Monoclonal Antibody Technologies Facility opens in Melbourne

The Monoclonal Antibody Technologies Facility (MATF), at Monash University's Science, Technology, Research and Innovation Precinct, will be dedicated to the production of monoclonal antibodies which can be used for research into cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, inflammation, brain diseases and cancer.

At the opening of the facility, the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, said: “The Rudd government is committed to boosting the nation's innovation capacity to promote our economic and social development.

"And one of the keys to boosting our innovation capacity is harnessing the immense power of collaboration — as demonstrated today by the opening of the MATF.

"The MATF is the fruit of close collaboration between the Commonwealth and Victorian governments and Monash University. It brings together the public sector, private sector, academic community, business community, scholars and entrepreneurs," he said.

Senator Carr said that by serving biomedical researchers and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies from within Australia and worldwide, the MATF will act as a bridge, assisting individuals, institutions and sectors to work together.

"The MATF addresses a significant and rapidly increasing demand in the life sciences and establishes Australia as a leading international centre for high-throughput antibody production," he said.

The custom-made monoclonal antibodies produced at the MATF will be used as:

• diagnostic agents to detect cancers or infectious diseases;
• vaccines to boost the body’s immune response; and
• therapeutics to target cancerous cells and decrease the body’s own immune response in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

The Australian government contributed $1.2 million to the facility through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy. The facility will use high-speed manufacturing robots which are capable of creating more than 3000 monoclonal antibodies per year.

Further details regarding the MATF are available.