Sanofi selects ENTRI for Brisbane research hub

Sanofi will become the first tenant of the Translational Research Institute’s ENTRI biomanufacturing facility in Brisbane. Its tenancy will expand the Translational Science Hub, connecting Queensland researchers with Sanofi’s scientific teams in France and the United States.

ENTRI is scheduled to open in early 2026, with funding from TRI and the Queensland Government. TRI plans to provide growing companies with dedicated space to manufacture products for all phases of clinical trials.

Translational Research Institute Australia

Facilities for clinical-trial manufacturing

The ENTRI tenancy announcement sets out the planned facilities:

cGMP cleanrooms for manufacturing.
Wet laboratories.
Office and collaboration space.

TRI CEO Professor Maher Gandhi expects Sanofi’s presence to support the Institute’s pathway from discovery to clinical-trial manufacturing. Professor Cameron Simmons, Sanofi’s Head of the Translational Science Hub, links the tenancy to its long-term commitment to Queensland and Australia.

An existing international research partnership

The Translational Science Hub brings together Sanofi, the Queensland Government, The University of Queensland and Griffith University in an A$280 million partnership. Its initial research programme focused on evaluating a new generation of mRNA vaccines and developing a chlamydia vaccine candidate. These were research objectives rather than completed treatments.

The partnership initially used laboratories and infrastructure at the two universities. Queensland researchers gained connections with scientific peers at Sanofi’s mRNA Center of Excellence in Lyon, France, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The network’s scope included vaccine development and other healthcare solutions.

A manufacturing facility within Brisbane’s research precinct

The Queensland Government and TRI announced an A$80 million investment in the manufacturing facility in June 2022. Its earlier name was Translational Manufacturing, or TM@TRI. The facility was intended to help high-potential biotechnology businesses scale their manufacturing activities.

The University of Queensland designated its Dutton Park presence as its fourth campus on Nov 1, 2023. The site had served the university since 2009, when the facility housing its School of Pharmacy opened. The campus sits beside Princess Alexandra Hospital, close to TRI and its university-linked research institutes: the Frazer Institute and Mater Research Institute-UQ. These institutions form part of the Boggo Road Innovation Precinct.