The opening of new manufacturing facility Neo-Bionica sees the beginning of a new era in medical device development capability in Victoria, Australia.

The first facility in Australia with the bioengineering expertise and technology needed to create medical devices for clinical trials, Neo-Bionica has been officially opened by Jaala Pulford, Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy.

A joint initiative of the Bionics Institute and the University of Melbourne, the state-of-the-art laboratory is located at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne.

The Victorian Government is contributing $4 million to this initiative to support the fit out of Neo-Bionica with essential equipment; provide funding for applied research jobs; and support a voucher program to help industry start-ups commercialise medical prototypes.

Bionics Institute CEO Robert Klupacs says Neo-Bionica will significantly speed up the time it takes to develop and trial a medical device, which means patients will benefit from the technology earlier.