VIC govt awards $5 million to local MRNA manufacturing effort ahead of trials

The Victorian government announced $5 million in support for manufacture of the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) mRNA COVID-19 vaccine for clinical trials, scheduled to begin in October.

The announcement was made on Sunday that the $5 million grant would come from a $50 million fund included in the last state budget. 

The funding boost would “enable a Victorian manufacturer to develop critical manufacturing capability of mRNA vaccines,” something that currently does not exist, said the state government.

“This grant will enable us to produce our second generation COVID-19 vaccine in preparation for Phase 1 clinical trials, which will be conducted through our partnership with the Doherty Institute,” said MIPS Professor Colin Pouton (pictured), who has led development on the vaccine candidate.

“The investment by the Victorian Government into establishing Victoria’s mRNA manufacturing capability presents exciting opportunities to develop life-saving vaccines and therapeutic treatments for all Australians.”

Previously, the vaccine had attracted $3 million in support from the federal Medical Research Future Fund to support Phase 1 trials, which will begin in October and involve 150 participants. Preliminary results from these are expected in the first half of next year.

Picture: Monash

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