Reflecting on 2020: An Extraordinary Year

As we move towards the end of 2020 we are taking a moment to say an enormous thank you to the VMIC team, our Board, partners, collaborators and suppliers, as well as government teams, working alongside us in order to enable VMIC to deliver a swift, powerful and positive response to tackle COVID-19.  Whilst we are just one cog in the giant complex wheel that has been working on a myriad of solutions, we are grateful that our experienced and dedicated team have been in a position to help.

The first challenge – increase capacity and fast track the facility
Looking back at May 2020, the UK Government awarded VMIC £93m to expand our facility’s vaccines production capabilities by nearly 20-fold, and to fast-track the development schedule in order that the VMIC facility could be accelerated by a year.  Because of COVID-19 and the threat of future pandemics, VMIC needs to be fully operational in 2022 and able to manufacture 70million doses of a pandemic vaccine within a 4-6 month timeframe.

Reflecting on when he was tasked by Government to urgently expand capacity and accelerate the development, VMIC CEO Dr Matthew Duchars acknowledges that he knew it was possible, but not without a colossal team effort. “Whilst few could have predicted the COVID-19 outbreak, we set out to do all we could to fast-track the build so VMIC could offer long-term pandemic support to the UK.

“I am extremely grateful to all the people involved who have worked together in these extraordinary circumstances, from government teams and the Vale of the White Horse District Council, to the development and construction teams at Harwell, and our incredible staff, who continue to work all hours and move at a phenomenal speed.”

Fast forward to December and the facility is on track. Meeting these ambitious timelines would not have been possible without development partners, Harwell Campus, the main construction firm Glencar Construction, and Built Environment Services Ltd (BES), who are responsible for the technical fit out, as well as the many companies who support them. A significant milestone was achieved in November when the project reached base build completion and fit out could start in earnest.

Commenting on the challenge of leading the development of the VMIC facility, Cliff Dare, Chief Operating Officer at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, says, “Leading the development team has been an extraordinary experience and one that shows how property development and construction can be if all parties focus on collaboration and joint outcomes. The project truly displays the best of both the public and private sectors taking risk and working together concurrently and at pace.

“We have sought to bring the project in a year early, and the first key milestone towards this was the basebuild moving from green field to completion in a matter of months. Now we have switched our focus to the fit out where the specialist kit and equipment is currently being installed to help in our Nation’s fight against the pandemic.”

Scaling-up COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing
Being able to contribute to the manufacture of a COVID-19 vaccine in 2020 has also been high on the priority list. VMIC scientists and engineers remain firmly involved in the development of the Oxford/ AZ vaccine, AZD1222, having been part of the Oxford University Consortium since day 1 in January. We remain integral to this project, now working with AZ, advising on the manufacturing scaleup of this COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

In June we signed a collaboration with gene and cell therapy group Oxford Biomedica plc, supported by £9million of government funding, to establish a rapid deployment centre ‘Virtual VMIC’, whilst the permanent VMIC facility was being built. The two GMP suites, now established with VMIC equipment, can operate at 1000L scale and are dedicated to the manufacture of the Oxford/ AZ vaccine. A milestone moment in the UK’s fight against COVID-19 was reached in October this year when the MHRA approved the suites and they began production.

Working with HM Government
Additionally VMIC remains a crucial part of the Vaccines Taskforce and is supported by all levels of UK Government, culminating in visits from Lord Bethell, Amanda Solloway, MP for Science, Innovation and Research, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who met the VMIC team when he visited the site in September.

Preparing for business as usual
Alongside pandemic work it is critical that we also prepare for our ‘day job’. VMIC’s day-to-day work will be to partner with industry, academic or research teams and to provide expertise and manufacturing capability in order to take vaccines quickly from discovery to licensed product. Discussions are already underway with potential collaborators and we look forward to focusing more on this in 2021. Ultimately the purpose of VMIC is to share its knowledge, technical capability, and innovative approach to process manufacturing, in order to grow the UK’s vaccines capabilities, which will have far reaching global benefits.

Looking ahead…
So what’s next on the VMIC action list as we move into 2021? “We remain focused on delivering the facility and making it fully operational in 2022” says Matthew Duchars “and we will continue to work closely with AZ, and also the Vaccines Taskforce, plus we have other considerations too now. We have grown rapidly in the last six months - going from a team of 10 to 60 brings new challenges, new ways of working, and also new opportunities. Focusing on getting the right team in place and everyone sharing the same vision for what needs to be achieved is a priority.”

We have a challenging but exciting year ahead of us. Delivering a GMP licenced manufacturing facility on an accelerated timeline will be tough, but is made possible by the commitment and dedication of the brilliant team that has formed around us. Moreover, as our facility comes online, it will open a wealth of opportunity for the vaccine sector in the UK and importantly, throughout the world.

VMIC facility base build completion, Nov 2020. Courtesy of VMIC.