The Victorian government has announced a $10 million investment in the Monash Centre for Advanced mRNA Medicines Manufacturing and Workforce Training in an effort to support the next generation of workers in the critical vaccine and medicine field.
The training program will provide highly specialised training to workers across all aspects of the mRNA manufacturing lifecycle, the Victorian government said in a media release.
Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Industry and Innovation Ben Carroll met today with Associate Professor Jennifer Short, along with the centre’s trainees.
The Monash Centre seeks to position Victoria at the forefront of Asia Pacific’s vaccine and medicine manufacturing by training the future mRNA workforce and ensuring that they have the advanced skills required to meet industry needs.
“The Monash Centre for Advanced mRNA Manufacturing and Workforce Training will draw on Monash’s exceptional pool of biomedical talent to deliver best-practice education and training programs, and ultimately facilitate the development of life-saving vaccines and therapeutic treatments,” said Professor Sharon Pickering, deputy vice-chancellor at Monash University.
The state has already commenced with the development of mRNA technology in Australia, with the construction of Moderna’s mRNA Vaccine manufacturing facility, which is expected to manufacture up to 100 million vaccines per year once completed.
Melbourne is also slated to be home to BioNTech’s Asia-Pacific mRNA clinical research and manufacturing centre.
“Victoria is leading the pack for mRNA research and manufacturing in the Asia-Pacific – that’s why we are proud to invest in training the next generation of workers for this critical sector,” Minister Carroll said.
The Victorian government said it has invested a total of $1.3 billion in medical research since 2014 and helped establish more than 100,000 direct and indirect full-time jobs in the state’s biotech sector.
