Australian Research Council (ARC) Acting Chief Executive Officer Dr Richard Johnson has officially launched a new hub at the University of Melbourne to help bolster the Australian biopharmaceutical sector using digitisation and artificial intelligence (AI) in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
The new facility, dubbed “ARC Digital Bioprocess Development Hub,” is a five-year, $18 million research program, which has received $5 million in ARC funding, to advance scientific knowledge and develop new capabilities.
In a media release, the university said the hub will focus on digitally integrated, advanced, and innovative manufacturing processes that capture and utilise big data while also serving as a platform for industry adoption.
Dr Johnson expressed his delight in the new facility, saying it marks an important step for the biopharmaceutical industry in Australia.
“It will identify opportunities for digital innovation across biopharma, in manufacturing and emerging biotech companies for new data-driven insights, products and services, with enormous potential for Australian companies and our highly skilled biotech workforce,” Dr Johnson remarked.
He continued by saying that it will strengthen Australia’s technical leadership and global visibility in a strategically significant area of future growth.
It will also create new, national research and innovation capacity that will continue to draw industry investment and benefit the biopharma sector in a sustained, long-term, transformative way.
Meanwhile, Professor James McCluskey, deputy vice-chancellor of Research at the University of Melbourne, stated that the university is well-positioned to head the new hub.
“Together with our partners, the University is delighted to be providing the expertise, facilities and leadership needed to propel this exciting industry development in Australia,” Professor McCluskey said.
Professor Sally Gras of the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology (FEIT) will serve as the Hub’s Director.
According to Professor Gras, the Hub’s program will address important bioprocessing research issues and create fresh procedural and digital models that help forecast and improve manufacturing procedures.
“The ARC Digital Bioprocess Development Hub will help position Australia’s biopharma manufacturing sector to benefit from Industry 4.0, which integrates new technologies including AI and machine learning to production processes to allow for better decision making in real-time,” Professor Gras said.
The Hub involves collaboration between the University of Melbourne, University of Technology Sydney, RMIT University, global biotechnology company CSL, Cytiva and Patheon Biologics Australia, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific.
It will also engage with Yokogawa Insilico Biotechnology, Mass Dynamics and Sartorius Stedim Australia, as well as international universities, including The University of Nottingham, Utrecht University and the University of Tartu (Estonia).
