HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY CAN FLOURISH ON COAST
THE Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct is ideally positioned to capitalise on the booming global healthcare industry, now the fourth biggest contributor to Australia’s GDP.
Boasting Griffith University, the $1.76 billion Gold Coast University Hospital and the Gold Coast Private Hospital, the 200hectare precinct offers unique co-location opportunities for high-tech companies, with 9.5ha of greenfield land and a skilled workforce.
Our focus is on attracting leading health and technology companies that align with the amazing expertise already here. The partners – City of Gold Coast, Griffith University and Gold Coast Health – together with the State Government established a project office that is working hard to attract the right companies and talent over the next decade.
We already have some 1000 researchers, many in health and biotechnology including at Griffith’s worldleading Institute for Glycomics, which is at the forefront of drug and vaccine development in the emerging field of glycomics, and Menzies Health Institute Queensland.
Researchers work closely with clinicians in areas such as orthopaedics and medical devices, neurology, child health, digital health and many more, often in conjunction with global industry partners.
As an example, Professor Randy Bindra, a leading orthopaedic surgeon at the university hospital and fellow Griffith Professor David Lloyd, a biomechanical scientist, are pioneering a technique of personalised bone/ligament repair for common wrist injuries, using the latest 3D bio-printing technology.
Their work, together with leading regenerative medicine company Orthocell, is supported by a $900,000 BioMedtech Horizons grant to take research into human clinical trials within three years.
Griffith has committed $80 million to develop an Advanced Design and Prototyping Institute (ADaPT) which will develop these new medical technologies and drive advanced design and manufacturing in a range of other industries.
Medical training is another area of real opportunity, building on the international expertise of clinicians who already host overseas colleagues.
The future is an exciting convergence of artificial intelligence, augmented reality, big data and robotics to revolutionise healthcare and other industries. The precinct’s IntelliHQ project, led by Gold Coast Health, is just the start to support new app development and technologies.