The Australasian Leukaemia & Lymphoma Group (ALLG) CEO, Delaine Smith, attended the recent Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Roundtable Discussion, at Parliament House in Canberra.

This high-level forum, facilitated by The Hon Dr Monique Ryan MP, Federal Member for Kooyong, brought together scientific leaders, researchers and advocates to address the vital role of the Medical Research Future Fund in supporting Australian research. Delaine Smith presented on behalf of the ALLG, highlighting how the MRFF is essential for supporting clinical trials, advancing new treatments, and ultimately improving outcomes for patients and their families.

Read the full ALLG Roundtable Presentation

Why the MRFF is Important to ALLG Clinical Trials

Blood cancers represent a large portion of rare cancers and investing in the MRFF is critical to advancing life-saving medical research, particularly where new treatments can dramatically improve patient outcome through access to new treatments. Clinical trials are the cornerstone of translating laboratory discoveries into effective and potentially life-saving therapies, yet they are costly, complex to run and require funding.

The MRFF is uniquely positioned to support practice-changing clinical trials. Nationally awarded grants overcome the federal/state divide and put funding forward for the health services support to enable participation in blood cancer clinical trials. Globally, ALLG collaborates with leading research groups to drive innovation and improved funding from the MRFF is key to increasing the number of these partnerships substantially. Without adequate funding, patients face delayed access to new medicines and technologies that are advanced through clinical trials.

Without the MRFF performing as it should, clinician researchers are working outside of their hours in grant application processes. The current 8% Grant success rate is extraordinarily expensive to the Australian community and promotes burnout and loss of clinician researchers, and as a result more researchers could potentially leave to work for other industries of overseas. In addition, we could lose engaged industry partners if funding levels are not viable.

Investigator-led trials funded by the MRFF enable research to extend to elements such as quality of life studies (QOL), economic evaluations, and clinical care pathways for follow-up initiatives. These are very relevant to optimising our Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee and Medical Services Advisory Committee decisions and implementation in standard practice, uniformly providing the evidence our health care system needs for cost-efficient health care in rare blood cancers and areas of unmet need.

Rising Costs and the Urgency of Sustained MRFF Funding

In the absence of investigator-led trials, like those the ALLG brings to market, research become inefficient and costly. Delays or deferrals in grants significantly increase the cost of future research. Extended timelines lead to higher expenses across the board, including:

• Salary and increasing the wages of researchers
• Service provider fees and vendor costs
• Drug warehouse fees and costs of storing, labelling and distribution of trial medicines
• Couriering costs of specimens – blood, bone marrow and tissue
• Research materials – increasing cost of materials needed for trials

Sustained MRFF investment ensures that investigator-led research continues efficiently and maximises every dollar spent to accelerate life-saving treatment for those who need it most. ALLG supports the call to the Federal Government to release the maximum amount of MRFF funding as recommended by the Board of Guardians.

Read the full ALLG Roundtable Presentation

ALLG’s Blood Cancer Research

The Australasian Leukaemia & Lymphoma Group (ALLG) is the only collaborative, not-for-profit blood cancer clinical trial group in Australasia. Our mission is to create Better treatments…Better lives for patients with blood cancer. Across Australia and New Zealand, ALLG is the leading national clinical trial group for blood cancers in adults and represent the 1,400 haematologists, nurses and scientists of the ALLG who volunteer their time to advance practice changing clinical trials focusing on the priorities of Australian patients.

ALLG’s clinical trials and research have driven progress in blood cancer treatments and have improved survival rates for patients for over 50 years. As we look to 2026 and beyond, ALLG is driving forward a strong collaborative clinical research program across all blood cancers to accelerate science, generate high-quality evidence and deliver effective treatments and outcomes for patients.

You can help support our research, as we aim for a world where all blood cancers can be treated effectively, and even cured.