The Andrews Labor Government is continuing to invest in the science behind mRNA – bringing together Victoria’s greatest researchers with an innovation hub.

Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy Jaala Pulford today launched the Victorian mRNA Innovation Hub (VMIH), a partnership between the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, the University of Melbourne and Monash University.

VMIH will work to advance the technologies involved in mRNA vaccines and therapeutics production and will also enable the next generation of mRNA researchers to learn from some of the world’s best scientists.

The Labor Government is investing $5.4 million through the mRNA Victoria Activation Program (mAP) towards the $9.1 million project which will support total of 27 Victorian researchers.

VMIH will also work with researchers from across Australian universities and Medical Research Institutes to advance new mRNA therapeutics and vaccines.

mRNA technology has most recently been applied successfully to vaccines – including Australia’s first locally produced COVID-19 vaccine currently undergoing clinical trials – and has potential application across a range of diseases and conditions, including HIV, muscular dystrophy, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.

The $21 million mRNA Victoria Activation Program (mAP) is part of the Government’s $50 million investment to build a world-leading mRNA ecosystem in Victoria.

The Government has invested $1.3 billion in medical research since 2014 and has helped create more than 100,000 direct and indirect full-time jobs in the state’s biotech sector.