Scientists from Australia's Biomedical Manufacturing Programme are partnering with Thailand and Malaysia to enhance their local vaccine and medicine manufacturing capabilities. This initiative aims to improve access to affordable, high-quality medications and strengthen health systems across the region.

In particular, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications, has signed two project agreements with Thailand’s National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA); Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) and the National Biopharmaceutical Facility (NBF), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT).

Both projects will emphasise hands-on training, workshops and process development both in Thailand and at the National Vaccine and Therapeutics Laboratory (NVTL) in Melbourne. These efforts will enable Thai scientists to train colleagues at home, fostering greater health independence for the region.

CSIRO is working with government organisations in Thailand to increase the country’s biomedical manufacturing capabilities. This includes manufacturing two key drugs to kickstart production- HIV anti-retrovirals and cancer therapeutics.

In addition, the National Institutes of Biotechnology Malaysia (NIBM) is establishing a pilot-scale vaccine manufacturing facility at the Malaysia Genome and Vaccine Institute (MGVI). Following the research agreement signing last month, CSIRO will support this transformation by providing tools and expertise to progress vaccines from research to production.