Moderna has announced that it will establish its Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre (MITC) at Harwell, the UK's leading science and innovation campus in Oxfordshire. The MITC will include research, development, and manufacturing facilities for mRNA vaccines targeting respiratory diseases. The construction of the facility is expected to begin in 2023 and become operational in 2025. The investment is part of Moderna's ten-year strategic partnership with the UK government and is expected to create hundreds of jobs. The move has been welcomed by government officials and industry leaders, who see it as a boost to the UK's life sciences sector and vaccine manufacturing capability.
LONDON, UK.— Moderna, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA), a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, today announced Harwell, the UK’s leading science and innovation campus in Oxfordshire, as the location of its Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre (MITC). This milestone follows the finalisation of Moderna’s ten year strategic partnership with the UK government, announced in December 2022.
The MITC will encompass research, development and a manufacturing facility, which aims to provide the UK public with access to mRNA vaccines for a wide range of respiratory diseases, pending independent regulatory assessment and licensure. The MITC will include a clinical biomarker laboratory that will be constructed by the offsite construction and engineering specialist Merit. The Drug Substance and Manufacturing facility will be fitted out by Birmingham based engineering firm IPS.
Darius Hughes, UK General Manager at Moderna, said: “We are delighted to reach this important milestone – we look forward to joining the Harwell Campus health tech cluster and contributing to the UK’s science and innovation community through investments in R&D. When constructed, our facility at Harwell will harness mRNA science that aims to develop and deliver innovative vaccines to the UK public that address emerging threats from respiratory viruses facing our population.”
The Moderna investment will create hundreds of jobs during construction and operation. Construction will begin in 2023 and the manufacturing facility is expected to become operational in 2025, subject to local planning and other necessary approvals.
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Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Moderna’s new Innovation and Technology Centre means NHS patients will have access to cutting-edge mRNA vaccines to fight against future variants of Covid, as well as other respiratory viruses, while also creating hundreds of jobs.
“Harwell is already leading science and innovation in the UK and we look forward to the opening of this new mRNA centre.”
Minister for Investment Dominic Johnson said: “My recent visit to the Harwell Campus was a great insight into the brilliant and innovative minds that help make the UK’s life sciences sector the third in the world for number of inward investment projects. Moderna’s ten-year partnership with the government has made it a key partner in the UK’s journey to become a science and technology superpower. I greatly look forward to seeing this put into practice, boosting economic growth, generating high-value jobs, and supporting our NHS.”
Dame Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of UKHSA, said: “I look forward to continuing our work with Moderna as we strengthen our vaccine development and research capabilities, placing us at the
forefront of new science and improving our ability to protect the nation from respiratory diseases and any future pandemics. Moderna’s new centre in Oxfordshire also brings an important boost to our UK life sciences economy and our onshore vaccine manufacturing capability.”
Stuart Grant, Chief Executive of Harwell Campus said: “mRNA technology has the capability to transform how we treat a variety of diseases and enhance UK resilience against future pandemics. I’m delighted that Moderna has chosen the campus as its home to grow its globally important life sciences research and development and manufacturing capabilities, a move which will boost UK innovation, and investment in this breakthrough technology.”
Tony Wells, CEO of Merit, said: “Our pioneering offsite construction methods are ideal for Moderna’s state-of-the-art medical research, and we have been collaborating over the past six months to develop an innovative, product-based solution that suits their specific requirements. We are looking forward to delivering the project at speed, leveraging the efficiencies and improved productivity we can achieve with our approach.”
Mark Miller, Project Director at IPS, said: “We are extremely proud to continue as a trusted partner to Moderna, providing pharmaceutical engineering services for the new mRNA Drug Substance manufacturing facility. It is a privilege to be associated with such an impactful project and we look forward to collaborating within a highly motivated team to ensure a successful outcome.”
Harwell Science and Innovation Campus
Harwell is the UK's leading science and innovation campus, where government, academia and industry work together to solve the critical problems facing our planet. The campus is home to £3bn national facilities and 6,000 colleagues committed to scientific discovery and understanding.
Moderna is the latest organisation to join Harwell’s thriving Health Tech cluster which has grown to over 70 life science organisations since it launched in 2016.
The campus’ unique combination of expertise in the development of vaccines and mRNA technologies includes: Europe’s largest collection of open access, publicly funded scientific facilities, such as The Rosalind Franklin Institute and the Nucleic Acid Therapy Accelerator and commercial organisations including: Catalent, Vaccitech, NeoVac and Nanovation Therapeutics.
Harwell is managed and developed by a joint venture between the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the UK Atomic Energy Authority and the private sector investor, Brookfield.