Derelict Murray Street building set to be transformed into state-of-the-art medical facility

A three-storey heritage building in the centre of Perth that sat derelict for decades is being converted into a top medical research and innovation hub. It’s part of the State Government’s push to make Perth a powerhouse in the sector. Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson announced it was spending $15 million to create a state-of-the-art facility at the Murray Street site, bringing together innovators and researchers under one roof to turn their best ideas into reality. Mr Dawson said the initiative was part of a plan to foster groundbreaking advancements in medical innovation. “We’re going to bring this building back to life, and we’re going to put the best of technology into it to enable our innovators and entrepreneurs in WA to come together to work on their ideas,” he said on Saturday. The building in Murray Street, which dates back to the 1890s, used to be the headquarters of the Perth and Gas Electricity Department. The exterior has already been repaired and brought back to its original condition. “Having had the opportunity, over the last couple of years to see innovation hubs in other places, including in the US, that have put life into into derelict buildings, I thought this would be a great place to have an innovation hub here. It’s a beautiful old building,” Mr Dawson said. He said the hub will link to facilities including the East Metropolitan Health Service Innovation Hub, QEII medical research precinct and the biomedical industry precinct in Floreat. The conversion was being funded from the government’s Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund, which was established four years ago. Already, $185 million in grants have been awarded to more than 627 recipients, to support health and medical research and innovation in WA. Turning Perth into a centre of excellence for medical research was part of its efforts to diversify the State economy. “We already have smart people doing extraordinary things. By opening a new facility like this, it will enable people to do what they need to do from Perth rather than going over east,” Mr Dawson said. One of those smart people is Nikhilesh Bappoo, co-founder, director and co-chief executive of West Leederville based company Veintech. The company, which has created a handheld device to help doctors and nurses find the right vein to target with a needle for cannulation, avoiding the current high failure rate and pain to patients. “We’ve got some regulatory approvals on the horizon, including in the US. What that really means for us is expansion,” the biomedical engineer said. He said the company had benefited from Perth’s growing ecosystem of support and collaboration for start-up businesses in the sector. From our perspective, Perth is the place to be ... It’s not very often that you see the engineers, the research centres and the hospitals all within proximity, as we have in Perth,” Mr Bappoo said. “We made the decision to continue to grow our company here, purely based on that strength and also the commitment of the government to grow this industry that has long existed, but has only come to the surface through dedicated efforts and funding and facilities. “There are startup companies with intellectual property developed elsewhere that are actually bringing their operations to Perth.” Mr Dawson said the government had big plans. “Over the next four years, we have $250 million to help people in biotech and med-tech to do their research, to help them work on new projects and products, to make them here in WA and then to sell to the world.” He said the rest of the community would benefit too. “By investing in infrastructure that supports research and innovation, we ensure WA remains at the forefront of health advancements,” he said.