Clinical scale mRNA manufacturing

The Victoria - BioNTech partnership

mRNA Victoria has partnered with BioNTech to establish a state-of-the-art clinical and R&D mRNA manufacturing facility at La Trobe University’s Bundoora campus. This partnership is supporting the translation of mRNA research into potential new vaccines and therapies.

This partnership also sees BioNTech establishing its Australian Headquarters and Innovation Centre in Melbourne, bringing AI capability to Australia and delivering a significant 10-year Clinical Trial Program to bring next generation cancer treatments to up to 4,000 patients in Australia and New Zealand.

Manufacturing – mRNA GMP clinical and research grade manufacturing facility

BioNTech is building a clinical scale mRNA manufacturing facility at La Trobe University’s Bundoora campus, and launched their R&D Facility in November 2025.

The R&D Facility has begun producing research grade RNA materials to support research and development in the context of various diseases, including infectious diseases, rare diseases and cancer, supporting the translation of research into medical breakthroughs.

Once complete, the GMP Clinical Manufacturing Facility will produce next generation mRNA vaccines and treatments (including oncology treatments) for clinical trials.

This facility will partner with medical research institutes, biotech and life science companies to develop early stage and clinical vaccines and therapies, as well as producing BioNTech’s own investigational drugs.

The BioNTech clinical mRNA manufacturing facility is an anchor tenant for La Trobe University City, a $5 billion precinct transforming the Bundoora Campus.

Construction of the clinical mRNA manufacturing facility is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Manufacturing facility access

The aim of the partnership between the Victorian Government and BioNTech is building an RNA innovation ecosystem to drive the translation of cutting-edge research into next-generation mRNA vaccines and therapeutics.

To support this goal, the Victorian Government is providing subsidised access to the BioNTech R&D Facility and clinical mRNA manufacturing facility for researchers and biotech start-ups, aiming to accelerate new mRNA vaccines and treatments from the lab into the clinic.

Researchers and biotech companies will maintain ownership and control of all background intellectual property, and any new intellectual property they generate relating to their clinical products, subject to certain mutually agreed terms and conditions.

If you are a research team or biotech interested in clinical manufacturing and research-grade RNA, please contact the mRNA Victoria team for more information and to register for future updates.

Research and Development

Under the multi-layered strategic partnership between BioNTech and mRNA Victoria, BioNTech has also established an Innovation Centre in Melbourne to support the translation and commercialisation of local research, helping to fast-track new therapies from lab to patients. The Innovation Centre supports local researchers and biotech companies access BioNTech’s world-leading expertise in developing mRNA vaccines and therapies.

BioNTech’sArtificial Intelligence subsidiary, InstaDeep is setting up a presence in Victoria, including access to their AI-driven early warning system for potential pandemics.

Clinical Trial Program

As part of the strategic partnership with mRNA Victoria, BioNTech is also delivering the BioNTech Clinical Trial Program to deliver next generation investigational oncology treatments to up to 4,000 cancer patients in Australia and New Zealand over the next 10 years.

Led by the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre as coordinating delivery partner with Monash Health, Alfred Health and Austin Health, the program will work with local hospitals and health providers to deliver clinical trials for investigational treatment approaches for hard-to-treat cancers.

As part of the program, a new Clinical Trial Oncology Platform has launched to improve access to the next generation of investigational cancer treatments for Australians.

BioNTech has entered into an agreement with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to establish the platform, creating a network of key delivery partners including Austin Health, Alfred Health and Monash Health.

The platform is designed to streamline clinical trials through efficient data collection, planning and patient access. Its objective is to improve access for cancer patients to BioNTech’s innovative clinical trials across Australia, giving them more investigational treatment options.

For more information about mRNA Victoria and mRNA manufacturing opportunities, please contact us via email mRNAvictoria@ecodev.vic.gov.au or follow us on LinkedIn.