Boris Johnson has visited the site the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC), which is currently in development to fight Covid-19.
VMIC, a not-for-profit organisation based at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus near Oxford will provide the UK’s first strategic vaccine development and advanced manufacturing capability.
The facility will accelerate vaccines development in the UK and also provide national emergency response for future pandemics.
The prime minister met with teams working at the forefront of the national response to COVID-19 – ranging from scientists and engineers advising on scaling up manufacturing of viable COVID-19 vaccines.
The organisation is also establishing a rapid deployment centre, known as Virtual VMIC to increase supply of the Oxford University vaccine made in development with AstraZeneca. The vaccine is currently in clinical trials to ensure its safety and effectiveness.
Mr Johnson said: “Brilliant scientists in Oxfordshire and around the UK are driving global efforts to develop a safe vaccine that works to defeat coronavirus. If one proves successful, we need to be ready to distribute it to the British people as soon as possible.
“That is why construction of the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre at Harwell, backed by £158 million from the Government, is fully underway in Oxfordshire. When open, VMIC will be able to manufacture enough vaccine doses for the whole UK population in as little as six months, which would transform how we beat this virus and prepare for future pandemics.”
Dr Matthew Duchars, CEO of The Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre said: “Today’s visit from the Prime Minister is testament to the incredible work being carried out by an exceptional team at VMIC and amongst our partners. Their work forms a vitally important part of the national response to COVID-19 as well as fast tracking the facility to bring it online in 2021. Once complete, the centre will be equipped to provide future pandemic response for the whole of the UK.
“The Government has demonstrated it is wholeheartedly committed to increasing the country’s vaccines infrastructure in order to strengthen the UK’s ability to not only provide a pandemic response capability, but also to discover and manufacture vaccines for a whole range of conditions. We look forward to being able to deliver on this as part of our day to day work, for the benefit of the UK and overseas.”
VMIC was established by the University of Oxford, Imperial College and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with support from industrial partners, MSD, Johnson and Johnson and Cytiva, formerly known as GE Healthcare.
The Centre’s initial funding came from a £65 million grant from UK Research and Innovation, as part of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, with a further £93 million in 2020 to expand the facility’s capabilities and fast track the build.
Harwell Campus www.harwellcampus.com
