Australian medical advances lauded

Pharmaceutical trade association Medicines Australia says it welcomes the release of Research Australia's report into medical advances, titled "Then, Now...Imagine," which was developed in consultation with 10 of Australia's leading health and medical researchers to predict what the future holds for major developments in research. The report highlights the importance of medical research in Australia, giving examples of past Australian achievements and predictions for the future.

"The recent high-profile success of Australian science, whether it is winning the Nobel Prize for Medicine or discovering the world's first ever cancer vaccine, demonstrates the value of investing in medical research and encouraging careers in science and technology," said Medicines Australia chief executive Ian Chalmers. "The benefits of investing in health and medical research are leading to real benefits for Australian patients and it is important that Australians can continue to access innovative new medicines into the future through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme," he added.

In the report, top Australian scientists predict that individual gene profiling from blood samples will revolutionize health care within 10 years, "smart drugs" will be used to target cancer at the source as a result of DNA technology and viruses will be found to play a role in many other cancers and, in the course of the next few decades, there will be a raft of new vaccines to prevent their onset.