Health and MedTech Week at World Expo 2025 Osaka has drawn to a close!

World Expo (Expo) is a major global conference held every 5 years, bringing nations together to share ideas and solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges.

Over the six-months of this global event, Invest and Trade Western Australia (WA) is delivering a series of activations to showcase the State’s capabilities on the global stage.

During the week 24 – 27 June, Expo gathered experts and leaders from the health and medical life science sector for Health and MedTech Week.

Western Australia is home to a vibrant innovation and research ecosystem. The State’s biomedical industry and medical technology ecosystem is continuously expanding, increasing infrastructure and expertise in areas like specialist biomedical manufacturing, clinical trials facilities, supercomputing and precision and remote health.

Invest and Trade WA facilitated a delegation of 4 WA businesses to represent the State’s industry expertise and participate in the WA Government’s program of activations throughout Health and MedTech Week.

WA businesses in Osaka for Health and MedTech week included:

· Maud Eijkenboom, Managing Director Lixa

· Professor Steve Wilton AO, Director Perron Institute

· Professor Anthony Akkari, Chief Scientific Officer, Black Swan Biotech

· Associate Professor Zlatibor Velickovic, Facility Director, Cell and Tissue Therapies Western Australia (CCTWA)

The delegation highlighted WA’s growing strengths in medical technology, clinical trials, and rare disease treatments, which are all areas of increasing international demand and investment interest, and participated in the WA-led events that took place over the week, including:

· The ‘Addressing Healthcare Challenges’ seminar, facilitated by Investment and Trade Commissioner for North East Asia, Michael Sharp;

· An Innovator Roundtable discussion with Professor Steve Wilton and Professor Anthony Akkari;

· An Innovator Roundtable discussion with Associate Professor Zlatibor Velickovic.

Our delegates provided the following remarks about the value presented by their participation in WA’s program for Expo:

“Medical researchers in Western Australia punch way above their weight. There are some 12 FDA approved drugs that have been developed in Australia, and I am proud to say four came from Western Australia.

“We need to promote those successes, push the boundaries and who knows what can be achieved,” said Professor Wilton

“Japan is a key market for us, and this program provided the opportunity to engage directly with leading Japanese clinical, regulatory, and commercial stakeholders. It’s a unique opportunity to build the partnerships we need to progress toward first-in-human studies, align with PMDA regulatory pathways, and explore manufacturing collaborations,” said Professor Akkari

“As part of Western Australia’s medical delegation, Lixa is excited to advance discussions with our existing partners and forge new collaborations with Japan’s world-leading companies to address one of the most urgent global challenges of our time: bacterial resistance,” said Maud Eijkenboom

“Through our leadership of Australia's Collaborative Centre Program, we provide unprecedented access to coordinated manufacturing and clinical trial capabilities across the continent. Our strategic Asia-Pacific location, combined with Australia's robust intellectual property protections, positions CTTWA as the ideal partner for biotechnology companies seeking to advance their therapeutic products through clinical development and regulatory approval,” said Professor Velickovic

Invest and Trade WA’s program of activations highlighted the State Government’s commitment to growing the local sector through its several funding streams, including the Future Health Research and Innovation Fund, which has awarded over $250 million to over 620 projects in the health and medical life sciences sector since being established in 2020.

To learn more about the State’s health and medical life sciences sector, as well as Western Australia’s presence at Expo, visit the Western Australia at World Expo 2025 Osaka webpage.

Published on: 17 July 2025