CPI receives £5m from UK govt for 'vaccine library'

UK innovation hub CPI has received a further £5 million ($7 million) investment from the UK government to support the development of new mRNA vaccines to protect against new variants of COVID-19.

CPI partners with academia, businesses, government and investors to help commercialise emerging R&D projects. So far in 2021, it has announced partnerships with Pfizer to develop a new continuous direct compression platform as well as AstraZeneca and Novartis.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced yesterday that the government will be investing in CPI to help fund clinical-scale mRNA manufacturing to create a ‘library’ of vaccines that will work against current and emerging COVID-19 variants.

This will form the basis of a rapid response facility to develop mRNA vaccines to protect against the virus, said CPI.

“We’re delighted to be a key part of the UK’s ongoing fight against coronavirus, which has had such a devastating impact over the past year. It’s essential that we prepare for a future living with the threat of COVID-19 and the library of vaccine candidates we are building here in Darlington will help future-proof against further outbreaks caused by new strains of the disease,” said CPI in a company statement.

“It will mean that as soon as a new strain of COVID-19 is identified, the relevant vaccine can be selected and rapidly manufactured for use in clinical trials, in a very similar way that we see flu vaccines developed each year.”

CPI has been working with the Vaccines Taskforce since March 2020 to develop mRNA vaccines that combat the coronavirus and has already received a £9 million investment from the UK government.

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