Moorlands MP, Karen Bradley has welcomed the announcement that a grant of £15.9m has been awarded to chemical producer Croda International Plc (Croda) to increase the UK’s manufacturing capacity of specialty lipids, an essential ingredient in mRNA vaccines.
This investment will enable Croda, a global market leader in the field, to significantly increase production capacity at its facility in Leek.
The grant will also allow them to increase both the range and volume of lipids it is able to produce in the UK, – particularly the mRNA lipid used in a number of Covid vaccines - as well as creating a number of jobs at the site.
mRNA has played a crucial role in our current COVID-19 vaccine programme – notably the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines – and has the potential to play a transformational role beyond this in future, for products such as flu vaccines as well as other emerging technologies including gene therapies for cancer and heart disease.
Karen said,
"I am delighted that Croda have been awarded this grant which will allow them to increase production capacity and create new jobs in Leek.”
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:
“The development of mRNA technology has been one of the greatest scientific leaps forward since the start of the pandemic and the potential for its use in future therapies – potentially treating cancer and heart disease – is remarkable.
“I am therefore extremely pleased to announce this support for Croda, a market leader in the manufacture of essential mRNA components, and the only manufacturer of lipids currently operating in the UK.
“Not only will this funding provide a significant boost to Britain’s life sciences industry, enabling the production of an extra 3 billion vaccine doses domestically, but it also represents an important investment into the West Midlands’ economy as we work to onshore manufacturing to the UK.”
From 2023, the expanded facility will be able to produce a sufficient volume of lipids for around 3 billion vaccine doses – an estimate based on the volume of lipids required to produce existing COVID-19 vaccines – a significant contribution to global lipid supply and future vaccine production. This will increase both UK and global resilience not only to COVID-19, but also for future health emergencies.
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said:
“The mRNA technology produced at this site has the potential to unlock the next generation of cutting-edge treatments for existing and new health threats.
“This significant investment further cements the UK as a world leader of exciting scientific innovations which are improving health outcomes at home and across the world.”
