UKHSA's Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre (VDEC)
Source: gov.uk (2025-01-10)

The Vaccine Development Evaluation Centre (VDEC) at Porton Down in Wiltshire facilitates the development and evaluation of new vaccines and therapeutics.

Work with VDEC

We work with industry, academia and government. Contact UKHSA today to see how we can help you.

Get in touch (https://submit.forms.service.gov.uk/form/3741/make-a-vdec-enquiry)

What VDEC does

The Vaccine Development Evaluation Centre (VDEC) provides high-quality, cutting-edge science, building on over 100 years of innovative scientific research. Working with partners, VDEC’s skills and resources enable the development of the vaccines we urgently need to save lives and mitigate the harm from vaccine-preventable disease.

We are actively seeking national and international collaborations and partnerships from all sectors.

VDEC factsheet

(https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/663a38d28603389a07a6d1c8/VDEC-Factsheet.pdf)

What is VDEC (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/663a38d28603389a07a6d1c8/VDEC-Factsheet.pdf)

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De-risk your product pipeline

VDEC’s high containment biosecure laboratory capabilities (biosafety level (BSL) 2, 3 and 4), are the most extensive of their kind in the UK. They provide a focal point for accelerating the development of:
- pre-clinical models
- in vitro assays
- countermeasures for pathogens of pandemic potential, high-consequence infectious diseases and high-risk infectious diseases
Scientists working in a Class III secure microbiological safety cabinet

What we offer

We offer access to the expertise of over 200 highly trained scientists who run approximately 100 projects per year in 2 state-of-the-art laboratories. We work across the vaccine and therapeutic lifecycle from discovery through clinical testing to post-licensure, all to the appropriate quality standards.

We can support you through:

Discovery and surveillance (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/discovery-and-surveillance)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/antimicrobial-resistance-amr)

Pre-clinical (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pre-clinical-vaccine-evaluation)

Clinical (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/clinical-evaluation-for-vaccines)

Post-licensure (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/post-licensure-vaccine-services)

Novel and dangerous pathogen training (https://www.ukhsa-protectionservices.org.uk/nadp/)

Case studies

VDEC’s innovative tool for combatting antimicrobial resistance in TB (https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/vdec-develops-a-tool-to-reduce-antimicrobial-resistance-to-tuberculosis)

Working towards a maternal vaccine for Group B Streptococcus (https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/vdec-is-supporting-a-gbs-vaccine-to-prevent-newborn-deaths)

VDEC rapidly develops an immunoassay for Mpox during the 2022 global outbreak (https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/vdec-rapidly-develops-an-immunoassay-for-mpox-during-the-2022-global-outbreak)

VDEC Pre-clinical team helps to develop organ-on-a-chip to protect human health (https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/vdec-pre-clinical-team-helps-to-develop-organ-on-a-chip-to-protect-human-health)

Partnerships and projects

We work closely with international partners and a range of academic bodies.

Find out more about partnerships and collaborations on vaccine development and evaluation (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/partnerships-and-collaborations-on-vaccine-development-and-evaluation)

See our work

Microphysiological systems: how ‘organ on a chip’ technology is changing science (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIXe685PSmQ)

Over 150,000 mpox vaccines ordered as UK anticipates new strain of virus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43XBLW4fX48)

Huge vaccine centre launched to bolster UK’s pandemic preparedness (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo1icG6Mkjo)

Chief Executive Dr Jenny Harries unveils our latest research facility, the Robinson Building (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR-ZiiqTQSM)