SA health and medical sector grows to $8 billion as research commercialisation accelerates

South Australia's health and medical industry has grown to an estimated $8 billion in annual output — making it the state's second-largest sector by economic contribution — as research commercialisation from the University of Adelaide, Flinders University, and the SAHMRI research institute translates laboratory discoveries into commercial products and services attracting global capital.

The sector's growth is concentrated in clinical trials management, medical device manufacturing, digital health technology, and pharmaceutical services. South Australia has attracted clinical trial activity from global pharmaceutical companies partly because its relatively compact, well-connected health system allows trial operators to recruit patients and manage sites more efficiently than in larger, more dispersed cities.

The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) on North Terrace has been the fulcrum of the sector's research commercialisation activity, spinning out or supporting the growth of more than 40 companies over the past decade. SAHMRI director Professor Steve Wesselingh said the pipeline of commercialisation opportunities had never been stronger, with several SAHMRI-affiliated companies approaching the point of international growth capital. "The science is exceptional. The gap we are closing is connecting it to capital," he said.

SA Health Minister Chris Picton said the health and medical sector's growth was a strategic achievement for the state, as the sector's jobs were high-wage, knowledge-intensive, and unlikely to be disrupted by the automation pressures affecting other industries. The government has committed to extending its BioMed City precinct at the Royal Adelaide Hospital campus to accommodate the sector's growing space requirements.

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