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New medicine research gets $25m injection

A new research centre aimed at hastening the process of developing medicines is set to receive a $25 million funding injection from the federal government.

Cutting edge robotics equipment will be used at the Drug Discovery Centre at Melbourne's Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, allowing researchers to easily screen chemicals for their medical abilities.

The centre will open in June to help researchers develop drugs to treat common and rare diseases and improve the quality of life of many Australians, Health Minister Greg Hunt says.

"The robotics equipment will enable the centre's world-class researchers to screen hundreds of thousands of chemicals and rapidly identify which ones can alter processes in the body implicated in a particular disease or condition," he said in a statement.

Mr Hunt will announce the funding at the medical research institute on Monday, alongside scientists and patients.

The Drug Discovery Centre is also possible due to philanthropic support and $32.1 million from royalties of venetoclax, an anti-cancer treatment based on a discovery at the institute in the 1980s.

"The discovery and commercial success of venetoclax is a leading example of how Australia can benefit from great discoveries," Mr Hunt said.