The facility employs 140 people directly and 850 indirectly, contributing to economic growth and vaccine independence for Australia.

Moderna has opened Australia's first large-scale mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Melbourne, known as the Moderna Technology Centre – Melbourne (MTC-M), which is expected to produce its first vaccines within months.

The Melbourne facility can produce up to 100 million vaccine doses annually and is forecast to add approximately $220 million to Australia's GDP each year, supporting pandemic readiness and future medical innovations.

This fully integrated mRNA vaccine plant is the first of its kind in Australia and the southern hemisphere, with estimates suggesting it could save the country over $4.8 billion over 30 years by enhancing pandemic preparedness and reducing costs associated with lockdowns, mental health impacts, and vaccine logistics.

However, the development of this facility underscores the need for government certainty on vaccine purchase agreements, as highlighted by industry leaders, to justify the significant investment in local manufacturing capabilities.

Oxford Economics projects that the facility will generate $96 million in direct GDP annually, with additional economic benefits, and a study estimates it will deliver $4.8 billion in benefits over three decades, including health and economic savings.

Despite these advancements, Moderna's market capitalization has declined sharply from a peak of $204 billion in 2021 to less than $10 billion, reflecting changing investor confidence amid global challenges.

Moderna faces international hurdles, including US funding cuts and workforce reductions due to declining COVID-19 vaccine sales, but it remains committed to its Australian partnership.

Australia's initial COVID-19 response revealed a lack of sovereign vaccine manufacturing capacity, prompting the government to secure a deal with Moderna in 2021 valued at $2 billion, which includes minimum purchase commitments and bypasses traditional approval processes.

Moderna's general manager, Michael Azrak, emphasizes that this plant is one of the few end-to-end integrated vaccine manufacturing facilities globally and the only one in the southern hemisphere, highlighting its strategic importance.

This move comes amid ongoing vaccine hesitancy and politicization of health policy, especially after recent US actions such as the cancellation of $500 million in vaccine funding, which impacts Moderna's global operations.