile capabilities of the Australian healthcare industry. In early 2020, the company harnessed the adaptability and innovation of Australia’s healthcare experts to make a major contribution to the country’s COVID-19 response.

Stryker worked with the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre to develop an Emergency Relief Bed. Designed to accommodate patients in respiratory distress, the bed offered 30-degree head elevation, low height and an attached intravenous pole.

In just 6 days, Stryker partnered with 4 Australian manufacturers to adapt the bed’s design, build the prototype and start production. The Emergency Relief Bed presented a low-cost, scalable solution for the Australian Government. It has also been used to support Australia’s Pacific neighbours throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Sojitz directs investment into Australian healthcare, renewables, green hydrogen and recycling

Sojitz is driven by solutions that benefit both the company and society.

In this case study, TATS KATO, Head of Project Origination at Sojitz Australia, details the Japanese company’s new ambitions in healthcare, renewables, green hydrogen and recycling.

Providing solutions to social problems

Sojitz is motivated by a simple motto: new way, new value. 

The Japanese corporation comprises 400 subsidiaries and affiliates around the world. It engages in a range of businesses globally, including manufacturing, selling, importing and exporting products and materials.

Sojitz pursues growth by providing solutions to social problems. Solutions-based initiatives in investment and trade, manufacturing, service provision and project management have become areas of strength for the global company.

Strength in the circular economy & ESG investments

In Australia, Sojitz is pivoting its investment strategy from legacy sectors to the circular economy.

Sojitz sees the shift as an exciting growth opportunity that can be applied to future-focused businesses in a wide range of fields.

TATS KATO, Head of Project Origination at Sojitz Australia, outlines 4 areas of interest:

• Healthcare
• Renewables
• Green hydrogen
• Recycling

A passion for healthcare

Several factors make Australia a strong contender for healthcare investment, according to TATS. These include:

• robust economic and population growth
• a well-established healthcare system
• public–private partnership (PPP) regulations that are supportive of infrastructure development.

Sojitz is driven by these factors and a passion for healthcare. The company made a major investment in Victoria’s New Footscray Hospital (NFH) PPP Project in March 2021.

NFH will provide high-quality facilities to improve health outcomes. There will be capacity to treat an extra 15,000 people every year. It will also drastically reduce wait times across the emergency department, elective surgery and outpatient clinic services.

The hospital will be built using more than 90% local materials, services and equipment. The project will employ more than 2,000 people at peak construction.

Sojitz has also invested in Qualitas Medical Limited. This company expands primary care services to strengthen preventive medicine. This reduces expensive medical treatment costs in acute care.

The future is renewable

‘Global warming has emerged as an issue of major importance,’ says TATS. ‘This has accelerated the global trend towards carbon neutrality.

‘Under these circumstances, it is necessary to transition from the simple use and supply of energy to new ways of using and supplying green energy.’

Sojitz sees Australia as a high-growth market for renewables. Its vast land area and abundant sunshine are ideal for solar energy projects.

In June 2021, the company reached the financial close of the 204MW Edenvale Solar Park in Queensland. It is one of the largest solar projects by a Japanese company in Australia.

This project will create more than 400 jobs during its construction phase. Once operating, it will provide a stable supply of renewable energy, meaningfully contributing to Australia’s decarbonisation efforts.

Sojitz’s global target is to reduce its stakes in thermal coal projects more than half by 2025 and to zero by 2030. But TATS makes clear that during the transition period, coal will still play an important role.

‘Sojitz will keep our current coal business for stable supply to our end users,’ he says. ‘These will continue to contribute to regional communities through our operating mines in Queensland.’

A leading destination for green hydrogen projects

Australia offers a clear policy framework for green hydrogen initiatives, and relatively low hydrogen production costs compared with other developed nations.

TATS adds that federal and state-level grants and other forms of support for the hydrogen sector makes Australia an even more attractive investment option. In January 2022, the Australian Government announced the A$150 million Australian Clean Hydrogen Trade Program. The program supports Australian-based hydrogen supply chain projects that secure overseas public or private sector investment.

The first round of the Program will focus on the export of clean hydrogen to Japan under the Japan-Australia Partnership on Decarbonisation through Technology. Under the Partnership, announced in June 2021, the two countries will support initiatives that help drive the transition to net zero emissions.

Sojitz will work with Queensland’s CS Energy and Nippon Engineering Consultants on a pioneering green hydrogen project. The 3-year demonstration sees Sojitz transport Queensland-produced renewable hydrogen to the Republic of Palau.

Sojitz intends to roll out the initiative to other Pacific nations. It hopes to popularise hydrogen use in place of carbon-intensive diesel fuel use on islands.

Looking for recycling and waste recovery opportunities

Sojitz is actively looking for investment opportunities in the Australian recycling and energy recovery markets.

‘Recycling is a hot topic in Australia now,’ says TATS. ‘Our investments in this area will contribute to achieving several goals set by the Australian Government. These include enhancing the resource recovery rate and decreasing landfill.’

Sojitz Australia is also looking to contribute to circular economy growth areas.

‘Our new initiatives must add value to both Sojitz and society. We call it a “Value Creation Model”,’ says TATS. ‘Creating new “shared value” is in our company’s DNA.’

Find out more about investing in Australia or contact Austrade for more information.

From Indonesia

“There are more opportunities to establish my career in Australia with the government investing in vaccine and drug manufacturing capabilities to prepare for the next pandemic.”

Dr Carina Joe invented the process used to manufacture billions of doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine when she was working as a senior research scientist at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford. She developed the large scale ChAdOx vector-based vaccine cGMP manufacturing process that resulted in over 3 billion doses of the vaccine being produced and administered worldwide, saving millions of lives.

In Australia Dr Joe will be applying her experience and her Phd in biotechnology to develop drug or vaccine manufacturing processes that will be used commercially or in clinical trials. She will also work on developing both new technologies for vaccine and drug delivery and potential vaccines for emerging pathogens. Dr Joe’s work will save lives and help reduce the cost burden on Australia’s healthcare system.

From Brazil

“I could list many reasons for my decision to live in Australia. The personal reasons were grounded in three main aspects: friendly and welcoming culture, an ever-growing economy, and excellent quality of life index. In professional terms, I point out the international-quality research environment and the opportunity to work in one of the top 1% of universities in the world!”

As a professor and researcher in respiratory physiotherapy, Dr Simone Dal Corso’s research in pulmonary rehabilitation has been applied in clinical practice worldwide.

Dr Dal Corso has developed simple and inexpensive field tests that can be applied to assess exercise capacity, prescribe training intensity, and reassess people with chronic lung disease.

Also, Dr Dal Corso has been working on new models of pulmonary rehabilitation that are low-cost and affordable for people with chronic lung diseases and help eliminate barriers to access to pulmonary rehabilitation, especially for rural communities and Indigenous peoples.

In Australia Dr Dal Corso is working as a research fellow with the world-leading pulmonary rehabilitation group at Monash University, led by Professor Anne E. Holland.