A vaccine manufacturing center funded by UK taxpayers has today been acquired by a US pharmaceutical giant.
this The Center for Vaccine Production and Innovation in Oxford was built in 2018 to develop vaccines that protect against future pandemics, vaccine shortages and price wars.
However, New Jersey-based Catalent purchased the 74,000-square-foot facility for an undisclosed sum.
The site, which went on sale last year, did not belong to the government, although ministers gave the site a £215m grant. It’s unclear whether No10 will get any money back in the future or if it will be able to make low-cost production deals with Catalent.
The company will invest £120m to complete construction of the facility and equip it with “state-of-the-art capabilities” to develop and manufacture vaccines and treatments.
But MPs called the sale a ridiculously short-sighted move that “could make the UK less prepared for the next pandemic”.
Activists also reacted angrily, claiming that the deal would ensure vaccines “keep going to the highest bidders”.
The vaccine manufacturing center received around £215m of government funding in March and is expected to produce 70m doses in just four months when operational.
As the UK is on the verge of a second wave of Covid infections, Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the site in September 2020 to speak with the builders of the factory and the scientists who went to work on it.
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) announced in 2018 that VMIC will be the UK’s first private injection site.
The aim will be to ensure the availability of vaccines and to prepare the nation for a pandemic.
Ministers have pledged an initial £66m investment in the centre, which has been tasked with developing vaccines against Ebola and Lassa fever before the start of the Covid pandemic.
But it raised £215m in funding in March and its construction is ramping up to help fight Covid.
The center, which is not yet fully operational, will produce 70 million vaccines – about 600,000 doses per day – within four months of completion.
But instead of relying on VMIC to develop vaccines, the UK bought 114 million doses of Covid vaccines in December.
And health chiefs have insisted the UK has adequate stockpiles of vaccines for the booster launch, scheduled for spring and autumn 2022.
In its budget, VMIC announced that the government’s need for additional generation capacity has decreased, while central completion costs “have risen above expected costs.”
The facility was established by the University of Oxford, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Imperial College London.
Pharmaceutical giants Johnson and Johnson received funding from Merck and Cytiva.
Born as a not-for-profit company, VMIC went up for sale at the end of last year.
In a statement on its website today, Catalent confirmed its acquisition of VMIC.
He said he would complete construction of the site and be “equipped with cutting-edge capabilities for the development and production of biological therapies and vaccines, including mRNA, protein and other advanced methods.”
The company plans to employ more than 400 employees and “support public and private organizations that want to develop and manufacture biotherapeutics.”
Catalent currently employs 1,300 people at its four UK locations in Nottingham, Swindon, Haverhill and Dartford.
It collaborates with other pharmaceutical companies to produce infectious disease vaccines, including Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s Covid vaccines.
Mike Riley, president of Catalent Biotherapeutics, said the acquisition of VMIC will enable Catalent to “partnership with world-class talent with the rich academic and biomedical science community around Oxford”.
The facility “offers opportunities to translate innovation into real treatments for patients in the UK, Europe and beyond,” he said.
Mr Riley said the site will be operational by the end of the year, after which it will integrate Catalents’ existing biological plant network in Europe to provide a flexible range of manufacturing, technology and development solutions for the pipeline, comprising thousands of development programs. currently ongoing’.
Professor Robin Shattock, VMIC chairman and head of mucosal infections and immunity at Imperial College London, said the agreement will ensure that the facility “will remain true to its original goal of strengthening the Kingdom’s productive capacity”. United.
The move, however, sparked anger among lawmakers and activists.
Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP called the move “ridiculously narrow-minded” and threatened to leave the UK “less prepared for the next pandemic”.
“Vaccines can take decades to be developed and sold, demonstrating the conservative government’s lack of long-term planning.
“This facility was built with over £200m from taxpayers to produce the vaccine.
“As this government squanders a staggering amount of public money and offsets fraudulently spent money, the Conservatives need to clarify how much this facility is selling for.
The We Own It campaign group said today that the deal will ensure that vaccines “continue to go to the highest bidders to make as much money as possible for Catalent shareholders.” Pictured: We Own it, protesting plans to sell the property in front of Oxford Town Hall last month
The Prime Minister emphasized how important this center will be for protection from Covid and future pandemics. “People have a right to know why they changed their minds now,” he said.
And Tom Morton, president of We Own It, an anti-privatization campaign group, said today: “The idea behind this center was to get new vaccines to be produced, whether profitable or not.
‘It had to sustain cost-effective development by breaking through the competition.
“Selling the headquarters to a profitable pharmaceutical company is completely against the original vision.
“We’ve seen private patents create huge global disparities in access to vaccines, and these sales mean that vaccines will continue to go to the highest bidders to make as much money as possible for Catalent shareholders.”
A government spokesperson said VMIC is a private company and is not selling the plant.
They added: “Catalent is a highly respected global organization with an excellent track record and its expansion into the UK will further strengthen our biotherapeutic industry.
“This Catalent investment is necessary to keep the plant open for the long term.
“It also represents a strong vote of confidence as a life sciences destination in the UK, particularly in the wake of our response to the global Covid vaccine challenge, and Catalent’s ambitious plans for this facility will build on that work.”
The sale of the property has sparked outrage since it was first reported late last year.
In a letter published in the British Medical Journal, the scientists compared the move to “lightening the load on firefighters after putting out a large fire.”
Scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the UK Center for Ecology and Hydrology and University College Dublin said the move was shortsighted.
They said the center is essential to protect against future epidemics by supporting vaccine research, development and production.
The authors say the sale of the center makes little strategic, public health or economic sense and will damage Britain’s reputation.
Source: Daily Mail
I am Anne Johnson and I work as an author at the Fashion Vibes. My main area of expertise is beauty related news, but I also have experience in covering other types of stories like entertainment, lifestyle, and health topics. With my years of experience in writing for various publications, I have built strong relationships with many industry insiders. My passion for journalism has enabled me to stay on top of the latest trends and changes in the world of beauty.
