Aussie boss takes big picture view

Novartis Country President ANZ Matt Zeller has underlined the importance of Australia upping its performance in providing broad, fast, equitable access to innovative treatments if it wants to be a player on the international stage.

Speaking at a webinar yesterday titled: Clinical Trials and Tribulations: the Upside of Down Under Zeller praised Australia's impressive research capabilities but delivered some hard truths about limitations hampering the local sector.

"Australia, it's never going to be able to compete on cost. It's never going to be able to compete on logistics, and just from pure size of the population, it's never going to be able to compete there," he said.