In massive news overnight, the Australian government has revealed that it’s reached an in-principle agreement with US company, Moderna, to produce mRNA vaccines in Australia
Unsurprisingly, Melbourne has won the hotly contested race to be Australia’s home of mRNA production. It’s understood that the NSW government lobbed in a financially attractive offer to woo Moderna to Sydney, though Melbourne’s long established biotech industry was clearly ennough to entice Moderna to Victoria.
Production of the vaccines is not limited to just COVID-19 but will likely involve vaccines for other conditions such as influenza. The first products are expected to arrive in 2024.
Outlook for CSL/IDT Australia
At this stage it remains unclear whether Moderna will initiate the construction of a greenfields site, which would involve lengthy regulatory red-tape. Another possibility is the contracting of an established player in Melbourne, the two choices being CSL or IDT Australia
Given that CSL already produce vaccines, including the current AstraZeneca COVID vaccine, they are unlikely to be involved .
IDT recently announced that they had become the first company in Australia to produce an mRNA vaccine, albeit only 450 doses for a clinical trial. You can read about that here
Last nights announcement will likely be the first of many and a clearer picture will be available in the months ahead.
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