MODERNA SELECTS HARWELL SCIENCE CAMPUS IN OXFORDSHIRE TO
DEVELOP MODERNA INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY CENTRE IN THE UK
Facility to provide UK public with access to domestically manufactured mRNA respiratory vaccines,
pending assessment and licensure
Investment will create hundreds of jobs during construction and operation
Adjoining biomarker laboratory to be constructed in Cramlington, Northumberland by offsite
construction specialists Merit and shipped to siteLONDON, UK.—(ACCESS WIRE)— 5 March, 2023—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 tenyear 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. TheDrug Substance and Manufacturing facility will be fitted out by Birmingham based engineering firmIPS.
Darius Hughes, UK General Manager at Moderna, said: “We are delighted to reach this importantmilestone – we look forward to joining the Harwell Campus health tech cluster and contributing to theUK’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 UKpublic 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.
Attributable Quotes
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 thegovernment 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 toour UK life sciences economy and our onshore vaccine manufacturing capability.”Stuart Grant, Chief Executive of Harwell Campus said: “mRNA technology has the capability totransform how we treat a variety of diseases and enhance UK resilience against future pandemics. I’mdelighted 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 canachieve 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 Substancemanufacturing facility. It is a privilege to be associated with such an impactful project and we lookforward to collaborating within a highly motivated team to ensure a successful outcome.”
ENDSNotes to editors:
About Moderna
In over 10 years since its inception, Moderna has transformed from a science research-stage company
advancing programs in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA), to an enterprise with a diverse clinicalportfolio of vaccines and therapeutics across seven modalities, a broad intellectual property portfolio
in areas including mRNA and lipid nanoparticle formulation, and an integrated manufacturing plantthat allows for rapid clinical and commercial production at scale. Moderna maintains alliances with abroad range of domestic and overseas government and commercial collaborators, which has allowed
for the pursuit of both ground-breaking science and rapid scaling of manufacturing. Most recently,
Moderna's capabilities have come together to allow the authorized use of effective vaccines against
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moderna's mRNA platform builds on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery
technology and manufacturing, and has allowed the development of therapeutics and vaccines for
infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and auto-immune
diseases. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com.
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 toover 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.
Follow us on twitter and LinkedIn @HarwellCampus, or learn more here www.harwellcampus.com
Moderna contact:
Emma Gilgunn-JonesDirector, Communications
emma.gilgunn-jones@modernatx.com
Harwell contact
Dan Metcalfe
Director of Communications
dan.metcalfe@harwellcampus.com
Merit contact
Zoe Brookes
Senior Marketing Manager
zoe.brookes@merit.co.uk
IPS contact
Richard Linacre
Director - Account Management
rlinacre@ipsdb.com