Coronavirus: Government pledges £93m to fast-track vaccine lab with capacity to produce doses for entire UK in six months

The government is to spend almost £100m to accelerate the construction of a vaccine manufacturing centre which could produce doses for the whole UK within six months, once an effective inoculation for coronavirus is found.

The centre is already under construction at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, but the injection of up to £93m additional cash should bring its opening date forward by 12 months to next summer, said business secretary Alok Sharma.

Mr Sharma also announced a £38m investment in a rapid deployment facility to be prepared to begin manufacturing at scale this summer, to support efforts to make any Covid-19 vaccine available to the public as soon as possible. The cash brings the total public and private sector funding for the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC) to £207m.

“As the biggest contributor to the international coalition to find a vaccine, the UK is leading the global response,” said the business secretary. “Once a breakthrough is made, we need to be ready to manufacture a vaccine by the millions.

“The new Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre and temporary facility will build ‘fill and finish’ capacity, bringing the UK vaccine programme together from discovery to distribution.”

The Oxfordshire centre will be the UK’s first not-for-profit organisation for the mass production of vaccines and is intended to boost the national capacity to develop and produce inoculations for existing illnesses such as the flu virus.

VMIC chief executive Dr Matthew Duchars said: “Today’s announcement by the business secretary is an important endorsement for the work the Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre will deliver in shoring up future domestic supply of vaccines in response to a pandemic.

“This investment will rapidly accelerate the construction of the facility, enabling us to bring it online a year sooner. In addition, the capacity will be significantly increased, so that enough vaccines could be made for everyone in the UK within a matter of months of opening.”

The chief executive of UK Research and Innovation, Sir Mark Walport, said the centre would be “an essential new weapon in the UK’s arsenal against diseases and other biological threats, ensuring sufficient vaccines get to the public in the fastest possible time”.

He added: “The UKRI-funded teams at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London have developed potential coronavirus vaccines at unprecedented speed. By working with partners including government, VMIC and the Vaccines Taskforce to fast-track the manufacturing capability, we are ensuring that momentum will continue all the way from lab to patient.”

The government is the largest national donor to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), with a gift of £250m as part of a total £388m contribution to the global hunt for a vaccine. It will host a global pledging conference for the vaccine alliance Gavi on 4 June.

Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk