New Moderna facility opens

News
Published: 5 December 2024

Photo of two laboratory workers in a lab

Moderna’s new, world-class vaccine manufacturing facility is officially open, giving Victorians access to locally manufactured mRNA vaccines and medicines.

The cutting-edge facility at Monash University’s Clayton campus will turbocharge the growth of Victoria’s sovereign mRNA manufacturing industry. The facility will have the capacity to produce up to 100 million vaccine doses each year for respiratory diseases including influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and COVID-19 (subject to product approvals).

During the construction phase, the facility created 500 jobs. Moderna’s Australia operations will create 140 highly-skilled direct jobs and up to 500 jobs will be supported across advanced medical manufacturing, R&D, supply chains and the broader workforce. Subject to regulatory approval, Moderna’s facility is expected to produce its first mRNA vaccines in 2025.

With Moderna and BioNTech establishing major hubs in the state, Victoria is the only place in the world where both mRNA leaders host research and development (R&D) and manufacturing operations, as well as the first commercial scale, end-to-end mRNA vaccine facility in the southern hemisphere.

The facility is the result of a partnership between the Victorian Government, Federal Government and Moderna to advance Australia's sovereign manufacturing and R&D capability in mRNA medicines and therapeutics.

The Victorian Government’s record investment of more than $1 billion in medical research over the last decade has cemented the state as an international hub for medical research, with a workforce of over 30,000 driving incredible breakthroughs in treatment and patient care.

Read more about mRNA Victoria’s work with Moderna.