North East boasts significant manufacturing capabilities, says NE Advisory Group Chair
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine leads on COVID-19 vaccine and human infection research
North East boasts significant manufacturing capabilities, says NE Advisory Group Chair
“ It is easy to overlook how critical the role of the North East is in what has been a global response, and perhaps we need to burn the bushel and shine some light on our brightest stars” – says Sam Whitehouse, Chair of Medilink North East Advisory Group, speaking about the manufacturing capabilities of the region.
Sam has recently taken over as CEO of High Force Research which supplies chemical compounds to major biotech companies, 80 % of which go to the USA, from its facility in Durham.
The manufacture of the Novavax vaccine for COVID-19 at the GSK facility in County Durham is another example of the North East’ s impressive manufacturing capabilities, which help save lives and create high value jobs for the regional economy.
FujiFilm Diosynth Biotechnologies produce the protein antigen component of the Novavax vaccine in Stocktonon-Tees, only 30 miles from the GSK’ s Barnard Castle factory. Novavax’ s NVX-CoV2373 vaccine candidate has presented strong efficacy in Phase 3 clinical trials, with data showing that it is 96.4 % effective against the original Covid-19 strain and 86.3 % effective against the UK variant.
“ Following the difficulties that the UK experienced at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in securing urgently needed medical supplies and components, it is essential that the UK becomes more self-sufficient and continues to invest in the life sciences ecosystem, particularly in our manufacturing and supply chain resilience.”, says Sam.
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine leads on COVID-19 vaccine and human infection research
A world-first study carried out at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine explores the effectiveness of mixing different COVID-19 vaccines on the immune system. The purpose of the study is to test whether combining doses from different manufacturers may give longerlasting immunity against the virus and any new variants. The vaccine trial started in February with the focus on AstraZeneca and Pfizer, and has recently expanded to include Moderna and Novavax.
The LSTM’ s work on the innovative therapeutic solutions for COVID is part of its £ 18.6m funding received from UK Research and Innovation( UKRI)
Strength in Places Fund, which recognised the Liverpool City Region and the world-class expertise in the North West.
Dr Helen Hill, Co-Prinicpal investigator of the study at the LSTM, said:“ What we are trying to do is look at whether or not, if somebody had either AstraZeneca or Pfizer in February this year, and we need to boost them with a different vaccine such as Moderna, or a newer one called Novavax, or the same vaccine again we will look to see what those comparisons are so in future this could be a method they used in the roll out.”
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