UK brings forward plans for dedicated vaccine manufacturing facility

The UK government is investing up to £93 million to construct a new manufacturing facility that will play a key role in the country’s Covid-19 efforts.

The funding will help accelerate construction of the new Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC), which will be located on the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. The facility is designed so that when a vaccine is produced for Covid-19, the UK has the manufacturing capacity available to produce doses quickly and in mass quantities. The government has stated that when completed, the VMIC will have enough manufacturing capacity to serve the entire UK population in six months. More so, it’s hoped that the funding will ensure that the centre opens 12 months ahead of schedule, in summer next year.

The government has also announced funding towards a temporary facility to allow the UK to manufacture doses this summer, if a vaccine is found. An investment of £38 million will help establish a rapid deployment facility, which can begin manufacturing at scale this summer.  

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: “As the biggest contributor to the international coalition to find a vaccine, the UK is leading the global response. 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 Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre’s chief executive Dr Matthew Duchars added: "[The] 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.”