The UK government has formally inaugurated an advanced vaccine research center situated within the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) in order to enhance the nation’s readiness for future pandemics.
The newly established facility, located at the UKHSA site in Porton Down near Salisbury, Wiltshire, is staffed by over 200 scientists who are focused on preemptively addressing potential outbreaks of “disease X,” an as-yet unidentified pathogen with pandemic potential.
Named the Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre (VDEC), this unit is not only dedicated to tackling emerging pathogens without existing vaccines but also improving current vaccines against conditions such as flu, smallpox, tuberculosis, Lassa fever, hantavirus, Nipah virus, and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever.
“The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that through extraordinary interventions and public sacrifice we could slow down the spread of the virus, but not stop infection, and this came with huge economic and personal cost. But the most important lesson learnt is that the only way to beat a pandemic is by actively seeking and delivering new vaccines and treatments, the sooner, the better.”
– Janet Valentine, the ABPI’s executive director for Innovation and Research Policy
The overarching objective is to ensure that the UK is well-prepared for the next pandemic and can rapidly respond with effective vaccines, thereby preventing loss of life and minimizing the need for lockdowns that were necessitated during the COVID-19 crisis. The target is to initiate vaccine deployment within 100 days of the emergence of a new pathogen.
The opening of this unit has garnered positive feedback from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), which views the VDEC as an “essential national asset” that will collaborate with the industry to develop novel vaccines.
“We know that through scientific advancement, we could detect and control these spreads before they have the impact that COVID-19 had on our lives. It’s not easy, but we know that if we strengthen surveillance and if we accelerate the development of diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics, we could do so much better.”
– UKHSA’s chief scientific officer, Professor Isabel Oliver
This launch follows the publication of UKHSA’s three-year strategy, which outlines the organization’s approach to confronting emerging health threats, responding to them, and fortifying the country’s health security capabilities. Vaccines play a pivotal role in this strategy, alongside other critical endeavors such as addressing antimicrobial resistance.
The VDEC’s role encompasses identifying promising vaccine candidates at the earliest stages of discovery and development, in addition to conducting preclinical and clinical trials to support policy and deployment decisions.
Significantly, this facility has been established amidst the emergence of a new variant of COVID-19, known as Eris, which stems from the Omicron strain. Although Eris has initiated a fresh wave of infections in the UK, there is currently no evidence to suggest that it is more virulent than Omicron, and it has not been categorized as a “variant of concern” by health authorities.
