MRFF funds new national centre for mRNA medicines
L-R: Associate Professor Natalie Trevaskis and Associate Professor Angus Johnston.
1 August 2024
The Commonwealth Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) has invested $4 million into establishing Australia’s first National Centre for Biopharmaceutical Optimisation of mRNA Therapeutics (CORTx), being led by Monash University to optimise mRNA therapeutic candidates and advance them toward clinical trials.
In recent years mRNA vaccines have transformed the way we fight infectious disease such as COVID-19, and now mRNA therapies are showing significant promise to treat a wide range of diseases including cancer, infectious diseases, auto-immune and metabolic diseases.
The new national facility will focus on a critical step in the development process for mRNA medicines, which is to evaluate delivery and biodistribution in the body, informing the plausibility of the candidate to progress toward human studies. This information is critical for maximising the potency, safety and manufacturability of mRNA medicines.
Headquartered at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS), CORTx brings together academia and industry including partnerships with leading biotech companies, Moderna and iCamuno, along with the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), The Australian National University (ANU), University of Melbourne and University of Queensland.
Associate Professor Angus Johnston and Associate Professor Natalie Trevaskis, both from MIPS, are CORTx Co-Directors.
Read more here.