VIC mRNA Victoria Pipeline Program – Round 1

Total funding available: Up to $2 million.
Funding per applicant: Up to $1 million (excluding GST).
Applicants must demonstrate sufficient co-funding or financial capacity to complete the project beyond grant support.
Applications close: 7 September 2026

The mRNA Victoria Pipeline Program – Round 1 supports Victorian organisations developing innovative mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics. The program is designed to accelerate pre-clinical candidates towards GMP manufacturing and Phase I clinical trials while strengthening Victoria’s sovereign mRNA capability and commercialisation pipeline.

Key Requirements

Applicant must hold an ABN.

Applicant must operate from Victoria, be headquartered in Victoria, or have a Victorian subsidiary.

Applicant must hold, or have rights to commercialise, the relevant intellectual property.

Projects must be capable of being manufactured at the BioNTech GMP Clinical Manufacturing Facility or R&D Production Laboratory.

Applicant must commit to negotiating first with the State for manufacturing if the candidate progresses to clinical trials.

Projects must be capable of progressing to a higher Technology Readiness Level (TRL) within three years.

What is eligible for funding?

Eligible projects include:

mRNA vaccines for infectious diseases and emerging health threats.
mRNA therapeutics including treatments for:
- Cancer
- Genetic disorders
- Rare diseases
- Autoimmune diseases.

Eligible activities and expenditure include:

Pre-clinical proof-of-concept studies.
Safety, efficacy and stability testing.
Manufacture of pre-clinical mRNA materials through BioNTech facilities.
Prototype and pilot batch production.
Regulatory readiness activities.
Commercialisation planning and market readiness activities.
Product development and Target Product Profile activities.
Specialist equipment, consumables and technical services.
Training and upskilling in commercialisation.

Is this grant competitive or entitlement based?

Competitive. Your application will be assessed among other applications by a judging panel.

How can I increase my chances of winning this grant?

By engaging an accredited government grants consultant, such as Avant Group.

Competitive grants often require significant business case development and project analysis to support the application, this may include detailed presentations supporting the project’s merit, projected sales, cost-benefit analysis and more.

As part of your engagement with Avant Group, your account manager will assess the required documents and will provide the following as needed to support your grant submission.

Grant application writeup including a detailed presentation illustrating how the grant funding will contribute to your project, how the funding will contribute to the project’s budget, a project milestone plan, delivery timeline, impact on employment if applicable and a breakdown of the management and leadership team for the project

Industry analysis presentation
Competitor Analysis Presentation
Marketing and Sales Analysis Presentation
3-5 year Cashflow Forecast
3-5 year Balance Sheet Forecast
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Grant Funding
End-to-end grant application including information collating, analysis and application writing
CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) cost-benefit analysis
Stakeholder relations and Risk Mitigation Plans
Any other relevant forecasting that will support your application

How can I get help with my application? Or know if I’m likely to win funding?

Avant Group offers a no-obligation assessment of your eligibility for funding and will assess your likelihood of a successful grant application.

This grant is open

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