On 24 April we connected to the fourth session of the ‘GO International’ series, a series of webinars organised by CataloniaBio & HealthTech where different international destinations are proposed to learn more about their health systems. Through contact with other clusters, associations, companies or institutions, experts share details about entities of the ecosystem of that location, regulatory barriers or even opportunities for entry and commercialisation in those markets, and offer connection paths.

The last session focused on Australia, a growing health system: with an expanding biotech ecosystem that has grown by 40% in the last two years, and with high-level research and development centres, Australia also has a strong biopharmaceutical, medical technology and digital health industry, as well as internationally leading clusters and networks in the sector.  Moreover, Australia is a powerful destination that is among the top three early-stage clinical trial sites in the world. It also has national incentive programmes and initiatives that encourage continued growth in research, development and innovation, a fact that attracts companies and scientists from around the world.

We were able to learn all the details from the spokespeople of Austrade, the Australian Government's international trade promotion and investor attraction agency, who are experts in connecting Australian companies with the world and vice versa; AusBiotech, an Australian life sciences organisation with over 3000 members and a track record of over 35 years providing representation and services to promote the global growth of the Australian health industry; and Southern Star Research, an Australian CRO based in Sydney, specialising in the provision of high quality clinical research services for clinical trials of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and biotechnology in Australia and New Zealand.

The GO Internationals are an initiative of the internal Business Development Committee and, since its first edition one year ago, an average of 20 to 30 companies per webinar, have already connected with the United Kingdom, New Aquitaine (France), Canada and Australia.