Australian mRNA Cancer Vaccine Hub

Q: What is a personalised mRNA cancer vaccine?

A personalised mRNA cancer vaccine is a treatment tailored to an individual patient's tumour. It encodes neoantigens, the unique mutations found in the patient's cancer, and is designed to train the immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells. Unlike traditional vaccines, each personalised mRNA vaccine is custom-made for one patient.

Q: How does mRNA immunotherapy work?

mRNA immunotherapy works by delivering synthetic mRNA instructions into cells, which then produce neoantigen peptides. These peptides are presented on the cell surface, allowing the immune system, and T cells in particular, to recognise them as foreign and mount a targeted attack against cancer cells expressing those same mutations.

Q: How are personalised cancer vaccines manufactured?

mRNA manufacture for personalised cancer vaccines involves rapid design of a custom mRNA sequence, in vitro transcription to synthesise the mRNA, and encapsulation in lipid nanoparticles for protection and cellular delivery. Our facility can produce a complete personalised mRNA vaccine in as little as 2-3 weeks from the patient's tumour sequencing data.

Q: What cancers can mRNA vaccines target?

Because personalised mRNA cancer vaccines are tailored to individual patient mutations, they can theoretically target any cancer type. We are currently developing mRNA vaccine candidates for pancreatic, brain, blood, breast, gastrointestinal, and lung cancers, all malignancies with significant unmet clinical needs and high mutation burdens.

Q: What is the Australian mRNA Cancer Vaccine Hub?

The Australian mRNA Cancer Vaccine Hub is national research infrastructure at the University of Queensland for personalised cancer vaccines. It covers the full chain from tumour genomic analysis and neo-antigen discovery through vaccine design, mRNA manufacture and preclinical evaluation, so Australian researchers can take new immunotherapies forward.

Advancing Personalised Cancer Vaccine Research

The Australian mRNA Cancer Vaccine Hub is a national research infrastructure dedicated to advancing personalised mRNA cancer vaccine science. We provide end-to-end research capabilities from tumour genomic analysis and neoantigen identification through to personalised mRNA vaccine design, mRNA manufacture and preclinical evaluation of personalised cancer vaccines.

The Australian mRNA Cancer Vaccine Hub is a research centre. We do not manufacture or supply cancer vaccines to patients. Our work builds the underlying science and the delivery technology that new personalised cancer treatments will depend on.

We sit within the University of Queensland's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), and work with researchers across Australia on personalised and fixed-antigen cancer vaccines.

Personalised mRNA cancer vaccine research laboratory at University of Queensland

End-to-End Cancer Vaccine Infrastructure

Our integrated pipeline runs from computational design through to preclinical evaluation and clinical mRNA manufacture.

Step 1

Tumour Biopsy & Normal Tissue

A tissue sample is collected from the patient's tumour alongside a matched normal tissue sample to serve as a germline reference.

Core needle or surgical excision biopsy

Matched peripheral blood mononuclear cells collected

Tissue preserved for DNA and RNA extraction

Step 2

Whole-Exome & RNA Sequencing

DNA from both tumour and normal samples undergoes whole-exome sequencing to identify somatic mutations. RNA sequencing confirms which mutated genes are actively expressed.

Whole-exome sequencing at ~200x depth

Tumour RNA-seq to verify expression of mutant alleles

Somatic variant calling against germline reference

Step 3

Neoantigen Prediction & Selection

Bioinformatic pipelines predict which somatic mutations generate novel peptides (neoantigens) that will be presented by the patient's own HLA molecules and recognised by T cells.

HLA typing from germline sequencing data

MHC-I and MHC-II binding affinity prediction

Top 10-20 neoantigens ranked and selected

Step 4

mRNA Construct Design

A synthetic mRNA sequence is designed encoding a polyepitope cassette containing multiple neoantigen peptides joined by linker sequences, flanked by optimised UTRs and a poly(A) tail.

Neoantigen epitopes arranged in a polyepitope string

Codon optimisation and modified nucleosides (e.g. N1-methylpseudouridine)

5' cap, optimised UTRs, and poly(A) tail incorporated

Step 5

mRNA Synthesis & LNP Encapsulation

The designed sequence is synthesised by in vitro transcription then encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles to protect it from degradation and enable cellular uptake.

In vitro transcription using T7 RNA polymerase

Enzymatic capping and purification (HPLC or cellulose)

Microfluidic mixing into ionisable lipid nanoparticles

Step 6

Quality Control & Release Testing

The formulated vaccine undergoes rigorous quality testing to confirm identity, purity, potency, and sterility before release.

mRNA integrity assessed by capillary electrophoresis

LNP size, polydispersity, and encapsulation efficiency measured

Endotoxin testing and sterility assays

Release spec

Step 7

Patient Administration

The personalised vaccine is administered to the patient, typically as a series of injections, often combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Priming dose followed by boost injections

Often combined with anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 therapy

Administered intravenously or intramuscularly

Step 8

Immune Monitoring & Response

The patient's immune response is monitored to confirm neoantigen-specific T cell activation. Circulating tumour DNA and imaging assess clinical response.

ELISpot and multimer staining for neoantigen-specific T cells

Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) tracking for molecular response

Radiographic imaging to assess tumour regression

Neo-Antigen Discovery

Computational analysis of tumour genome sequencing data to identify and prioritise neoantigens. Machine learning approaches predict which mutations will generate effective immune responses, validated through T-cell assays.

Vaccine Design and mRNA Manufacture

Rapid design and synthesis using optimised codon design, nucleotide modifications and lipid nanoparticle formulation. mRNA manufacture in as little as 2-3 weeks from synthetic DNA templates.

Preclinical Evaluation

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of personalised mRNA vaccine candidates across multiple cancer models. Progression of promising mRNA immunotherapy candidates toward Phase-I clinical trials through our clinical manufacturing capabilities.