IDT media thread, page-145

The PR firms are working overtime carefully crafting their pitch to the media and the government. BioCina, Biodiem, CSL, IDT and others. No surprises there.

There is little doubt the government favours CSL and they are the most likely to win the contract, though nothing is set in stone.

If CSL wins the main contract you can forget about BioCina or any other company outside of Melbourne doing the fill/finish given the difficulty in keeping the product at very low temperatures.

In Melbourne there is IDT and the old GSK site, both in Boronia, and both around 45 mins away from the CSL site.

The Biodiem is hoping to use the old GSK site to produce a vaccine but this appears a remote possibility, given the company has zero manufactuing experience - its products are made offshore in low cost countries.

There are dozens of raw material required to produce mRNA vaccines and it is this very important task I feel IDT and everyone other that CSL will be fighting over.

From my understanding, it is not producing the mRNA that is the difficult part of the vaccine, rather it is encasing the mRNA in the lipid nano-particle which is the very specialized part of the process. At present there are very few companies globally that can successfully complete this part of the process.

The ability to produce the lipid nano-particle will be key to winning the contract. If IDT, or any other Aussie company were abel to perfect this process it would be in elite company and thus very likely to win the contract.