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£100m investment for new vaccine and gene therapy manufacturing
The UK’s capability to manufacture vaccines has received a substantial boost, as the government invests an additional £100m to help ensure that any successful Covid-19 vaccine can be produced at scale in the UK.
The investment will fund a state-of-the-art Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Innovation Centre. Due to open in December 2021, the centre will have the capacity to produce millions of doses each month, ensuring the UK has the capabilities to manufacture vaccines and advanced medicines, including for emerging diseases, far into the future.
Located in Braintree, Essex, the government initiative will upgrade an existing facility to create a fully-licensed manufacturing centre. Doing so will increase the UK’s ability to respond to diseases like coronavirus and to prepare for potential future pandemics while creating new, high-skilled jobs to fuel the UK’s economic recovery.
The government is investing £100m in a new state-of-the-art centre to scale up a Covid-19 vaccine and gene therapy manufacturing / Picture: Getty/iStock
The new centre will complement the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC), which is currently under construction in Oxfordshire, following a £93m investment from the government.
While the centres are under construction, the government has invested an additional £38m to establish a rapid deployment facility, opening later this summer, that will support efforts to ensure a successful vaccine is widely available to the public as soon as possible.
Alok Sharma, business secretary, said: “We are taking all necessary steps to ensure we can vaccinate the public as soon as a successful Covid-19 vaccine becomes available. This new Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Innovation Centre, alongside crucial investment in skills, will support our efforts to rapidly produce millions of doses of a coronavirus vaccine while ensuring the UK can respond quickly to potential future pandemics.”
To support these enhanced manufacturing capabilities, the government is investing an additional £4.7m in new training facilities and an online learning platform to boost vaccine and cell and gene therapy skills.
Employment in the cell and gene therapy sector is predicted to reach over 6,000 jobs by 2024, with over 3,000 in manufacturing and bioprocessing.
The new centre will complement the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC), which is currently under construction in Oxfordshire / Picture: Harwell Science and Innovation Campus
Matthew Durdy, CEO, Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, added: “This commitment from government through the Vaccines Taskforce will enable continued growth and productivity in the cell and gene therapy sector, as well as providing vital resource for vaccine manufacturing and economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are delighted to be able to deploy the specialist capabilities of the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult in such an important initiative. Accelerating the availability of Covid-19 vaccines, increasing skills and employment, and facilitating growth of the advanced medicines industry will make a valuable contribution to the recovery of the economy.”
Kate Bingham, chair of the Vaccines Taskforce, concluded: “Today’s announcement is another important milestone for us. The work of the Vaccines Taskforce is focused on protecting the UK against Covid-19 through vaccination as quickly as possible.
“In order to vaccinate our high-risk populations at the earliest opportunity, the government has agreed to proactively manufacture vaccines now, so we have millions of doses of vaccine ready if they are shown to be safe and effective. The acquisition of this state-of-the-art manufacturing centre will not only help us with this, but also ensures we are well-placed as a country to be able to cope with any pandemics or health crises in the future.”
As well as addressing the immediate need to produce a Covid-19 vaccine, the new Cell and Gene Therapy Centre will be at the forefront of the growing UK cell and gene therapy industry. Scientists and researchers based in the centre will accelerate the time taken for new treatments to be delivered to patients by developing cutting-edge therapies to treat life changing diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.