Our track record in medical innovation can only be maintained with funding support

Medical research in Australia plays a vital role in ensuring the health and wellbeing of the population and our track record is impressive.

We can look back at a century of medical innovations that have their origin in Australia, beginning in 1926 when pioneering doctor Mark Lidwill discovered that electricity could stimulate the heart. This led to the development of the cardiac pacemaker – listed by Australian Geographic as one of the top 10 Australian inventions that changed the world.

Australian ingenuity was also behind the development of the ultrasound in 1961, meaning generations of expectant parents have been able to view their child in utero, as well as enabling doctors to diagnose medical issues in unborn children.

Countless hearing-impaired people and their families have had their lives transformed by the work of Professor Graeme Clark who pioneered Cochlear implants with the so-called “bionic ears” allowing deaf people to understand speech.

Australian research has led to a number of highly-significant medical innovations.Credit: File Image

The world’s first anti-cancer vaccine to protect women from cervical cancer has had a global impact since it became available in 2006 thanks to research carried out by the University of Queensland.

More recently, it is Australians who are behind the invention of a fully functioning artificial heart and the world’s first drug to prevent cell damage caused by heart attacks.

None of these globally significant medical inventions and innovations would have been possible without funding support, which is why there is considerable disquiet with the question mark over the future of the NSW Medical Research Support Program (MRSP).

The program has provided about $45 million a year to the state’s medical research institutions, such as the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Black Dog, the Centenary Institute and the Woolcock Institute.

But, as we report today, the current funding is due to expire on June 30 and researchers say they are in the dark about whether it will be renewed.

A question at a recent Senate estimates hearing about whether the program was facing a substantial cut fuelled concerns when NSW Health Minister Ryan Park took the question on notice.

Medical Research Minister David Harris was also not able to guarantee the funding would be renewed last week when The Sun-Herald put questions to his office.

The MRSP is not the only source of funding for medical research in NSW – most research work is reliant on a patchwork of public and private sector monies.

But the program plays a vital role in NSW Health being able to attract and retain eminent researchers to deliver world-class research.

Federal grants are used to pay salaries and other direct costs of research while the MRSP funds the indirect costs incurred in research, such as legal and reporting requirements, biobanking facilities and operational staff.

These indirect costs are not quarantined from the cost pressures being seen across the economy with the rise in the cost of regulatory requirements of particular concern.

As the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes co-chair Professor Jason Kovacic says in today’s report, the MRSP is critical for the state’s medical researchers as the sector was struggling to cover the gap between existing funding and increased costs.

Australia’s numerous significant medical innovations have had global impact, improving the treatment of patients as well as ensuring earlier diagnosis or even prevention of some conditions.

The outcomes of our medical research informs health policy and also makes a substantial contribution to our economy with indirect benefits from job creation and the reduction of health care costs, as well as the social impacts in improved quality of life.

A NSW Health committee has recommended the MRSP be renewed for a further four-year term.

Our research institutes cannot continue to deliver on their significant discoveries without secure funding support.

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