The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has announced a new vaccine deal to produce millions of life-saving vaccines in the UK in preparation for potential future influenza pandemics.
The first UK-based agreement for the influenza (flu) vaccine will provide better security of access if global demand outweighs supply.
Every year, seasonal flu circulates in communities and causes thousands of deaths. Despite being highly unpredictable, flu pandemics can occur at any time.
Based on the terms of the advance purchase agreement, healthcare company CSL Sequiris will be ready to produce over 100 million flu pandemic vaccines when needed to “ensure the UK maintains robust preparedness and rapid response capabilities for this potential future threat”, said Marc Lacey, global executive director at CSL Sequiris.
When needed, the vaccines will be tested, licensed, approved and tailored to tackle specific pandemic flu strains that are identified at the time.
All vaccines will be produced at CSL Sequiris’s manufacturing plant in Liverpool upon the declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Professor Dame Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of UKHSA, said: “This agreement represents a major step forward in our preparedness against future influenza pandemics.
“Manufacturing these potentially life-saving vaccines inside the UK gives us speedier and more secure access, enabling us to roll them out to those who need them more quickly.”
In the past 100 years, there have been four influenza pandemics. In 2009, the swine flu pandemic resulted in 284,000 deaths worldwide.
In August, the UKHSA unveiled its Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre (VDEC) to research and develop vaccines against pathogens with pandemic potential and to expand its remit to a wide range of other deadly pathogens and diseases that are capable of causing health emergencies.
The VDEC will specifically target pathogens where a vaccine does not exist, could be improved or is not regulated in the UK, including avian influenza.
Earlier this month, Moderna’s late-stage trial of its influenza vaccine results showed that mRNA-1010 generated a stronger immune response against all four WHO-recommended flu strains.