RVAC Medicines and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) will develop solutions to construct mRNA manufacturing and analytics capabilities in Singapore.

RVAC, a messenger RNA (mRNA) technology platform firm headquartered in Singapore, will work with research and development (R&D) agency A*STAR to jointly establish a laboratory.

The joint laboratory will be located at A*STAR’S Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) in Singapore and will be used to advance a preclinical production platform, which will enable the generation of raw materials and possible clinical-grade assets for the development of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics.

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According to both companies, the partnership aims to allow the local ecosystem innovators and worldwide manufacturers to have access to the production platform to support preclinical asset development. Additionally, the firms say that to aid this, BTI’s knowledge in analytical sciences and processing technologies for biotherapeutics will be used.

“Our collaboration with A*STAR brings together innovative research and development experience from some of the world’s leading mRNA researchers,” said Sean Fu, CEO of RVAC.

“We are committed to providing the staff, equipment, and technological expertise, with support from our R&D teams around the world, to this endeavour. Combined with A*STAR’s knowledge and experience, this partnership has the potential to continue the advancement of mRNA as a new class of medicines.”

The collaboration will also make use of RVAC’s capabilities in mRNA, drug delivery technologies, vaccines, clinical development, and commercialization. RVAC has developed an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine and conducted its first-in-human vaccine clinical trial in September 2022.

“Public-private partnerships are key enablers in translating science into impact. A*STAR’s multidisciplinary R&D capabilities in infectious diseases, artificial intelligence, analytics, and protein engineering, coupled with RVAC’s expertise, will advance the development of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics and contribute to better health outcomes for Singapore and beyond,” said Ng Huck Hui, assistant chief executive, biomedical research council, A*STAR.