Australia opens AU$136 million (about US$95 million) for trials on rare diseases and prevention

Australia’s health department has opened a AU$136 million (about US$95 million) grant round for clinical trials under its Medical Research Future Fund. The money flows across four streams: pilot trials for rare cancers, rare diseases and unmet medical needs; full-scale trials for those conditions; trials filling gaps in how new health technologies are assessed; and prevention trials aimed at stopping disease before it starts. Individual projects can receive up to AU$5 million (about US$3.5 million). For families facing rare diseases — conditions where existing treatments often fall short — it is a government opening its wallet to test tomorrow’s cures.