Medical Life Sciences

Perth: home to world-leading
health and research

Perth has a long-standing history of medical life sciences excellence. In fact, some of the world’s most renowned life sciences success stories happened right here, including Nobel Laureates Barry Marshall and Robin Warren with their discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.

A developing sector

The last decade has seen over $7 billion in investment into supporting health medical infrastructure to assist in the leveraging of this rapidly expanding key sector.

New developments include:

Perth Children’s Hospital
New Telethon Kids Institute
Murdoch Health & Knowledge Precinct

Collaboration cultivates commercialisation

The Perth metropolitan area is home to a significant number of medical, technology and innovation clusters, from Joondalup in the north to Curtin and Murdoch in the south, resulting in even more organisations all dedicated to facilitating the highest level of health research, innovation and patient outcomes.

Co-located within these clusters includes world-class universities, research institutes and medical foundations fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation. This blend of collaboration and innovation has led to the development of Perth’s unique medical life sciences start-up scene.

Perth’s medical life sciences sector brings with it a unique advantage as the gateway to Asia, sharing business hours with Europe as well as several different pathways to learn how to commercialise a medical concept or research. The following organisations have dedicated pathways supporting the development of innovation:

Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research
Accelerating Australia
Centre for Entrepreneurial Research and Innovation
Curtin Ignition
Perth Biodesign
UWA Research Development and Innovation
AusBiotech

The burgeoning life sciences sector in Perth can unlock reinvestment for eligible companies through the Research & Development Tax Incentives, where 43.5% of R&D costs will be reimbursed in cash to eligible companies. Check to see if you’re eligible through the Australian Taxation Office.

Leveraging ‘World Standard Research’

Perth’s high-performing universities all provide avenues to leverage their research outputs to benefit your product, idea or research development. Universities in Perth are partnered with several different science-based initiatives to leverage their world-standard research capabilities. Below is a list of unique facilities to Perth, categorised by affiliated institution.

University of Western Australia

The Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training

WA MTPConnect Node

Curtin University

Innovation Central Perth

Pawsey Supercomputing Centre

Murdoch University

Australian National Phenome Centre

Centre for Molecular Medicine and Innovative Therapeutics

Edith Cowan University

Exercise Medicine Research Institute

Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease Research and Care

The unprecedented levels of public and private investment have fuelled dramatic changes in Perth and there is no better time to establish or relocate your business here.

If you would like to find out more about how the City of Perth can assist you and your business, please contact us.

The Economic Development Team can provide the following services:

• Guidance – Informing prospective operators about Perth.
• Investment facilitation - Assisting investors to find suitable products in Perth.
• A coordinated approach – Assisting prospective operators to navigate their way through government and guidance for the approvals process.
• Making connections – Facilitating introductions to industry leads.
• Funding – Grants and sponsorships are available.
• Contact the City of Perth to make enquiries: ecodev@cityofperth.wa.gov.au