The WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub (WALSIH) is celebrating seven years of supercharging innovation in WA.
Every month we highlight a company, leader, or key impact theme facing our WA ecosystem through the WA Spotlight Series. Today, WALSIH were the ones in the Spotlight, celebrating seven years of impact alongside our partners MTPConnect, WA Government, and The University of Western Australia, as well as collaborators and supporters from across the ecosystem. It was a fantastic morning celebrating WALSIH’s contribution to the collaboration, innovation and growth of our sector since 2019.
We are proud to have helped companies attract millions in funding, support hundreds of jobs, and connect WA innovators with national and global opportunities.
Key highlights include:
WALSIH’s tangible impact is demonstrated by the outcomes of 40 companies we have directly supported. These companies have created 628+ jobs, 40+ internships and received $143.5M+ funding resulting in a total economic value contribution of $375M+.
The event kicked off with remarks from Minister for Medical Research; Science and Innovation Hon Stephen Dawson MLC, MTPConnect CEO Stuart Dignam and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) at UWA Professor Anna Nowak, acknowledging the WALSIH team and the power of its partnership model.
WALSIH’s Director of Biomedical and Health Innovation Professor Kevin Pfleger said, “Seven years ago, WALSIH was an idea, a vision for how a hub could support WA’s health and medical life sciences sector to go to the next level, with the right partnerships, and the right people. Today, that vision is a reality.
“We are proud to have built something that is not only impactful, but enduring, a hub that connects, transforms and propels innovation across the state and beyond.”
WALSIH’s Director of Stakeholder Engagement added, “As well as showcasing the results of WALSIH’s impact, the 628 jobs created by just 40 of the start-ups and small businesses we support demonstrates job growth comparable with the mining exploration sector during the same period. A surprising and astonishing result which unearths the size and scale of our HMLS sector, consisting largely of small businesses and start-ups and highlighting the sector’s role in supporting economic diversification of WA.”
A highlight at the event was an update from VeinTech co-founder Dr Nikhilesh Bappoo, a Perth-based medtech company born out of the Perth Biodesign program. VeinTech’s journey from local innovation to global expansion exemplifies WALSIH’s role as a connector, mentor, and enabler. With support from WALSIH, VeinTech has secured over $2M in investment, hosted more than 35 interns, joined an international trade mission and became the first beneficiary of the Perth Biodesign–NEMIC BioBridge, unlocking USD $750,000 to establish its US operations.
