Maximising WA’s Health and Life Sciences opportunities

WA has one of the world’s greatest diversities of plant and animal life and is one of only fourteen biodiversity hotspots on the planet – the most widely known is the South-West of the State. To date, the State has valued its geological assets and developed these into one of the most efficient and productive resource sectors in the world. However, WA has not really appreciated the value of its biological assets and consequently has not derived economic benefits from these resources. Biodiscovery involves screening of natural products (e.g. plant, fungi, bacteria, etc.) for compounds that may have commercial value to promote better health, or agricultural, outcomes. Key applications include the potential to develop new antibiotics, anti-cancer agents, and antiviral treatments to improve human health, as well as herbicides and pest removal for agriculture. Major opportunities exist, therefore, to tap into the global biopharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmeceuticals, and agtech industries.

The State is well-positioned to reap significant benefits by the screening of the State’s unique biological resources, enhanced with advanced technologies such as genomics, phenomics, synthetic biology, AI, and data analytics. In addition, thousands of years of indigenous knowledge could be used to generate new biopharmaceutical or nutraceutical compounds. Funds generated from indigenous IP could then be used by Aboriginal groups to support their communities. Biodiscovery legislation for WA is underway to promote growth in this new industry and protect the interests of both the State and indigenous groups.

WA has excellent health services, facilities, and infrastructure, as well as world-leading researchers and practitioners in a range of adult and child health disciplines. The State has also become a world-leading location for clinical trials for the evaluation of new treatments. The WA Future Fund has recently been repurposed to establish a Future Health Research and Innovation Fund, which will generate $30-40m pa to promote medical research and innovation. The State has recently announced a Health and Life Sciences Strategy to capitalise on this growing sector. Together, these elements should enable the State to become a significant player in the global biopharmaceutical industry.

Agriculture is one of WA’s major industries, with approximately 80% of products exported. The State is an important global supplier of safe, high-quality, and sustainable agricultural produce, including grains, meat/livestock, fruit/vegetables, and seafood. Agtech is a rapidly burgeoning area globally, and the State can build on its excellent agricultural sector by employing novel, innovative approaches to food production. It is vital that initiatives to increase the productivity and competitiveness of agribusiness in the State are pursued (e.g. infrastructure to improve supply chain logistics), as well as exploring new opportunities in the sector. The recent developments with medicinal cannabis (growing and purification) are an excellent example of the enhanced links between the agricultural and biopharmaceutical industries. Aquaculture also represents an area of great opportunity, given the 12,000km of pristine coastline, and immense space for on-land practices.