Moderna launches regional research centre and headquarters to advance mRNA research

Victoria’s position as a world leader in mRNA innovation has taken another big step forward, with global biotechnology leader Moderna opening its regional research centre and headquarters in Melbourne.

This week Moderna’s Regional Research Centre for Respiratory Medicines and Tropical Diseases, which will unlock new advances and boost Victoria’s mRNA industry, was launched.

The centre sits alongside Moderna’s headquarters for Australia, New Zealand, South-East Asia and Oceania in Melbourne, which opened this week.

The headquarters provides a base of operations for Moderna to partner with Victoria’s world-leading medical research institutes and clinical trial networks, ensuring Victorians will be some of the first people in the world to trial new mRNA medicines for a range of health conditions.

The first strategic collaboration for the Moderna Regional Research Centre for Respiratory Medicines and Tropical Diseases is a $3 million Quantitative Pharmacology Accelerator with the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) in Parkville.

The Monash-Moderna Quantitative Pharmacology Accelerator (MMQPA) will help fast-track the development of mRNA medicines by using advanced computer models to predict the effects of treatments.

The MMQPA will be the first of many collaborations with Victorian research institutes as part of Moderna’s investment in Victoria.

Victoria is responsible for almost 60 percent of Australia’s pharmaceutical exports – making it our highest-value advanced manufactured export – and the biotech sector supports more than 100,000 full-time jobs.