Private sector sealed plant’s fate

Only last year ministers realised such a large centre might not be urgently needed. “When the Government saw how companies like AstraZeneca and Pfizer were fulfilling that manufacturing need, they could breathe a sigh of relief,” Duchars explains. “All that changed the dynamic of what VMIC was for.”

With VMIC far larger, “there was going to be a period where it simply wasn’t going to be profitable on day one,” Duchars says. The decision was then made to look for buyers.  

According to Sir John, this is the right move: “I think quite frankly the Government can’t run something like that.” Its sale would secure cash back for the taxpayer. “Really, the facility is good. I doubt anyone is coming in and asking for it at half price,” he adds. 

Oxford Biomedica, which borrowed equipment from VMIC during the pandemic to manufacture the AstraZeneca vaccine, is understood to be among those looking at the site. Also said to have tabled bids are Japan’s Fujifilm and Switzerland’s Lonza, according to the FT. 

Experts agree these types of companies are the right custodians for VMIC. “If it’s not sitting there cold and they run it as part of their normal business, maybe with some agreement over UK surge capacity, then that’s the right way to do it,” says Dix. 

Yet, there remain frustrations over what this might mean for R&D in Britain. VMIC was initially slated to be a hub for innovation, where a swathe of companies could set up shop to try to work on next-generation vaccines.

In 2018, when the site was first envisioned, Government body UKRI put £66m into the site, saying it should “innovate new technologies, like personalised cancer vaccines”.

The fear is this could fall by the wayside and damage efforts to tackle the next pandemic. “It’s gone down a slightly different path in that it’s focused more on the commercial aspects of manufacturing,” says Duchars.

In his view, there is a risk that comes with forgetting VMIC’s purpose.

Britain’s vaccine work has been groundbreaking during the pandemic but there are fears it could take a step back. “Innovation is a really important part of how the UK will stay at the forefront of science,” Duchars says. 

Getting a large production site online is one thing but, for Duchars, vaccine innovation should also be important: “I’d hope that that doesn’t get lost.”