Australia to Bring Life Saving Meds Manufacturing Back Onshore

Medicine pills in production. Kadmy/iStock

Australia is set to begin manufacturing a number of life-saving medicines used to treat kidney disease and cancer.

Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, said in a statement on April 3 that making crucial medicines domestically secures Australian access to treatment, increases local jobs and develops the nation’s skills.

“The pandemic has shown us more than ever before we need access to what Australians need here at home, and this project will help ensure we have critical precision medicines for our patients,” Morrison said.

“Building up our ability to make products like these is key to our plan for a stronger future.”

At present, Australia imports 90 percent of its medicine. The COVID-19 pandemic, which severely affected global supply chains, has shown Australia that heavily relying on imports becomes inadequate during times of global crisis.

The need for domestic manufacturing of medicine was stated back in 2021 by the Australian Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor, in a government media release on Dec. 6.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us the importance of resilient supply chains and manufacturing capability within Australia - especially for critical products,” Taylor said.

“Whether it be to ensure we have life-saving medicines or that our farmers have the agricultural production chemicals they need to keep producing food for Australians, we want to secure our capabilities to make what we need.”

Container ships bringing critical suppliers to Australia are seen at Port Botany in Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 1, 2021. AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

To address the lack of domestic medical manufacturing, Australia has dedicated $23 million (US$17 million) in funding to the Australian Precision Medicine Enterprise (APME). The government provided the money under the Collaboration Stream of the Modern Manufacturing Initiative, which provides funds for a few big and innovative projects that involve business and/or research collaboration.

The APME involves Monash University and the pharmaceutical companies Telix Pharmaceuticals and Global Medical Solutions (GMS). The enterprise aims to address the absence of radiopharmaceutical manufacturing in Australia, focusing mainly on the establishment of a high energy 30 mega-electron volts (MeV) cyclotron.

A high energy cyclotron would allow the nation to domestically produce the critical radioisotopes used in radiopharmaceuticals instead of importing them into the country.

Federal Minister Angus Taylor said in a statement that the cyclotron would help to develop the technology and expertise that Australia currently lacks.

“By combining research and development and the manufacture of precision medicines locally, we are shoring up our supply chain resilience,” he said.

GMS Senior Vice President of Operations and Business Development, Shahe Bagerdjian, said in a Telix Pharmaceuticals press release on March 4 that there is no better country than Australia to build the APME.

“We firmly believe the APME will both address supply security concerns for Australia as well as accelerate Australia’s rise as the premier destination as a regional biotech hub,” Bagerdjian said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison takes a tour at the AstraZeneca laboratories in Macquarie Park in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 19, 2020. Nick Moir/Pool/Getty Images

The APME project will create 147 jobs; 42 of them will be in Clayton, Victoria, at a newly-constructed facility, and the rest will be created along the supply chain. The jobs created will include positions for highly-skilled professionals such as radiochemists, engineers, and radio pharmacists.

“Australia is a leading innovator in terms of clinical development and isotope supply for nuclear medicine,” Dr. David Cade, the CEO of Telix Pharmaceuticals Asia Pacific, said.

“However, there remains a significant need to achieve sovereign isotope and drug product manufacturing capabilities suitable for the future of the industry, both commercially and academically,” Cade said.

“The establishment of the APME is a key asset for the future of innovative medicines manufacturing,” the President and Vice-Chancellor of Monash University, Prof. Margaret Gardner, said.

“The APME is vital for Australia to have a sovereign capability to manufacture and commercialise clinically essential radiopharmaceuticals as well as new theranostic drugs for cancer treatments,” Gardner said.