Showcasing the strength, depth and momentum of our growing biotech ecosystem.
The countdown is on. In 2026, the Gold Coast will take centre stage as host of AusBiotech, Australia’s premier life sciences conference. With global delegates, major industry players, and investors expected to attend, this is more than just an event — it’s a moment in time to showcase the Gold Coast as an emerging biotech hotspot.
Fresh from an energising week at AusBiotech 2025 in Melbourne last month, our team returned inspired and excited about what’s to come. It was fantastic to see Team Queensland out in force, featuring key precinct players like Southern RNA and Griffith University Clinical Trial Unit. And it was great to network with our industry partners, including Sanofi and ARM Hub.
Huge congratulations to the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning for coordinating Queensland’s strong presence, including a presentation by Deputy Premier Hon Jarrod Bleijie to announce our success in securing rights to both the 2026 conference on the Gold Coast and the 2027 event, to be held in Brisbane.
Thanks to Tourism and Events Queensland for their hard work in bid coordination and to AusBiotech for presenting an exceptional 2025 program.
But next year, it’s our turn.
And we’re ready.
A region primed for biotech growth
The Gold Coast is no longer just a lifestyle destination; it’s fast becoming one of the most exciting places in Australia for biotech and medtech innovation and commercialisation. AusBiotech 2026 is the perfect platform to shine a light on the world-class research, talent and translation happening across our precinct every day.
At Griffith University’s Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics (IBG), over 400 researchers are working on diseases of global impact, from infectious diseases to cancers and neurological conditions.
In 2025 alone, the Institute will have progressed five technologies invented by its researchers to clinical trials, including two vaccines, a repurposed drug, a diagnostic, and a cell therapy.
Here are just a few of the brilliant minds leading the way:
Professor Evelin Tiralongo, Director of Griffith University’s Clinical Trial Unit (CTU), has spent a decade growing clinical trials from Phase I-IV, supporting investigator-led studies and global pharma trials across a diverse range of therapeutic areas.
Associate Professor Lara Herrero, a Principal Research Fellow at IBG and the 2023 winner of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science New Innovators category, discovered a world-first treatment for viral arthritis by repurposing an existing drug.
Distinguished Professor Mark von Itzstein AO, co-inventor of the world’s first flu vaccine Relenza®, birthed the Gold Coast’s biomedical sector when he established the former Institute of Glycomics in 2000 – helping to spark the bold vision for the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct in 2001.
Our precinct is also home to Southern RNA, one of Australia’s leading CDMOs specialising in precision mRNA therapies. Their recent R&D launch at Cohort Innovation Space, in partnership with Providence Therapeutics, is accelerating the development of personalised cancer vaccines that are already changing lives. This next-gen capability is supported by Griffith University’s Nanomedicine BioFoundry, the first facility in Australia to provide an integrated resource for high-throughput synthetic biology. It developed the world’s first direct antiviral siRNA for the treatment of COVID-19.
The IBG and the CTU are central to Griffith’s partnership in the $280 million Translational Science Hub established with leading global pharma Sanofi, along with partners the University of Queensland and the Queensland Government.
Backed by collaboration
With strong support from Invest Gold Coast, Experience Gold Coast, Tourism and Events Queensland, Griffith University, Economic Development Queensland, and Gold Coast Health, AusBiotech 2026 won’t just be a conference – it’ll be a celebration of collaboration, capability and commercialisation.
What’s next?
Get ready to meet the precinct’s biotech superstars and watch our story unfold in the lead-up to 2026. Check out the biotech capability video here, and stay tuned as we roll out more stories, site visits, investor sessions and ways to connect with the people and projects transforming health innovation from the Gold Coast to the world.
