Oxford Biomedica Signs Agreement with Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre

Gene and cell therapy group, Oxford Biomedica, has signed a collaboration agreement with the not-for-profit organization, the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC), to provide the United Kingdom with its first strategic vaccine development and advanced manufacturing capability.

The agreement, announced in a June 8, 2020 press release, will see the two parties involved collaborating to enable scaled-up manufacture of viral vector-based vaccines, primarily focusing on a COVID-19 vaccine-AZD1222 (previously known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19). AZD1222 has already entered clinical trials at multiple sites in the UK and, according to the terms of an initial clinical and commercial supply agreement between AstraZeneca and Oxford Biomedica, will be manufactured, developed, and distributed globally by AstraZeneca.

Under the terms of Oxford Biomedica’s and VMIC’s agreement, VMIC will provide manufacturing equipment for Oxford Biomedica to equip two good manufacturing practice (GMP) manufacturing suites, housed within the company’s new commercial manufacturing center, Oxbox. Additionally, Oxford Biomedica will provide training and technical assistance to VMIC staff to speed up operational readiness and GMP manufacturing capabilities for viral vector candidates at VMIC’s new manufacturing site scheduled to open in mid-2021.

“This collaboration with Oxford Biomedica means that we can increase the UK’s capacity to manufacture viral vector vaccines in 2020 as part of a national effort in response to COVID-19,” said Matthew Duchars, CEO of the VMIC, in the press release. “This marks a major milestone for VMIC in setting up collaborative partnerships with industry. It is the first agreement outside of our founding partners under VMIC’s longer-term objective to work with, and enhance, the vaccine industry in the UK and abroad.”

“Since we became involved in addressing the urgent need for UK manufacturing capacity for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate AZD1222, we have strived to support VMIC’s broader goal of accelerating and supporting UK manufacturing capacity and capabilities for vaccines more generally,” added John Dawson, CEO of Oxford Biomedica, in the press release. “This highly collaborative partnership allows for a rapid deployment capability to be established, and also accelerates fit out and utilization of another two GMP manufacturing suites within our new commercial manufacturing facility, Oxbox.”

Source: Oxford Biomedica