Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services) Share this | Hansard source

I take this opportunity to congratulate Professor Mark Kendall, who last night received the CSL Young Florey Medal at the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes' dinner here at Parliament House. The Young Florey Medal is awarded to an Australian biomedical researcher for significant early career achievements in biomedical science or human health advancement, the research for which must be conducted primarily in Australia. As I have reported to the House previously, Professor Mark Kendall of the University of Queensland and his research team developed Nanopatch technology, a needle-free technology to deliver vaccinations, including the polio vaccination. Professor Kendall's Nanopatch is a small square of silicon containing 20,000 microscopic spikes that deliver a vaccine directly to the skin's immune cells. Imagine, a small needleless patch about the size of a fingernail applied directly to the skin that is painless, uses a fraction of the dosage, does not require refrigeration and does not need nurses or doctors to deliver it. In a box that was once probably padded and contained six fragile syringes, you can now get hundreds of these little patches. They can be delivered, they can be dropped and whole villages can be vaccinated in just half a day.

Let me be clear: this breakthrough is not just a concept tucked away in the laboratories of the University of Queensland. In fact, human clinical trials are now underway in Brisbane, with the World Health Organization planning a polio vaccine trial in Cuba next year. Not only is the World Health Organization taking a genuine interest in the Nanopatch, so too are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Merck. As one of Australia's premier research institutions, UQ tackles significant global challenges, including biosciences and nanotechnology through to sustainable development and social science. Australians are delivering some truly incredible feats. In fact, Australia has been at the forefront of many medical developments throughout the last century, from the first ever clinical trials of penicillin by Australian scientist Howard Florey in the forties, to the breakthrough success of the HPV vaccine by Professor Ian Frazer, another Ryan resident, and now to Professor Kendall's Nanopatch. The sky is Australia's science and innovation limit.

With support from the coalition government through our innovation and science agenda, I know there will be many more important discoveries and breakthroughs made as a result of the talented research institutions right across Australia. The Turnbull government is ensuring that today's investment in science and innovation will create jobs and growth opportunities which will contribute to our economy in the future.

I take this opportunity to again congratulate Professor Kendall for his hard work and dedication in developing this revolutionary medical technology and on receiving the prestigious CSL Young Florey Medal. (Time expired)

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