By The Herald’s View
Copyright theage
Australia has a long and much-celebrated reputation globally in health and medical research. Among a long list of achievements, we are the nation that has given the world a vaccine for cervical cancer, the bionic ear and spray-on skin.
Thousands of other discoveries, though sometimes less celebrated, have also fundamentally reshaped global health. They have led to new therapies, more effective drugs, improved clinical practices, and better public health behaviours. They have also contributed to Australians enjoying one of the highest life expectancies on the planet.
To continue to achieve these incredible breakthroughs, Australia’s medical research sector must have funding that is not driven by profit.
The Medical Research Future Fund announced by the Coalition government in 2014 was supposedly set up to do just that. The MRFF was to disburse $1 billion a year for medical research once it reached maturity at $20 billion. But that has not happened. Instead, its annual disbursements have been about $650 million and they are expected to stay at this level for the next decade.
