Collaboration between Australia and India in life sciences and biotechnology is beginning to yield early results following the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, with Queensland positioning itself as a key partner for Indian companies and institutions across clinical research, translational science and healthcare innovation.
This momentum was highlighted during an exclusive media roundtable held on the sidelines of BioAsia 2026 in Hyderabad on Tuesday, where members of a Queensland delegation spoke about expanding cooperation in biosciences, clinical trials, academia and advanced healthcare technologies.
Speaking on the clinical research landscape, Ravindra Gandham, principal consultant with Nucleus Network, said Australia offered strong capabilities in early-phase clinical trials, while India brought ambition and a growing biotechnology sector. He outlined Nucleus Network’s focus on Phase 1 clinical trials, with operations based in Brisbane and international offices in the US and the UK following its acquisition of Hammersmith Medicines Research.
Highlighting regulatory and workforce advantages, Thu (Sue) Nguyen, founder and CEO of Clueo Clinicals, said Queensland provided one of the fastest approval pathways globally for early-phase clinical trials. She said approvals under Australia’s Clinical Trial Notification Scheme, overseen by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, could be secured within four to eight weeks, significantly faster than in many other jurisdictions.
Research into tropical health and infectious diseases was another area identified as a natural point of convergence. Andreas Kupz of the James Cook University Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine outlined work on vaccines and therapeutics for diseases such as tuberculosis, dengue and malaria, alongside natural product discovery based on Australia’s biodiversity and research into vector-borne disease control. Mr.Kupz said similarities in climate and disease burden created strong scope for collaboration between India and Australia, particularly in manufacturing and deployment.
Prasad KDV Yarlagadda OAM, dean at the University of Southern Queensland, cautioned against uncritical adoption of AI in healthcare and research. He said AI should be used to assist and accelerate processes rather than replace human expertise, particularly in areas such as drug and vaccine development.
Emphasising the importance of large-scale collaboration, Tamanna Monem of the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute said the collaboration was essential to advancing therapies and technologies and noted that the institute maintained hundreds of partnerships globally. “India’s scale and speed, combined with Queensland’s integrated ecosystem of government, academia and industry, offers significant opportunities to deepen cooperation,” she added.
Published – February 18, 2026 01:10 am IST
