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Barwon Health has announced plans to open a new clinical trials centre that will create a focal point for researchers and improve access to cutting edge treatments.

The centre has been funded with a $2.5 million donation from the Costa Family for its establishment and to advance clinical trials at Barwon Health into the future.

The outstanding contribution of the Costa family, in partnership with the Barwon Health Foundation, will bring the project to life, with a goal of creating a smarter, healthier future for our community.

In memory of the late Adrian Costa, this donation by the Costa family will allow Barwon Health’s clinical research community to increase their capacity for ground-breaking and internationally-recognised findings, with improved collaboration across all research disciplines.

Establishing the Adrian Costa Clinical Trials Centre is a key part of Barwon Health’s strategy to embed research excellence into every aspect of clinical care. A thriving clinical trials program is fundamental to the delivery of innovative and evidence based care, and attracting the best and brightest to the organisation. The centre will improve training opportunities, research capacity and consumer access to the best available treatments.

Barwon Health is already working closely with its major academic partner, Deakin University, to identify and solve the major health challenges facing our service and community. The centre will be hub for the region; a place where doctors, nurses, allied health teams and researchers collaborate to strive for improved outcomes.

About 200 clinical trials are underway across Barwon Health’s clinical trial teams, which include cardiology, intensive care, anaesthetics, psychiatry, orthopaedics, infectious diseases, pharmacy, endocrinology, neurosciences, paediatrics, palliative care, emergency care, and cancer services.

Comments attributable to Barwon Health chief executive Frances Diver:

As regional Victoria’s largest health service, Barwon Health is in a unique position to lead research and clinical trials that result in better care for our community.

Our goal is to keep people in our community healthy and well, and clinical trials have an enormous role to play in both innovative treatments and discoveries in health prevention.

Over the years, Barwon Health has grown to be a major tertiary health service, and investment in research is essential to continue that progress. This centre will allow us to take our clinical trials to the next stage and truly embrace a culture of research at Barwon Health.

We thank the Costa family for their leadership and insight into the importance of clinical trials and investing in the health of Greater Geelong.

Comments attributable to Barwon Health research director Professor Pete Vuillermin:

For more than 25 years, Barwon Health has collaborated with the best researchers in the industry and university system to lead and conduct clinical trials into new treatments and methods, each aiming to improve health outcomes.

The extraordinarily generous support of the Costa family will enable us to take this to the next level. The centre will be a place where our clinical teams and researchers can collaborate to create the knowledge needed to drive excellence.

Comments attributable to Barwon Health Foundation chair Dan Simmonds:

The Barwon Health Foundation is thrilled to help facilitate this much-needed clinical trials centre in Geelong.

We believe supporting a new centre with a research focus will have significant benefits for the Geelong community, assisting research into innovative treatments that will change and save lives.

Comments attributable to Frank and Robert Costa:

The hope of the Costa family is that this gift will not only provide health benefits to

locals, but inspire others to give to the health service and support the cutting edge medical research happening right here in Geelong.

Support the Adrian Costa Clinical Trials Centre