UK life sciences gains momentum with Moderna investment and new R&D fund

The UK’s life sciences sector has been bolstered with the opening of Moderna’s £1 billion Innovation and Technology Centre (MITC) in Harwell, Oxfordshire. The facility, launched in September, represents a strategic public-private collaboration to enhance the country’s preparedness for future health crises while anchoring high-value biomedical innovation at home.

The MITC will employ around 150 specialists and focus on vaccines for influenza, RSV, and COVID-19, with the capacity to produce 250 million doses annually during emergencies. This surge capability is a major step in strengthening the UK’s sovereign resilience, reducing reliance on global supply chains, and advancing the global “100 Days Mission” for outbreak response.

Alongside Moderna’s investment, the government unveiled a £50 million Life Sciences Transformational R&D Investment Fund. Designed to attract large-scale private capital, it targets projects exceeding £100 million, deepening the UK’s innovation ecosystem and further positioning the OxCam science cluster as a growth engine.

The new centre is also set to accelerate translational research, linking cutting-edge mRNA science with rapid manufacturing. While the US has scaled back similar initiatives, the UK is doubling down—an approach that could redefine its competitive edge in both national health security and biomedical economics.

Analysts suggest that maximising the OxCam Corridor’s potential could add £78 billion to the economy by 2035, reinforcing the interplay between scientific progress and long-term growth.

The MITC underscores a clear ambition: to keep the UK at the forefront of global biomedicine by coupling innovation with resilience.

Discover the full story and its implications for the future of UK life sciences.