The Victorian state government has agreed to an in-principle partnership with leading German biotechnology company BioNTech to establish a clinical-scale mRNA manufacturing facility in the state.
The partnership was announced today by treasurer Tim Pallas and minister for innovation, medical research and the digital economy Jaala Pulford.
The developers of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine have chosen Victoria to establish their Asia-Pacific mRNA clinical research and development centre which will form part of BioNTech’s global network.
The new facility will support researchers to translate their work into medical breakthroughs.
The arrangement would see BioNTech deliver next-generation mRNA therapeutics and vaccines for research and clinical trials, including infectious diseases, cancer medicines and personalised cancer treatments.
It also includes BioNTech establishing its Artificial Intelligence-driven early warning and identification technology, which can be used to detect future disease threats and rapidly develop new treatments and vaccines, at the Victorian site.
Pallas said the partnership will see incredible collaboration opportunities for Victorian researchers and international biotech companies.
CEO and co-founder of BioNTech professor Uğur Şahin, said the partnership was a major step forward to enable access to mRNA technology and promote collaboration.
“Australia provides excellent academic research, and we are looking forward to collaborating with world-class scientists and researchers to strengthen Australia’s mRNA ecosystem and jointly develop novel treatments and vaccines for people worldwide,” Şahin said.
Founded in 2008 in Germany, BioNTech has become a leader in mRNA research and in 2020 successfully developed the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19.
The in-principle partnership follows the Australian Government, Moderna and Victorian Government partnership to set up an mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility at Monash University – helping protect Australians against future pandemics, supporting local industry and creating highly skilled jobs.
Victoria is responsible for nearly 60 per cent of Australia’s pharmaceutical exports – making it the state’s highest value advanced manufactured export.
The state government has invested $1.3 billion in medical research since 2014, which has helped create more than 100,000 direct and indirect full-time jobs in the state’s biotech sector.