Moderna opens UK vaccine manufacturing lab

The Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre in Harwell is now fully operational

Covid vaccine manufacturer Moderna has completed a new site in the UK, which it says will help prepare the the country against future pandemics.

The Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre (MITC) in Harwell, Oxfordshire, is now fully operational and has its manufacturer's license by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Moderna's UK general manager Darius Hughes calls it an "an important pillar of our pandemic preparedness".

US company Moderna became a household name during the Covid pandemic, creating successful vaccines using a new technology called mRNA.

It used genetic code to create an immune response by giving the body the instructions to protect against the virus.

It proved to be one of the fastest routes to developing vaccines during the pandemic, and experts believe the technology could help in other areas such as cancer, flu, and heart disease.

'Better prepared'

Mr Hughes describes the new set up as an "onshore supply chain manufacturing process" that will "really enable us to scale up within 100 days to make British vaccines for the UK public".

He adds: "We are working very closely with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and with other government agencies to make sure we are learning from the previous pandemic, and applying those learnings, and getting ourselves a little bit better prepared should another pandemic be declared."

Moderna created successful vaccines using a new technology called mRNA

One of the key features of the facility is speed. It is set up to react quickly so manufacturing can change from one vaccine to another as the country needs it.

Mr Hughes says: "One week we could be making a couple of million Covid vaccines, the next week we could be making a couple of million norovirus vaccines. It's that level of flexibility.

"And even within a season, if the virus might change or mutate... we could get a new code, a new set of messages, and make a new vaccine within weeks."

Aside from vaccine production, labs will also process samples from clinical trials working on the development of new drugs, and scientists have already starting looking at the effectiveness of new protections against norovirus.

UK general manager Darius Hughes says the site will provide speed and flexibility

Previously a government-funded facility, known as the Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC), was based in Harwell.

It ended up being sold to pharmaceutical company Catalent in 2022 before it was finished.

The VMIC had been set up as a not-for-profit company with the aim of combining vaccine research and manufacturing in one place.

The establishment of the MITC is part of a ten-year strategic partnership between Moderna and the government, managed by the UKHSA.

The government will buy the vaccines made here as part of the deal.

The first priority is a new covid vaccine for the NHS for next winter.