Work to create a business case for the establishment of a landmark National Centre for Inflammation Research in Clayton is nearing completion.

Inflammation is the world’s biggest killer. Caused by our immune system, inflammation is behind hundreds of illnesses including cancer, diabetes, stroke, heart diseases and viral infections like coronavirus, which together cause more than half of all deaths around the globe.

By improving our understanding of this complex response, we can improve and save lives. That’s what some of the world’s top inflammation experts are doing at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Clayton, which has been at the forefront of breakthroughs and new treatments since the institute was founded in 2014.

To help take their important work to the next level, the Andrews Labor Government committed $1 million in the Victorian Budget 2020/21 for the Hudson Institute to prepare an investment case for a National Centre for Inflammation Research.

Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy Jaala Pulford visited the Hudson Institute today and was updated on plans for the centre, which would be the first of its kind in Australia and is earmarked for the Monash Health Translation Precinct within the Monash Medical Centre campus in Clayton.

With a purpose-built centre, Victorian researchers would have the labs and equipment they need to turn breakthrough into new treatments to control harmful and deadly inflammation.

Victoria is home to 14 independent medical research institutes that employ more than 5,800 people. The state’s wider medical research sector supports more than 30,000 jobs across institutes, universities and industry.

The Victorian Budget 2020/21 dedicated more than $260 million to boost jobs in Victoria’s medical research sector, helping our hardworking researchers, clinicians and scientists to do what they do best.