The Australian government has allocated $35 million to a group of researchers from various Australian universities, called the BIENCO Consortium, to create an artificial cornea manufacturing facility. In addition to manufacturing, the facility will also store, and ship bioengineered corneas worldwide, according to a press release.

“This facility is a major step towards ensuring there is help available for those who need it,” said Prime Minister Mark Butler in a University of Sydney press release.

The developing world, including many countries in Africa, and Southeast Asia, has a chronic shortage of corneas, noted Professor Mark Daniell, head of Corneal Research at the Center for Eye Research Australia, in a University of Sydney press release.

“Our ultimate goal is to develop the technology to produce many grafts from one donors’ tissue to help alleviate the global shortage of donor corneas,” explained Professor Greg Qiao, of the University of Melbourne. CP