New vaccine manufacturing centre to be built in Oxfordshire

The Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire has been announced as the site for a new vaccine centre with the capacity to produce up to 100 million vaccines a year.

Moderna’s Innovation and Technology Centre (MITC) will comprise two buildings totalling 145,000 sq ft and will encompass a research, development and manufacturing facility, providing the UK public with access to cutting edge mRNA vaccines for a wide range of respiratory diseases, pending regulatory assessment and licensure.

Bidwells’ head of Oxford, Richard Todd, and lead advisor to Harwell Campus, is project managing the planning and development of the MITC on behalf of the Brookfield-backed life sciences asset manager and investor.

In December, it was announced that Moderna had signed a deal with the UK government to produce a UK-made supply of Covid-19 jabs for the next 10 years, as well as cutting edge vaccines developed for other respiratory diseases, such as flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

The Harwell Campus was announced on Monday 6 March as the site for the new centre.

Bidwells is advising Harwell on its plans to develop 1.6 million sq ft of development at the campus, including labs, offices, research and development, and advanced manufacturing space.

“Today’s announcement builds on the success of the UK’s vaccine rollout programme, which helped open up economies worldwide. Moderna’s 10-year partnership cements Harwell Campus as a global centre of excellence, where ground-breaking scientific discovery is achieved with each passing day.

“We’re bringing forward these proposals at breakneck speed to respond to the urgent national need to prepare ourselves for any future pandemic, but at the same time we’re working in a highly consultative manner to ensure Moderna can move straight into their new HQ by coordinating closely with the team leading its state-of-the-art internal design and fit out.

“Public-private partnerships such as this will help supercharge Britain’s ambition to becoming a ‘scientific superpower’ and we look forward to working closely with all stakeholders to bring this pioneering project forward.”

Moderna has committed to invest in mRNA research and development in the UK over a 10-year period. Construction is expected to start later this year, with the first mRNA vaccine expected to be produced in the UK in 2025.

Bidwells, which is part of an expert consultant team including Scott Brownrigg, Hoare Lea and CampbellReith, advises two-thirds of Oxford’s colleges and is a leading adviser in the science and technology sector in the region, with more than 400 employees working across the Oxford-Cambridge arc. The firm’s turnover in Oxford reached £5.6m in 2022, a year in which it also acquired the Oxford-focused planning division of Turnberry Consulting.