UK grants £10.65M additional funding to support launch of RNA vaccine innovation centre

COVID-19 deaths jump nearly 40% in England and Wales

COVID-19 Vaccination. Image: Viacheslav Lopatin/Shutterstock.com

The funding is to boost the development of RNA technology, the vaccine innovation that protected millions around the world from COVID-19.

The funding will support the launch of a new innovation centre by CPI in Darlington, advancing the technology that is currently under development for the treatment of various cancers, flu vaccines and personalised medicines including gene therapy, the UK government confirmed on Friday, October 7. 

The Vaccine Taskforce granted the funding – administered by Innovate UK – for CPI’s RNA Centre of Excellence, which has the potential to make homegrown breakthroughs in the fight against a number of diseases, producing RNA material for clinical trials which will be crucial to future vaccine development.

The Centre is the only site in the UK currently able to develop and manufacture messenger and self-amplifying RNA vaccines and therapies with the capability to manufacture millions of doses of a vaccine, if required for a future healthcare emergency.

It will provide state-of-the-art equipment and world-leading expertise to support the industry with the testing, scale-up and clinical production of RNA technologies showcasing the UK’s capability in this area and helping to promote the UK as an attractive destination for further investment.

Minister for Science and Investment Security Nusrat Ghani said:

“The UK’s exceptional capabilities in Life Sciences were showcased on the world stage when we became the first nation globally to approve a working COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic.”

“We are now committed to boosting these capabilities even further, ensuring we are thoroughly prepared for future health emergencies and remaining at the forefront of the development of new therapies.”

The minister added: “This is why we are making this significant investment in CPI’s brilliant RNA facility in Darlington, a site with the potential to make enormous homegrown breakthroughs in the fight against the disease.”


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Anna Ellis

Originally from Derbyshire, Anna has lived in the middle of nowhere on the Costa Blanca for 19 years. She is passionate about her animal family including four dogs and four horses, musicals and cooking.

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