Work on first Aussie-made mRNA jabs is now underway after Moderna opened Southern Hemisphere’s first mRNA factory today. See the tour inside.
First look inside first mRNA vaccine facility
Australia’s first ever mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility is now operational in Melbourne, with locally made Moderna jabs set to be available in time for winter.
The Moderna Technology Centre – Melbourne will open on Wednesday, the only place in Australia, and the Southern Hemisphere, that can make the critical vaccine technology from “start to finish” at commercial scale.
The centre, built over two years under a $2bn-plus 10-year deal between Moderna and the federal and state government, comes after the pandemic exposed the risk of relying on overseas suppliers.
Its first vaccine will be Moderna’s latest Covid booster, with production set to start later this month after the site’s final test runs.
That jab will be finished in time for the 2025 respiratory season, followed by a vaccine for RSV – an extremely common respiratory illness – which will be available in the second half of the year.
Australia’s first mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility will produce vaccines ready to be used by next winter. Picture: Supplied
The new Clayton site employs about 110 ongoing workers.
Moderna Australia and New Zealand General Manager Michael Azrak said the vaccines take just three months to manufacture and the site can produce up to 100 million a year.
“It’s really a momentous day for Australia, just to be able to have that sovereign onshore manufacturing capability of a new technology that really puts us in a good position for any future health emergencies,” he said.
Mr Azrak said, based on countries’ experience during Covid, on shore manufacturing could have accelerated our vaccine rollout by about eight months, but this was about more than “pandemic preparedness”.
“It’s about unlocking new possibilities in medicines,” he said.
He said there was exciting work on the potential for mRNA vaccines against the common gastro bug norovirus and cytomegalovirus, a leading infectious cause of birth defects.
“We have an influenza vaccine that’s in the final stages of development,” he said.
Picture: Supplied
Picture: Supplied
“The Covid and flu combination vaccine as well that we are really looking forward to manufacturing at the facility over the next 12 to 24 months.
“The promise of mRNA science is truly extraordinary.”
He said Moderna was “committed to the long ball here”, but the plants’ role after ten years would depend on future government negotiations and its use over the decade.
“But I’m really hopeful that Australia is going to retain sovereign capability,” he said.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the site was a “major step forward in helping protect Australians against future pandemics”.
Premier Jacinta Allan said Victoria had now joined Boston and London as one of three world-leading centres of medical research.
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