The Government of Western Australia has awarded Australian pharmaceutical development company Opal Biosciences an Investment Attraction Fund grant of $5 million.
The company said the grant will support the establishment of a manufacturing facility in Perth to develop and formulate the materials required for clinical trials, particularly small batch manufacture of sterile injectables and vaccines. Material for preclinical studies will also be included.
The project will recruit and train new staff in advanced sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing, regulatory and quality standards. The project includes internships and placement opportunities for PhD's and other higher education students to learn about sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing to international industry standards.
Premier Roger Cook said, “We’re backing local companies to manufacture here in WA, to value-add, and to take on the world in developing high-tech products for the future.“
Opal managing director Julie Phillips said, “The WA government has a clear strategy to boost economic diversity in the state, and sees the enormous opportunity that life sciences present. The state already has a very strong profile in innovative medical discoveries with six of Australia’s fifteen FDA-approved products emanating from WA research. Together with partner Formulytica Pty Ltd, we will address the significantly increased requirement in WA and nationally for onshore development and manufacturing of sterile pharmaceuticals including vaccines, particularly at small scale including for personalised medicines and vaccines.”