University of Birmingham accelerator secures funding for new life sciences cleanrooms
The University of Birmingham’s Precision Health Technologies Accelerator (PHTA) has secured government funding to develop three new commercial cleanrooms, boosting the region’s capacity to manufacture advanced therapies.
The funding has been unlocked by the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) and will contribute to the development and staffing of a brand-new £10.7m, 5,000 sq ft facility equipped to GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards.
Pharmaceutical researchers and enterprises will soon be able to make advanced therapeutics such as mRNA vaccines for cancer in three new using the new facilities.
Cleanrooms are sterile environments designed to minimise contamination by tightly controlling airborne particles, temperature, humidity, and other key environmental factors.
They are critical in industries such as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, where even microscopic contaminants can compromise the quality and functionality of products and put patients at risk.
With LSIMF funding, the new facility within Birmingham’s Health and Life Sciences District will be an important addition to research and development infrastructure.
It will allow researchers and industry partners to rapidly develop, test, and manufacture new therapies – including advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) and vaccines – both for patient treatment and for clinical trials.
It will also ensure the UK has greater flexibility to respond quickly to health emergencies.
Known as ‘near-patient’ biomanufacturing, PHTA’s facility will make ‘biologic’ therapies, from cells or cell components, which have much shorter shelf lives than tablets. Having this capability on hand will be a major boost for Birmingham’s clinical research facilities at the co-located Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “PHTA’s latest £10 million investment will pave the way for vital new medicines and life-saving vaccines, while creating new jobs that reinforce the West Midlands as a leading hub for life sciences innovation.
“The three dedicated cleanrooms for clinical trial manufacturing will enable a faster response to future health emergencies, ensuring patients can benefit more quickly from innovation.
“The investment will also help in the fight against devastating illnesses, funding work on cutting edge cell and gene therapies.
“Backing facilities like this and delivering against our Life Sciences Sector Plan shows how business and government are working together to deliver a more resilient, innovative health system that grows our local economies and improves lives.”
Professor Gino Martini (pictured), chief executive officer at PHTA said: “The UK, and particularly the West Midlands, urgently needs GMP cleanroom facilities to support the production of ATMPs and vaccines, including cell therapies and mRNA vaccines, as well as medicines for clinical trials.
“This new investment will allow us to achieve our point-of-care manufacturing ambitions, ensuring patients get access to the latest, most innovative medicines. Having these facilities in place will also build resilience into the NHS, ensuring future pandemic preparedness.”
Alongside University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, the University is leading Europe’s first trial of a personalised mRNA vaccine for pancreatic cancer – one of the most challenging types of cancer to treat.
The new commercial cleanrooms will also benefit from close proximity to a range of regional and world-leading research centres including the NIHR Midlands-Wales Advanced Therapy Treatment Centre; the nationally-designated Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit which covers all childhood cancer in the UK; and the UKRI-designated Centre of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation in AI (CERSI).
