Over 600 heavy hitters of medtech were involved in delivering a vibrant and successful week of activities recently to build the Australian industry.
Centred around AusMedtech 2019, an engaging line-up of keynote speakers and knowledgeable panellists addressed over 350 delegates; they heard industry expertise, insight and commentary on a range of topics both practical and inspirational.
AusMedtech 2019 was an opportunity for the wider sector to gather, and to identify relevant policy, science and technological trends and their growth potential. This number swelled to over 600 leaders with the surrounding medtech activities happening across the week.
The AusMedtech 2019 conference was opened by the Hon. Martin Pakula, Minister for Jobs, Innovation and Trade, Victorian Government, and keynote speakers included: Dr Yossi Bahagon, Clinician and Entrepreneur, Qure Ventures, exploring digital health; Professor Mark Cook, Director, Graeme Clark Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Melbourne and Dr Wesley Thevathasan, Neurologist, Melbourne Deep Brain Stimulation, speaking on the brain/machine interface in the treatment of Parkinson’s and epilepsy; Brian Gordon, Chief Scientific Officer, Bionic Vision Technologies, illustrating how they’re improving independence for the blind through the Australian bionic eye; Dr Sanjeev Dutta, VP External Innovation & Digital Surgery, Medical Devices, Johnson & Johnson, speaking on minimally invasive surgery; Dig Howitt, CEO, Cochlear, on the history of innovation and life-changing solutions for the future; and Adjunct Professor John Skerritt, Deputy Secretary, Health Products Regulation Group, Therapeutic Goods Administration, updating delegates on the revolution of medtech regulation
Other topics included medtech in space, funding opportunities, clinical trials, market access, reimbursement, and our new AusBiotech Future Forum where a seven-person panel traversed the horizon, identifying future science and trends that are expected to evolve or disrupt our current medtech environment. This two-way conversation was extremely successful, and AusBiotech looks forward to continuing this initiative at AusBiotech 2019.
Lorraine Chiroiu, CEO, AusBiotech says “We would like to graciously thank our programme committee members, who have worked in a voluntary capacity for almost 12 months to bring together an insightful, engaging and forward-thinking programme. The success of the week comes down to the people involved.”
The programme committee included: Chair: Peter Bradley, Vice President Global Business Development - LBT Innovations; Paul Carboon, CEO, Solentropy; Ann Damien, New Technology Associate, Cook Medical; Rachel Hooke, Partner and Patent Attorney, FB Rice; and Bronwyn Le Grice, CEO and Founder, ANDHealth.
Leading by example, AusBiotech delivered a notably gender-diverse line-up of speakers and chairs, achieving a 50/50 split across the programme. The Australian medtech sector holds some of the world’s leading innovative companies, and underpinning diversity within AusBiotech’s work allows them to highlight different perspectives and insights. AusBiotech is proud to showcase the diversity of thought leaders across the Australian life sciences industry.
The week of activities also included two pre-conference tours run in partnership with RMIT and BioFab3D; the BridgeTech Symposium, which aims to up-skill our medtech workforce on commercialisation skills and business acumen; and a full-day workshop on the regulatory system in Australia with Brandwood Biomedical. Following AusMedtech 2019, the TGA, supported by AusBiotech, ran a well-attended ‘Meeting your obligations’ workshop, and ANDHealth offeried attendees the opportunity to deep dive into current global trends, opportunities and challenges facing entrepreneurs and industry leaders in digital health at their Winter Summit.
AusBiotech thanks the Victorian Government for their continued support of the medtech sector and for being the AusMedtech 2019 Host Partner, as well as their other valued exhibitors and sponsors: Cook Medical, FB Rice, Graeme Clark Institute, Grey Innovation, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Frost & Sullivan, Hogan Lovells, IQVIA Medtech, Flanders Investment & Trade, and Madderns.
AusBiotech seeks to build on our successes and continuously improve event experiences, and feedback is invaluable for delivering future conferences. A survey will be sent to all delegates this week.
Click here to see a selection of photos showcasing the vibrant gathering.