The Victorian government says the state's pharmaceutical and medical technology sector is booming.
The state's industry minister, Wade Noonan, released new data on the sector during a visit to GSK's manufacturing facility in the Melbourne suburb of Boronia.
The data is part of a report, State of the Sector Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals 2017, that shows the state's medical technologies and pharmaceuticals sector generates $12.7 billion in revenue annually.
According to the report, the sector employs more than 23,000 people in a range of roles and is made up of more than 650 companies – from small start-ups to large Victorian exporters and global manufacturers.
There has also been a 40 per cent increase in the value of pharmaceutical exports, rising to $1.3 billion in 2016 alone.
GSK announced a $31 million expansion of its Borinia manufacturing facility in 2014. The expansion was highlighted by the introduction of the new high speed ‘Blow-Fill-Seal’ machinery specifically developed for advanced aseptic packing of sterile pharmaceutical liquids.
“Billions in revenue and tens of thousands of jobs – that’s what our medical technologies and pharmaceuticals sector in Victoria is generating," said the minister.
“We’ll continue to make the investments needed to create jobs, make the next big discovery and take Victorian innovation to the world.”