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Vaccine manufacturer gets £20m boost for Scottish plant

Image: Valneva 

 

Valneva receives funding from Scottish agency after UK government cancelled vaccine order

Scottish Enterprise has awarded £20 million in R&D funding to the Scottish subsidiary of French speciality vaccine maker Valneva for work at its production facility in Livingston, West Lothian (pictured).

The three-year investment will include £12.5m towards whole-virus Covid-19 vaccine development, and £7.5m for other vaccines, including one for chikungunya.

“This funding will enable Valneva to continue its expansion in Livingston, securing vital vaccine production capabilities and protecting crucial jobs,” said Hannah Bardell, the MP for Livingston.

The facility’s planned expansion has been up in the air following the UK government’s cancellation of an order for 100 million doses of Valneva vaccine in September.

The Scottish funding goes some way towards plugging that financing gap, as well as opening up the prospect of new jobs and more capacity at the plant.

“This funding package will support high-quality jobs, drive further research and underpin the company’s operations in Scotland,” said Scottish government business minister Ivan McKee.

Scottish Enterprise told Research Professional News that the investment will safeguard around 250 existing high-value manufacturing jobs in Livingston, and also lead to the creation of additional high-value jobs on the site, all of which must be retained until at least May 2029.

The agency also expects the company’s expansion at Livingston to deliver new, world-leading advanced manufacturing capability in Scotland. This, it said, is consistent with the vision for Scotland’s manufacturing sector set out originally in the Making Scotland’s Future strategy, and more recently in the Manufacturing Recovery Plan published by Scottish government.

It also anticipates the investment to lead to wide-ranging supply chain benefits, and significant contributions to Scotland’s national business enterprise research and development, and to its exporting targets.

Adrian Gillespie, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, added: “Valneva’s decision to develop and manufacture its Covid-19 vaccine here in Scotland is extremely welcome.

“It is a huge vote of confidence in our life sciences sector and its highly skilled workforce, with one of the largest and most advanced vaccine manufacturing sites in the world now firmly anchored in Scotland and set to export its life-saving vaccines across the world.”

Meanwhile, Thomas Lingelbach, chief executive of Valneva, said: “This investment bolsters Valneva’s longstanding relationship with Scottish Enterprise, as well as our position at the forefront of life sciences and vaccine development in Scotland.”

He added: “Scottish Enterprise’s investment will support progress across Valneva’s research and development portfolio—as well as jobs and growth in Scotland.”

If Valneva’s Covid vaccine gains regulatory approval, the firm said it may supply the jab to Scotland, and donate 25,000 doses to the NHS and frontline workers in the country.