Victoria’s mRNA research and manufacturing capabilities will be seeing a huge boost as world-leading synthetic biology company Ginkgo Bioworks will be establishing an office in Melbourne. 

“The establishment of Ginkgo Bioworks’ office in Melbourne demonstrates that Victoria is the home of scientific and research expertise in mRNA,” Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy Jaala Pulford said. 

“This will provide access for local companies to access their cutting-edge technologies for the development of mRNA vaccines and other significant benefits to biosecurity and related industries.” 

Ginkgo Bioworks partnered with the Victorian Government in what is hoped to be the first step in future long-term business expansion within Australia. 

“Melbourne is one of the leading biomedical research communities in the world,” Ginkgo Bioworks Chief Commercial Officer Matt McKnight said.

“We have to forge international collaborations like this because, as we have all learned, biology doesn’t respect borders. We are incredibly excited to work with mRNA Victoria and hope to expand into the Australian market.”

With its headquarters in Boston, Ginkgo has developed a cell engineering platform that can deliver breakthroughs to a wide range of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and food and agriculture.

The company’s cell programming capabilities have supported innovations in diagnostics and vaccine design and manufacturing, as well as ongoing research and development of products such as living medicines, therapeutic proteins, and gene and cell therapies. 

Ginkgo played a key role in the COVID-19 response and global biosecurity efforts. Partnered with Moderna and Aldevron, the company applied its cell engineering expertise to optimise the production of raw materials for making mRNA vaccine. 

Ginkgo has also established one of the largest nationwide COVID testing platforms in the United States. They also created an Airport Biosurveillance Program in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The company is currently keen to tap into Victoria’s rich ecosystem of biomedical and manufacturing innovation. 

The high-growth company has identified Victoria as a strong base for research into pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, mRNA development and biosecurity.

This presents enormous potential for local R&D collaborations, improving the productivity of local industry through access to new technologies. 

Ginkgo’s biology platform infrastructure and expertise will bring the needed capability to Victoria’s rapidly growing biotechnology ecosystem.

“We value the Victorian Government’s deep commitment to the mRNA ecosystem and related emerging technologies,” Officer McKnight said. 

“With this support, Australia presents Ginkgo with a unique opportunity to bring our biosecurity and vaccine expertise to bear as we seek to detect, intercept, and mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemic events.”

Through mRNA Victoria, the Victorian Government will continue to attract world-leading biotech innovators to invest in the state. 

Source: Premier of Victoria Media Release

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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