Ministers spend £100m on new Covid-19 vaccine plant

Peter George, chairman of Benchmark Holdings, suggested the deal to Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser
Peter George, chairman of Benchmark Holdings, suggested the deal to Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser

The government has bought a vaccine manufacturing facility in Essex as part of moves to ensure that any successful Covid-19 vaccine can be produced at scale in the UK.

Ministers announced that an additional £100 million will be invested in the new state-of-the-art centre to scale up Covid-19 vaccine and gene therapy manufacturing. The investment will fund a cell and gene therapy catapult manufacturing innovation centre in Braintree, Essex, which is due to open in December 2021.

The government said the centre, bought from Benchmark Holdings for £16 million, will have the capacity to produce millions of doses a month, ensuring the UK has the capabilities to manufacture vaccines and advanced medicines, including for emerging diseases, far into the future.

Alok Sharma, the business secretary,