New RNA Production Facility to advance cancer treatments and vaccines in WA

The State Government's Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund has awarded just over $2 million through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) Partner Program 2023/24 to Professor Archa Fox at the University of Western Australia (UWA) to establish the Therapeutic Innovation Australia (TIA) RNA Foundry, a new WA NCRIS Node.

The FHRI Fund investment will leverage up to $4.78 million in additional funding from NCRIS and the UWA to establish an mRNA production facility that will manufacture research-grade RNA therapeutics. The combined FHRI Fund, Australian Government and UWA funding will boost world class, state of the art, health and medical research equipment and expertise in WA for use by the health and medical research and innovation sector.

The RNA Foundry will join the national TIA RNA network and the mRNA will be used by the new Cancer Research Trust funded Australian Centre for RNA Therapeutics in Cancer (ACRTC) also led by Professor Archa Fox, to translate discoveries into the clinic leading to precision cancer treatments and new mRNA platforms such as cancer vaccines.

It is expected that the total combined investment of $6.85 million in health and medical research infrastructure and expertise will enable and increase translational research in precision medicine fields to improve outcomes for Western Australians, build the capacity of the WA biotech sector, increase WA’s national research competitiveness and advance WA as a leader in health and medical research and innovation.