Queensland will become a global mRNA vaccine hub with leading healthcare company Sanofi partnering with Griffith University and other leading research institutions to establish a world-first research centre in south east Queensland.

The $280 million Translational Science Hub will be established under an agreement between Sanofi, Griffith University, the University of Queensland and the Queensland Government.

Griffith University Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) Professor Lee Smith says mRNA technology is helping launch a new generation of vaccines that instruct certain cells to produce proteins that are recognised by the immune system to mount a defence.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Queensland will be the only jurisdiction in Australia to have a centre of this kind.

The Translational Science Hub will be located across Queensland, utilising the laboratories and infrastructure at Griffith University and work alongside researchers at Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Menzies Health Institute Queensland and the Institute for Glycomics.

“The Translational Science Hub in Queensland will work closely with the Sanofi mRNA Centre of Excellence in France and the US to accelerate a new era of vaccine innovation,” Global Head of Vaccine Research and Development, Sanofi, Dr. Jean-Francois Toussaint, said.