Up to 100 million mRNA vaccines could be manufactured each year by 2024 at a new facility in Australia to protect the country against future pandemics.
Plans to build the facility were unveiled on Tuesday. It will be built in Victoria and is a joint venture between the Australian government, the Victorian government, and US pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Moderna.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the country had to live with the COVID-19 virus, and would "stare it down".
"The mRNA vaccines have proven to be, I'd argue, the biggest scientific discovery over the course of this pandemic and that means they are a big part, a massive part, of the future of vaccines, not just here in this country but all around the world," he said.
"So we set about the task of ensuring that we have the manufacturing capability to do that ... to keep Australians safe and protect their health, not just against COVID, but against the many other communicable diseases.
"With Moderna, we have a partner that ensures their IP [intellectual property], the knowledge, their advances in medical sciences can be brought here and be part of an ecosystem that will Australia also be a leader in this area."
The country's stock mRNA vaccines - such as Moderna and Pfizer - has been reliant on supplies from overseas during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The AstraZeneca vaccine started production onshore during the pandemic, but Australia has not had the capacity to make the newer mRNA vaccines.
Pending regulatory and planning approvals, the facility will have the capacity to produce 100 million mRNA vaccines a year from 2024.
Victoria's acting premier James Merlino said: "When you think about medical research and biotechnology, you think about Boston, you think about London and you think about Melbourne. This is the place to be.
"This is a great announcement and it's the logical place to do it. When you think about what this means: national security in terms of vaccine supply.
"And when you think about mRNA, this is a huge announcement because this is the first time in the Southern Hemisphere that we will have mRNA manufacturing based in this nation."
Once operational, the facility will help meet Australia’s ongoing needs for COVID-19 vaccines, and for other respiratory mRNA vaccines as they are developed and approved by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
Up to 100 million mRNA vaccines could be manufactured at a new facility in Australia by 2024. Source: Sipa USA Dinendra Haria / SOPA Images/Sip
Mr Merlino said the benefits would extend beyond the response to the current pandemic.
"It's not just in regard to vaccine developments, whether it's variants of coronavirus right now, pandemics of the future, but beyond that: treatment of cancer, treatment of rare diseases," he said.
"This is a massive game-changer. And to have that manufacturing capacity, the research capacity right here in Melbourne ... is a great thing."
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said the new facility would also play a leading role in medical research.
"This investment will mean world-leading clinical trials, a strong local workforce and creating opportunities through supply chain activities," he said.
With additional reporting from AAP.
