VicAAMRI thanks Minister Pulford for her dedication to the medical research sector

The Victorian Chapter of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (VicAAMRI) is saddened to hear The Hon Jaala Pulford MP will be stepping down from her role as Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy at the next election. Minister Pulford’s commitment to supporting innovative medical research has seen great advances and improvements to our sector, and we thank her for her work.

Minister’s Pulford’s list of achievements during her time in parliament is far reaching. Her most recent legacy will be seen in the $400 million secured for the Australian Institute for Infectious Disease, which will protect Victoria and Australia against future pandemics.

This commitment and belief in Victoria being a world class R&D hub, led to the establishment of the Moderna headquarters in Melbourne – the first mRNA production facility in the Southern Hemisphere. This investment secures the production of up to 100 million Australian made mRNA vaccines every year and supports hundreds of manufacturing jobs.

Continuing to lead the way in mRNA manufacturing, it was recently announced Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 mRNA vaccine has chosen Victoria to establish their Asia-Pacific mRNA clinical research and development centre.

“Minister Pulford has been a true champion of medical research. This week we saw her announce a new $35 million package to fight cancer in kids, her efforts have been tireless,” said Professor Ricky Johnstone, VicAAMRI Chair-elect and Director of Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

These achievements, along with her commitment to funding the entire research pipeline, means better care, more therapeutics and treatments for Victorians.

“It has been a pleasure working alongside Minister Pulford and advocating for Victoria’s Medical Research Institutes. Working with someone as passionate about innovation and research as Minister Pulford always leads to better results for Victoria,” said Professor Johnstone.