Med research impact
May 6, 2016
RESEARCH Australia, a research
alliance representing 160 health
and medical research organisations,
has described the latest Federal
Budget as mixed bag, with some
wins, some losses and some more
detail required.
“The Federal Government is
making all of the right noises when
it comes to innovation, health and
research, and it is pleasing that
they remain on the agenda,” said
ceo Nadia Levin.
“The budget would be described
by my members as a combination
of ‘treatments, placebos and
nocebos’, and the challenge for
government is to back it up with
funding.”
While the Medical Research
Future Fund has been stated as a
continuing commitment, changed
funding levels and timetable have
been adjusted, Levin said.
She said this highlights the
need to keep the pressure on
the government to deliver on its
promises.
The Government is now
anticipating meeting its $20b target
for the fund in 2020/21, compared
to the 2019/20 timeframe outlined
in the 2014 budget, while funding
in the 2015/16 financial year has
been reduced to $0 from $10m,
although it has been increased
to a projected $61m in 2016/17,
compared to $53m last budget.
Other programs impacted
include the Biomedical Translation
Fund: “an exciting concept we
look forward to discussing with
government” and Australian
Research Council funding for
Discovery and Linkage Programs.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 06 May 16To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 06 May 16
