New Victorian research precinct opens

Victorian Premier Steve Bracks today opened the Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct (AMREP), in Melbourne.

Combining the Alfred Hospital, the Baker Medical Research Institute, the Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health, and Monash University, the $93 million precinct is housed on the Alfred campus.

Along with research institutions, a number of biotechnology companies are also housed at AMREP, including ES Cell International, Starpharma, Cytopia, Metabolic Pharmaceuticals and Cryptome.

"This precinct will be the largest and most advanced biomedical research facility in the country," Bracks said. He said the government believed that the future would rely on investment in science and medical research.

Prof John Mills, a member of the AMREP steering committee, said the precinct would allow its members to share assets and expertise and provide a strengthened link between research and the clinic.

AMREP contains a number of state-of-the-art facilities, including a PC3 (physical containment level 3) laboratory for research on dangerous pathogens, including HIV and HCV in the Macfarlane Burnet Institute. It also houses the new Clive and Vera Ramaciotti Centre for Proteomics and Genomic Research at the Baker.

Baker director Prof Garry Jennings said establishing the centre was a major priority for the Baker, given its strengths in protein chemistry research.

The centre has been set up with a new robotics system for high-throughput proteomics, provided as part of a strategic partnership with Amersham Biosciences.

The alliance would give the centre early access to new technologies, said Prof Ian Smith, associate director of the Baker.

Jennings said the presence of biotech companies in the precinct offered several advantages to Baker researchers, including a heightened awareness of commercialisation and IP issues.

It would also give companies better access to expertise at the institutes, as well as open up opportunities to develop closer links with the clinical community.

"The attraction for them is the technology we have, and the attraction for us is the critical mass it brings," he said.

Jennings said there was now a waiting list of companies keen to lease space at the precinct.

But, he said, the integration of commercial and academic science at the same location had required a lot of work to ensure that both sides were comfortable. IP and security were two of the main issues, he said.

"This is the way the world is going anyway, and we decided to face it head on," Jennings said.

Jennings and Smith agreed that the next step was to get to work. They hope that the critical mass of researchers at AMREP will allow the development of large collaborative projects that will attract significant grants.

They said they would also like to see capitalisation of IP developed at AMREP, and a movement of projects to commercialisation.

"The hope is that the total output will be greater than the sum of the parts," Smith said.