Pharmaceutical researchers and enterprises will soon be able to make advanced therapeutics such as mRNA vaccines for cancer in three new, dedicated commercial cleanrooms at the University of Birmingham’s Precision Health Technologies Accelerator (PHTA).
Announced today by the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the funding has been unlocked by the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) and will contribute to the development and staffing of a brand-new £10.7m, 5,000 sq ft facility equipped to GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards.
The West Midlands plays a leading role in medical research, hosting more than 50% of the UK’s clinical trials for advanced therapies, but currently has no dedicated GMP manufacturing facility. As a result, UK-funded companies are forced to outsource overseas, meaning UK patients often miss out on opportunities to take part in groundbreaking clinical trials. And, with a regional patient population of six million, there is a critical need for local access to innovative medicines, many of which require specialised cleanrooms for production.
Cleanrooms are sterile environments designed to minimise contamination by tightly controlling airborne particles, temperature, humidity, and other key environmental factors. They are critical in industries such as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, where even microscopic contaminants can compromise the quality and functionality of products and put patients at risk.
With LSIMF funding, the new facility within Birmingham’s Health and Life Sciences District will be an important addition to research and development infrastructure. It will allow researchers and industry partners to rapidly develop, test, and manufacture new therapies – including advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) and vaccines – both for patient treatment and for clinical trials. It will also ensure the UK has greater flexibility to respond quickly to health emergencies.
Known as ‘near-patient’ biomanufacturing, PHTA’s facility will make ‘biologic’ therapies, from cells or cell components, which have much shorter shelf lives than tablets. Having this capability on hand will be a major boost for Birmingham’s clinical research facilities at the co-located Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “PHTA’s latest £10 million investment will pave the way for vital new medicines and life-saving vaccines, while creating new jobs that reinforce the West Midlands as a leading hub for life sciences innovation.
“The three dedicated cleanrooms for clinical trial manufacturing will enable a faster response to future health emergencies, ensuring patients can benefit more quickly from innovation. The investment will also help in the fight against devastating illnesses, funding work on cutting edge cell and gene therapies.
“Backing facilities like this and delivering against our Life Sciences Sector Plan shows how business and government are working together to deliver a more resilient, innovative health system that grows our local economies and improves lives.”
Professor Neil Hanley, Birmingham Health Partners Executive Director and Head of the College of Medicine and Health at the University of Birmingham, said: “We are so grateful for this support and vindication of everything we are trying to achieve in our Health & Life Sciences District. Creating comprehensive biomanufacturing capability for advanced therapies in the heart of the country, adjacent to patients, is a priority for the Government and MHRA.
“The strength and depth of our clinical research environment, including PHTA, anchored by the University of Birmingham is exemplified by our £1bn five-year cycle of research awards in health, medicine and life sciences.”
The investment will also accelerate the development of advanced cell and gene therapies and mRNA vaccines, which is already well underway in Birmingham. Alongside University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, the University is leading Europe’s first trial of a personalised mRNA vaccine for pancreatic cancer – one of the most challenging types of cancer to treat. In this ground-breaking trial, vaccines are tailored to each individual patient’s tumour, training their immune systems to recognise and destroy any cancer cells that remain after surgery to prevent recurrence. The new PHTA facility means the “tumour-to-vaccine” journey will be faster than ever before, speeding up treatment time for patients.
The new commercial cleanrooms will also benefit from close proximity to a range of regional and world-leading research centres including the NIHR Midlands-Wales Advanced Therapy Treatment Centre; the nationally-designated Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit which covers all childhood cancer in the UK; and the UKRI-designated Centre of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation in AI (CERSI).
Beyond its healthcare benefits, the facility is also focussed on helping boost economic activity in the West Midlands by creating highly skilled jobs and attracting pharmaceutical and biotech companies – and inward investment – to the region.
