$1bn bid to go it alone with COVID-19 vaccine hub

A proposal for a new, state-of-the-art $1 billion facility to manufacture vaccines and prescription drugs in Australia is being reviewed by the federal government.

An artist’s impression of an Advanced Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing and Storage Facility proposed by the Resilience Partnership group.

A proposal for a state-of-the-art $1bn facility to manufacture vaccines and prescription drugs in Australia is being reviewed by the federal government in a bid to deal with critical drug shortages and bolster sovereign capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Documents obtained by The Australian outline how the ­regional ­facility proposes to manufacture essential medicines to supply 40 million people, as well as ramp up the nation’s vaccine ­development capability.

The CSIRO is advising on the project, named The Resilience Partnership, which is a consortium of leading biopharmaceutical, bio­security, engineering and infra­structure organisations.

The Australian Medical ­Association backs the proposal, pointing out that both Commonwealth Serum Laboratories and the CSIRO were formed in ­response to the Spanish flu pandemic 100 years ago.

Heavyweight infrastructure company John Laing is the project leader, as Australia’s largest development of “greenfield” infrastructure for state governments, having developed $23bn worth of infrastructure over the past 10 years.

“This facility would be a strategic national and regional asset by improving access to essential medicines in normal times … and would be available for a rapid ­response during any future crisis or pandemic,” said John Laing ­investment director Sean Nunan in response to questions.

Vaccine manufacturing is set to be a key priority for the facility, specifically developing the ability for Australia to manufacture protein-based jabs such as the front­running Pfizer vaccine.

Australia’s vaccine supply chain issues were highlighted when the European Union threatened to block exports of the coronavirus vaccine to Australia.

As The Australian has previously reported, the nation is facing critical issues around drug shortages — exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic — with Australia positioned at the end of a very long supply chain that is vulnerable to shocks and disruption.

Australia imports 80 per cent of its medicines, with more than 90 per cent of them relying on ingredients from China and India.

According to the Defence ­Department, Australia’s capacity to manufacture the products ­required to prevent, test and treat disease was rated a poor “D”.

Global pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline have been slowly pulling out of Australia in the past decade, most recently with Pfizer shutting down its Perth facility last October.

The proposal is touted as a key strategic move to reduce Australia’s reliance on China and bolster sovereign influence in Pacific ­nations, amid an increasingly sour relationship with Beijing.

“In response to these challenges, we believe it is a matter of national and regional interest to build sovereign capability in the scaled development, manufacturing and storage of essential bio­pharmaceutical products,” the proposal reads.

Australia spends $16.6bn on medicine supplies each year. A manufacturing facility could provide Australia with a “tradeable ­instrument” on a global stage, and would create 880 construction jobs and 300 STEM jobs.

AMA vice-president Chris Moy said the cost of manufacturing drugs onshore could be offset by the federal government’s purchase of medications through its Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

CSIRO would not be drawn on how much of domestic drug supply the facility is hoping to make, but The Australian understands it could be up to 80 per cent.

Science Minister Karen ­Andrews said the government was ­always looking to work with ­industry and researchers to future-proof the nation.

It is understood the proposal is being reviewed by a number of commonwealth departments.