Western Australia Backs Bridgecast to Boost Medtech Manufacturing

Bridgewest Group is set to expand its biomedical operations in Bentley, Perth, with the help of a $2 million investment from the Western Australian (WA) Government. Once a Pfizer-owned facility, it now operates under the name NovaCina, manufacturing oncology drugs and sterile injectable hospital equipment across nine production lines that export products to nearly 100 countries.

Bridgewest signed a definitive agreement to acquire the 34,000 square meter sterile injectable manufacturing plant from Pfizer in November 2022, and completed the transaction in April 2023, securing more than 400 jobs for the local community.

WA’s investment into the facility came from its Investment Attraction Fund, which is helping to support significant expansion, and diversity in the state’s economy. Specifically for NovaCina, the money will enable the local manufacturing of a broader range of medical products through upgrades to the facility like the installation of a new automated blow, fill, and seal line of products including eye droppers, along with a state-of-the-art design packaging line, according to the company.

Along with boosting local jobs, the facility is also said to open new commercial opportunities within the region and bolster the WA’s life sciences sector, which has seen its growth double over the past five years.

WA’s Premier Roger Cook, who is also the minister for State and Industry Development, Jobs and Trade, Public Sector Management, and Federal-State relations, applauded the grant and the opportunities the new facility brings to its residents.

"Medical manufacturing presents an important opportunity for WA — helping to diversify our economy and create local jobs, while contributing to the global need for quality medical products,” he said in a statement. “The NovaCina facility is a fantastic example of what the future can look like in WA — where we make more things here and play a major role in the medical sciences sector.”

Stephen Dawson, Medical Research Minister also stated, “Western Australian innovation and investment in biotech and life sciences are bringing about immense opportunities for improved and extended lives, all around the globe,” Dawson said. "Our State continues to be an important player in the health and medical life sciences sector, and with the Cook Government's continued support we can maintain our momentum in solving critical healthcare issues.”

Currently, the Investment Attraction Fund has allocated more than $148 million to 40 job-creating projects across WA.