July 2024- Victorian Deputy Premier and Minister for Medical Research the Hon Ben Carroll officially opened the newly built Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC) within the heart of the Monash Technology Precinct, Clayton.
Funded through an $8.58 million investment from the Victorian Higher Education State Investment Fund and $4 million from Monash University, MMIC’s expansion to Clayton builds on the Centre’s work based at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) in Parkville to provide further opportunities for innovation across medicine formulation, resolving manufacturing process challenges and building supply of highly-skilled, industry ready candidates for the workforce.
Minister Carroll also announced a grant awarded to MMIC by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics (Cumming Global Centre). The grant will fund the development of a potential new therapeutic agent for the treatment of respiratory infections and inflammation, with the aim to help safeguard the community against both existing and future viruses.
Director of MMIC, Professor Michelle McIntosh said the Centre’s expansion to Clayton will deliver far-reaching benefits to the Victorian community.
“This new facility represents a significant advancement in Victoria’s research commercialisation opportunities. Our team of dedicated pharmaceutical scientists are committed to driving forward the end-to-end development of a range of medicines using state-of-the-art technology, from laboratory-scale projects right through to local manufacture of medicines for clinical trials,” Professor McIntosh said.
“We’re also thrilled to have Cumming Global Centre’s Professor Sharon Lewin join us for the MMIC launch. Fostering collaboration between research institutes is central to MMICs mission, and we are excited to be working with Professor Lewin and her team to progress a new treatment for respiratory viruses and further strengthen Australia’s resilience to future health emergencies,” Professor McIntosh said.
Inaugural Director of the Cumming Global Centre, Melbourne Laureate Professor Sharon Lewin congratulated Professor McIntosh on the grant and said she looks forward to seeing the project come to fruition.
“In a globally competitive process, Professor McIntosh’s exploration of an innovative delivery system to treat future respiratory viruses stood out for both scientific excellence and its alignment to the Centre’s mission to advance the science behind therapeutics for pathogens of pandemic potential,” Professor Lewin said.
In addition to the latest Cumming Global Centre grant, MMIC is working on a suite of local and international projects with a range of partners, including Texas-based biotechnology company Etira Therapeutics (Etira).
“The partnership with Etira is a great example of MMIC’s quest to support pharmaceutical and medical technology companies across the drug development pipeline, with a core focus on optimising and fine-tuning drug formulations for the critical process of drug manufacturing and, ultimately, getting potentially life-saving candidates into clinical trials,” Professor McIntosh said.
MMIC Clayton is a purpose designed and built facility including laboratory and office space, co-located with the Australian Synchrotron in the heart of the Monash Technology Precinct, promoting further economic opportunities and growing employment.
