Proposal for SA manufacturing facility to mass produce Pfizer and Moderna vaccines

May 12, 2021

Published in NT News, by Emily Cosenza

Excerpts copied below. Read the full article in NT News at the link at the bottom of the page.

“Much needed Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to better protect Australians from COVID-19 could be developed in South Australia.

A locally advanced manufacturing facility in Thebarton, in Adelaide’s inner west, has the capacity to mass produce the mRNA vaccines within 12 months. For more than 35 years, the 4600 sqm plant was previously used for microbial fermentation by American pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Hospira.”

“The initiative would run in partnership with biotech giant BioCina, the University of Adelaide and the SA Health and Medical Research Institute.

The Commonwealth will need to approve the plan for it to go ahead.

BioCina purchased the Pfizer biologics manufacturing plant last August.”

“Its CEO Ian Wisenberg said it was the most advanced facility of its kind in Australia and the only one approved by the US-FDA.

Between the three parties involved, he said the state had the needed elements to begin production ‘in the short term’.

‘We have a state-of-the-art facility that, with reasonable financial support from government to add key capabilities and expand capacity, can within months be producing key ‘ingredients’ of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines to address the current global shortage,’ Mr Wisenberg said.”