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Opportunity to participate in audit for the Medical Countermeasures Initiative

22 March 2017
MCM-survey
Opportunity to participate in audit for the Medical Countermeasures Initiative.

Industry, academia and publicly funded research agencies are invited to participate in an audit of Australia’s capability and capacity to support Medical Countermeasures (MCM) product research and development.

The rapidly changing global landscape and Australia’s unique global position highlight a need to be strategic about national MCM advanced development and manufacturing requirements. With the recent announcement of the Defence Department’s Next Generation Technology Fund, Australia has an opportunity to strengthen its MCM preparedness.

The audit is being carried out by the Defence Science and Technology (DST) Group in collaboration with d3 Medicine, a Certara Company. An initial audit in 2012 showed Australia is home to a small, but internationally networked medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector with pockets of MCM development excellence. The results of 2012 audit leveraged $7 million in funding to support a number of collaborative projects and provided evidence for MCM products to be included in the NGTF.

This 2017 audit now seeks to understand how the medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector has changed since 2012. It will determine where MCM assets, capabilities and capacities lie, helping to shape an MCM Business Plan under the NGTF.

This information will be collected via an online survey that takes between 15-45 minutes. Please complete this survey to the best of your ability. To access the survey, please head to MCM Survey.

If you are aware of any colleagues or organisations that are relevant to this process please feel free to forward them the survey link.

Upon completion of the survey, the results will be assessed based on guidance from the Department of Defence team. Selected responders will be requested to attend a follow up interview, to be held in each of the major cities, to discuss participation in the MCM Initiative.

Participation in the online audit and subsequent interviews will be mandatory to be included in the final report and to be considered for future resourcing opportunities.

The National Capability Audit closes on Monday 10 April 2017.