A new sovereign vaccine manufacturing facility will be built in Australia to produce respiratory mRNA vaccines for potential future pandemics and seasonal health issues as part of a new in principle agreement between the Australian Government, Victorian Government and global mRNA company Moderna.
\nThe sovereign on-shore facility will be built in Victoria as part of a long term strategic partnership, secured by the Morrison Government, to increase preparedness for possible future pandemics, including priority access to vaccines, research and development, clinical trials and global supply chain access.
\nThe in principle deal will mean in a pandemic 100 million mRNA vaccines could be produced in Australia each year, starting in 2024 pending regulatory and planning approval, with priority access to both pandemic and non-pandemic respiratory mRNA vaccines, including potential seasonal flu vaccines.
\nmRNA technology is part of the next generation in advanced health care, it has already helped save hundreds of thousands, if not millions of lives worldwide from COVID-19.
\nPrime Minister Scott Morrison said mRNA technology would play an important and growing role in response to future health issues and securing a sovereign on-shore mRNA technology was critical.
\n\u201cThis investment will continue to secure Australia\u2019s future economic prosperity while protecting lives by providing access to world-leading mRNA vaccines made on Australian soil,\u201d the Prime Minister said.
\n\u201cThe new mRNA manufacturing facility in Victoria will produce respiratory vaccines for potential future pandemics and seasonal health issues such as the common flu, protecting lives and livelihoods.\u201d
\n\u201cMedical manufacturing is at the heart of our Modern Manufacturing Initiative, creating jobs and securing Australia\u2019s economic recovery, with more than a million Australians back working in manufacturing, the highest level since Labor let it fall in 2009.\u201d
\nMinister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt said that ATAGI\u2019s recent recommendation on Moderna\u2019s booster dose was a further testament to their advancements in mRNA.
\n\u201cModerna\u2019s COVID-19 vaccine is now available through all channels and just this past Sunday, following expert advice from ATAGI, I was proud to be one of the first in the nation to receive it as a booster dose,\u201d Minister Hunt said.
\n\u201cEnsuring Moderna has a manufacturing presence here will deliver Australia priority access to products manufactured here in Australia, by Australians, for Australians, using the most cutting edge vaccination science available in the world today.\u201d
\n\u201cThis is another key pillar in Australia\u2019s long term medical manufacturing future, and we are looking forward to finalising the agreements with Moderna as soon as possible.\u201d
\nOnce operational, Moderna will help meet Australia\u2019s ongoing needs for COVID-19 vaccines, and for other respiratory mRNA vaccines as they are developed and approved by Australia\u2019s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
\nMinister for Finance Simon Birmingham said the arrival of onshore mRNA manufacturing would allow Australia to continue to play a role as a world leader in medical research.
\n\u201cModerna will become a vital part of Australia\u2019s mRNA research and development landscape, bringing investment and opportunities for the entire research sector,\u201d Minister Birmingham said.
\n\u201cThis investment will mean world-leading clinical trials, a strong local workforce and creating opportunities through supply chain activities, helping to drive Australia\u2019s economy forward.\u201d
\n\u201cThis is a further endorsement of Australia\u2019s capacity to be a world-leader in the fields of health and medical research.\u201d
\nMinister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said the Government is ensuring Australia maximises the long-term value of any investment in mRNA.
\n\u201cThese discussions to develop a local advanced manufacturing capability build on our $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy and the opportunities in the Medical Products National Manufacturing Priority road map, helping to chart the course to bring new jobs to the local biotech sector,\u201d Minister Taylor said.
\n\u201cOur approach is all about ensuring we can have access to, and are able to develop, the next generation of medicines for Australians, and to make sure that Australia\u2019s biopharmaceutical sector and community is at the forefront of that\u201d.
\nIn order to promote the development of an mRNA sector in Australia, the Australian Government will also invest up to $25 million from 2022-23 in the 2021 mRNA Clinical Trials Enabling Infrastructure Grant Opportunity.
\nThis funding will directly support Australian medical research and medical innovation projects that leverage and enhance emerging technologies, platforms, equipment and infrastructure to conduct clinical trials of mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics.
\nThis grant opportunity forms part of the Government\u2019s Coronavirus Research Response, which is funded through the $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A new sovereign vaccine manufacturing facility will be built in Australia to produce respiratory mRNA vaccines for potential future pandemics and seasonal health issues as part of a new in principle agreement between the Australian Government, Victorian Government and global mRNA company Moderna. The sovereign on-shore facility will be built in Victoria as part of … Continue reading “mRNA vaccines to be made in Australia”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14278\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}