Qld aims to be pharma state

Premier Peter Beattie continues to lay the foundations for his ambition to make Queensland the nation's biotech-pharma Mecca, by launching a new report on the state's growing pharmaceutical industry.

PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Department of State Development and Innovation produced the report, Springboard for Opportunities, as a roadmap to guide expansion of the industry.

The report reviewed the manufacture of prescription, non-prescription and generic pharmaceuticals, as well as complementary and alternative emedicines.

It found that Queensland's pharmaceutical industry already employs more than 19,000 people, and is a significant contributor to the AUD$8.2 billion value of the industry to the national economy.

Beattie described pharmaceuticals as "a smart industry for the Smart State", saying it was global, knowledge-intensive, high-tech, and requires highly skilled workers.

He said the industry would diversity the state's economy, and creates new export opportunities.

The report identified the manufacture of generic pharmaceuticals as a potential growth area, with number of major drugs - including the cholesterol-lowering statins - coming out of patent over the next five years.

The report found that skill shortages threatened to impede the industry's growth. "We will be developing stronger links between our universities and industry to make sure graduates have the right skills to meet the needs of the industry," Beattie said.

He said the government had developed an action plan in response to the report, to increase Queensland's share of pharmaceutical exports. It focused on creating more jobs, particularly in research, development, and manufacturing, and attracting more pharma companies to Queensland.