Australian biotech science has never been stronger, but the conditions around it are shifting. US drug pricing, China's rise and a rethink of American research funding are changing where medicines are discovered, developed and financed.
Two keynotes at this month's AusBiotech International Conference on the Gold Coast will take those questions on directly.
Tipping the balance
On Wednesday 21 October, Dr Jeremy Levin, Chair Emeritus of the US industry body BIO and executive chairman of Ovid Therapeutics, will talk with AusBiotech deputy chief executive Rosanne Hyland. He will give a candid view of how most-favoured-nation pricing and China's rise are changing the global industry.
Levin trained as a physician, held senior roles at Novartis and Bristol Myers Squibb, and later ran Teva. He also chairs Melbourne-based Opthea. His book, Biotech in the Balance, argues that political upheaval, weakening institutions and short-term investing are putting the industry at risk even as the science speeds up.
Levin sees hidden strengths in Australia for small, innovative companies. The session will look at where Australia should collaborate, where it should compete, and what it needs to keep at home so promising science reaches patients sooner.
A line to the White House
The next morning, Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and President Trump's chief science adviser, will join live online from Washington.
His fireside chat will focus on Science: A New Golden Age, the report he published in July. The White House calls it the first comprehensive rethinking of US science policy since 1945. It calls for funding individual scientists rather than "legacy institutions", using alternatives to traditional peer review, and expanding AI-driven research.
Proto Axiom chief executive Anthony Liveris will host the session, and AusBiotech chief executive Rebekah Cassidy will introduce it.
The hall opens to everyone
On Friday 23 October, from 8 am to 11 am, AusBiotech will open its BioIndustry Hall to the public for free. Places are limited. The morning is aimed at industry professionals looking for partners, organisations thinking about exhibiting, and students starting their careers. The pass covers the hall only, not conference sessions, catering or AusPartnering, the event's partnering meeting program.
For the first time, the week brings together the AusBiotech International Conference, AusMedtech and AusBiotech Invest. It has more than 250 speakers, and organisers expect 2,000 attendees.
Jeremy Levin: Wednesday 21 October, 11.30 am AEST, Plenary
Michael Kratsios: Thursday 22 October, morning (full delegates and Thursday pass holders)
Both at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, Broadbeach. Register at biggestweekinbiotech.com
BioIndustry Trade Morning: Friday 23 October, 8–11am, free. Book a pass
