Building Resilience in the UK: Localised mRNA Manufacturing for Enhanced Pandemic Preparedness

by Nic Chornet - SVP, Resilience Operations and UK Site Head

September 30, 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that infectious diseases do not respect borders, and onshore supply chains are critical to getting vaccines and therapeutics to people when global supplies are tight. To build a resilient supply chain globally, Moderna is partnering with governments in the U.K., Canada, and Australia to establish regionally distributed manufacturing capabilities. The purpose of these partnerships is to harness Moderna’s mRNA technology platform to strengthen resilience by bringing manufacturing closer to home, ensuring preparedness for future pandemics. Additionally, each of these collaborations aim to drive economic growth and job creation through onshore manufacturing during endemic periods, while fostering investment in R&D to develop the mRNA ecosystem.

Boosting UK Vaccine Manufacturing and mRNA Research

Located near Oxford, the Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre (MITC) will feature state-of-the-art manufacturing and clinical laboratory capabilities, becoming a pivotal feature of the U.K.’s health resilience strategy and enhancing the country’s capability to innovate and respond swiftly to future health emergencies. The facility is part of a 10-year strategic partnership with the U.K. government, ensuring that the nation is well-prepared for any future pandemics and ultimately integrating Moderna into the U.K.’s research ecosystem. The drug substance manufacturing facility to support vaccine production will have capacity to produce up to 100 million vaccine doses per year, ramping up to 250 million in the event of a pandemic. Since breaking ground in April 2023, the MITC, situated at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, is nearing a pivotal stage of development and aims to be fully operational in 2025. As part of the strategic partnership, Moderna is also working with academic and NHS partners to invest in mRNA research and grow our clinical trials footprint across the U.K. This underscores our deep commitment to working hand-in-glove with system partners to deliver on the promise of mRNA.

The UK's Emerging Hub for Biopharmaceutical Innovation and Clinical Excellence

Unique to the U.K., the MITC is poised to become a hub of biopharmaceutical excellence, featuring state-of-the-art clinical laboratories and office spaces designed to support high-priority pre-clinical and clinical-stage assays. This comprehensive facility includes a critical biosafety lab area, essential for safely handling pathogens and conducting pivotal research. The clinical laboratories, constructed in Northumberland in the northeast of England and transported to Harwell last year, are set to start operations in the coming months. These laboratories will process samples from Moderna’s clinical trials across the U.K. and Europe, enabling the rapid evaluation of clinical data to assess the effectiveness of potential therapeutics and vaccines.

Enhancing Global Health Security

The establishment of the MITC is a testament to Moderna's commitment to enhancing global health security. By situating a high-tech manufacturing facility in the U.K., we are not only expanding our manufacturing footprint, but also ensuring that Moderna has the necessary infrastructure to respond rapidly to health emergencies. This proactive approach is crucial in a world where new pathogens can emerge unexpectedly and spread rapidly. This U.K. facility, along with the planned sites in Australia and Canada, will form a network of advanced manufacturing hubs that collectively strengthen global pandemic readiness. Each site is strategically placed to maximise geographic coverage and minimise response times, ensuring that vaccines and therapeutics can be distributed quickly and efficiently where they are needed most.