3 April 2017 - The CSIRO is warning that slow and outdated regulation is holding back Australia's medical technology and pharmaceutical industry, and it risks losing work to countries with more "agile" systems in place.

The organisation has produced a roadmap for the future of the $4.4-billion industry, which currently employs 48,000 Australians.

He said taking innovations such as 3D-printed skull implants or targeted chemotherapy drugs through extensive trials could be incredibly expensive and slow in Australia, compared to in other countries.

"To give you an example, we have recently licensed a bowel cancer sensing test, which of course is very, very accurate for detecting recurrent bowel cancer," he said.

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