New mRNA production facility paves way for pandemic preparedness

A cutting-edge mRNA production laboratory that can quickly produce materials for pre-clinical or animal studies for vaccines to respond to future pandemics, or drugs to combat cancers and other diseases, was launched officially on Nov 4.

- Joyce Teo

A*Star's Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative or NATi said this is a first-of-its-kind facility in Asia dedicated to mRNA production.

Called the NATi mRNA BioFoundry, the facility paves the way for national pandemic preparedness and nucleic acid therapeutics (NAT) manufacturing, it said.

NAT is an emerging field of medicine that uses nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA to treat a range of diseases, including cancer and viral infections. Covid-19 vaccines based on mRNA technology, produced within months of the pandemic, are an example of NAT.

"This marks an important first step towards realising RNA therapies that are not only discovered but also manufactured right here in Singapore, contributing to our ambition of becoming a leading hub for biomedical innovation," said Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng in a Nov 4 press release.