Newsroom.

AusBiotech invites sector-wide feedback after releasing the draft Biotechnology Blueprint: A Decadal Strategy for the Australian Biotechnology Industry – a plan by the industry for the industry.

More than 200 stakeholders and organisations have contributed to the plan’s development to date, which charts an ambitious pathway to how the biotech industry can help solve problems and generate the long-term economic growth and social capital that will be needed as we emerge from the current pandemic.

AusBiotech CEO, Lorraine Chiroiu, said, “AusBiotech is delighted to have led this work, on behalf of the biotechnology industry and acknowledges that the plan is much bigger than one organisation. There has never been a more important, or opportune, time to plan for the coming decade as an industry and the Blueprint is a shared vison for the biotechnology sector’s future. I invite the whole sector to support this endeavour, as a goal without a (shared) plan is but a wish.”

“We have harnessed this opportunity to put forward a clear and ambitious plan for our industry, contemplating what a vibrant and valuable Australian biotechnology industry could look like over the coming decade, and identifying the steps that should be taken in the near term to ensure that positive future is realised. Through its implementation, we can herald an era of enhanced Australian discovery, translation and innovation.”

For the first time in 20 years, the Biotechnology Blueprint (the Blueprint) presents a shared industry-developed vision for the next decade. The plan includes three goals, each with two sub-goals, which have helped define the substantive strategies, objectives, and ‘drills down’ to specific tactics that will drive and shape the biotechnology industry’s growth through to 2032 and beyond. The Blueprint responds to well-articulated, stubborn issues that the industry has grappled with for years, and presents a solutions-based approach.

AusBiotech seeks feedback on any part of the Blueprint, but has also posed specific consultation questions, regarding:

• The scope of the Blueprint: accuracy and appropriateness
• Capital and growth: VC, superannuation, tactics to lift commercialisation, international models
• Sovereign capability: increasing domestic toxicology capability, manufacturing, talent and skills development.
• Metrics and data: importance, appropriateness, and priority
• Agricultural biotechnology: suitability of approach
• Sustainability: sector-wide sustainability framework (Environmental, Social and Governance framework)
• Proof of concept fund: effectiveness, size, and global examples

The entire biotech sector is warmly invited to comment by 7 February 2022. The draft Blueprint and consultation paper can be found at ausbiotech.org. To submit feedback on the draft Biotechnology Blueprint, or to request a Word version for tracking, please contact AusBiotech (admin@ausbiotech.org/ 03 9828 1400). Consultation meetings are available on request.

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Media enquiries: Karen Parr, Director, Communications, AusBiotech,
kparr@ausbiotech.org / P: +61 (0) 3 9828 1405 / M: +61 (0) 420 729 123

About AusBiotech

AusBiotech is Australia’s biotechnology organisation, working on behalf of members for more than 35 years to provide representation and services to promote the global growth of Australian biotechnology. AusBiotech is a well-connected network of over 3,000 members in the life sciences, including therapeutics, medical technology (devices and diagnostics), food technology and agricultural sectors.