Biotechnology company Vaxxas has completed work on its new needle-free vaccine technology manufacturing facility in Northshore Hamilton.
The new Brisbane facility opened today, 19 June. It will manufacture millions of needle-free vaccine patches over the next three to five years, injecting hundreds of millions of dollars into Queensland’s economy.
The opening of the new facility is expected to create up to 200 local skilled jobs and cement Queensland’s position as a globally competitive Asia-Pacific biomedical hub.
The new manufacturing plant received funding and operational support from the Queensland government, which allowed it to refurbish an existing warehouse at Northshore and transform it into a cutting-edge facility.
“The Palaszczuk Government is committed to supporting homegrown biomedical start-ups to scale up successfully and ensure we keep this innovation and our best and brightest researchers on home soil,” said Deputy Premier Steven Miles.
Launching Vaxxas’ new facility marks another milestone in the Northshore Hamilton Priority Development Area’s transformation.
“Queensland is fast shaping up as a global research and innovation hub thanks to the Palaszczuk Government’s investment in state-of-the-art facilities like this one,” Miles said. “Economic Development Queensland worked closely with Vaxxas to progress designs and approval for this facility, so it’s fantastic to be here to open it.”
The facility is also a significant milestone for Vaxxas, which was founded in 2011 on research from the University of Queensland.
“The site will significantly increase our manufacturing capacity, creating new local and skilled jobs, while enabling Vaxxas to progress through late-stage clinical trials that will bring our first commercial vaccine products to the market,” said David Hoey, chief executive officer of Vaxxas.
“With several completed human clinical trials involving more than 500 participants, ongoing Australian Phase I clinical studies for COVID-19 and seasonal influenza, and other vaccine studies targeting pandemic influenza funded by the United States Government and a measles-rubella study funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation expected to start in 2024, Vaxxas’ vaccine patch technology platform is advancing rapidly towards commercialisation,” the CEO added.
