Helen Oh joined Austrade in October 2020 and commenced her posting in the Australian High Commission in Singapore as Trade and Investment Commissioner and Counsellor (Commercial) in February 2024. She is responsible for working across the Southeast Asia region to deliver export deals and facilitate productive foreign investment related to the critical and enabling technology sectors and green economy.
Prior to this role, Helen was posted to the Australian Embassy in the Republic of Korea as Trade and Investment Commissioner and Counsellor (Commercial) and delivered new commercial deals across agribusiness and ESG sectors aggregating to $150 million.
Helen has worked with a wide array of multinational corporates to help them expand into new markets and attract foreign investment into strategic infrastructure projects in Australia, including major precinct development deals such as Western Sydney Aerotropolis and Tech Central in Sydney.
Helen was named Asialink’s 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australian Leaders list in 2020. When she is not at work, Helen likes to play golf, hike and explore new eateries. She represented Australia in amateur and professional golf from 2000 to 2010.
An economic estimate: Australia’s RNA sector could contribute up to AUD 8 billion to GDP over 10 years (to 2033) if the Blueprint is implemented well. Australia’s RNA Blueprint and Medical Science Co-investment Plan are more than policies—they’re catalysts. The RNA Blueprint, launched in mid-2024, sets out clear goals: to boost national infrastructure, enhance workforce skills, and strengthen regulatory leadership. And it’s already delivering.
The Blueprint lays out five strategic goals and partnerships:
- connect and promote our national RNA ecosystem
- increase skills and access to infrastructure
- improve research, translation and investment
- lead RNA regulation and guidance development
- build and strengthen international partnerships.
We’ve seen global players like Moderna and Myeloid Therapeutics commit to building advanced RNA facilities in Australia and creating both health and economic impact as a positive outcome.
The Medical Science Co-investment Plan complements this by directing strategic funding into complex therapeutics and medical manufacturing through initiatives like the National Reconstruction Fund and MRFF. From my perspective, these moves demonstrate how the Australian government is shaping a resilient, innovation-driven RNA ecosystem with global relevance. The fact that Australia can now manufacture diverse RNA therapeutics—independently and at scale—signals its growing clout as a trusted partner across Asia-Pacific.
By establishing credible regulatory guidance and oversight in RNA platforms, Australia increases confidence for investors, partners, and multinational biotech firms looking for stable environments.
Building local manufacturing and infrastructure reduces dependency (on imports, foreign suppliers), which is strategically important given pandemic-era supply chain fragility.
A strong research base plus translation capability helps retain talent, spinouts, deepen the innovation pipeline.
International partnerships become more feasible when you have infrastructure, regulatory clarity, and manufacturing capacity.
Australia can position itself as a regional hub for RNA therapeutics — exporting not just products, but contracting R&D, clinical trials, regulatory services and manufacturing to the Southeast Asia / broader Asia-Pacific region.
Cross-border partnerships are becoming essential in RNA innovation, especially as Southeast Asia emerges as a key player in mRNA vaccine development.
The opportunity lies in aligning Australia’s advanced manufacturing capabilities—like the new RNA Research and Pilot Manufacturing Facility at Macquarie University—with Southeast Asia’s growing clinical trial networks and demand for RNA-based therapies.
We’re already seeing momentum: Singapore and Vietnam have approved mRNA vaccines such as ARCT-154, and companies like SCG Cell Therapy are partnering with A*STAR to scale immunotherapies.
- Shared disease burden & need: diseases, endemic pathogens, pandemic risk, and unmet medical needs in SEA where RNA therapeutics could bring high value.
- Large patient populations enabling clinical trials and generation of real-world data.
- Cost arbitrage: lower production, operations, or labour costs in certain SEA countries can make regional manufacturing or manufacturing partnerships more cost-efficient.
- Complementary capabilities: Australia with strengths in regulation, research infrastructure; SEA countries with clinical trial capacity, local market insights, manufacturing capacity that can be scaled.
- Government interest: many SEA governments are seeking to build biotech / medical manufacturing capacity as part of resilience, economic growth.
The challenge, however, is harmonizing regulatory frameworks and ensuring scalable, cost-effective production.
Australia’s RNA Blueprint and Medical Science Co-investment Plan are helping bridge that gap by investing in sovereign capability and fostering international collaboration
The Australian government’s support—through initiatives like the National Reconstruction Fund and targeted grants—is positioning Australia as a trusted regional hub for RNA therapeutics. But to truly unlock the potential, we need deeper integration across supply chains, shared clinical data platforms, and co-investment models that reflect the region’s diversity.
According to recent analyses from European Pharmaceutical Review, The Medicine Maker, and Lifescience Dynamics, RNA therapeutics will be shaped by four key trends over the next 3 to 5 years.
First, we’re seeing a strong pivot toward personalized RNA therapies, especially in oncology and rare diseases. BioNTech and Moderna’s individualized cancer vaccine trials are already in Phase 3, signaling a shift from pandemic-scale production to precision medicine.
Second, the field is expanding beyond mRNA into new RNA modalities—like self-amplifying RNA (saRNA), small activating RNA (aRNA), and RNA editing. These offer enhanced potency, gene activation capabilities, and transient regulation, which could be safer and more dynamic than DNA editing
Third, AI is transforming RNA drug discovery. Companies like Eli Lilly and Nvidia are using machine learning to optimize RNA sequence design and predict structure-function relationships, accelerating development timelines
Fourth, delivery innovation is critical. Lipid nanoparticles are evolving, and conjugate technologies like GalNAc and C16 are enabling tissue-specific targeting—especially for hard-to-reach areas like the CNS.
Together, these trends are redefining RNA as a platform—not just for vaccines, but for treating previously “undruggable” conditions.
It’s an exciting time, and Australia’s proactive investments through the RNA Blueprint and Medical Science Co-investment Plan are helping shape this global trajectory.
What excites me most is how these developments are converging—RNA is no longer just a vaccine story. It’s becoming a platform for precision medicine, and that’s a game-changer.
RNA THERAPEUTICS & MANUFACTURING ASIA 2025
Asia’s RNA Frontier: Driving the future of genetic medicine with RNA-based therapies
📍Amari Bangkok, Thailand 📆 5 - 6 November 2025
200+ Attendees
80+ Organisations
30+ Expert Speakers
2025 SPEAKERS
Share With Your Network
