Tory chief visits plant working on virus jab
The UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma visited West Lothian as it was announced the plant working on a Covid-19 vaccine will create 75 jobs.
Sharma visited the biotech company Valneva in Livingston – who will create and manufacture the vaccine – on last Wednesday ( August 5) to confirm the multimillion pound deal.
The investment between the UK Government and Valneva will initially secure 60 million coronavirus vaccine doses and create the new jobs.
Currently more than 100 people are employed at the facility with a quarter of those working directly on a coronavirus vaccine.
David Lawrence, chief financial officer of Valneva, told the West Lothian Courier in May that this new vaccine saved many jobs that were under threat due to lockdown at the plant.
The unique VLA2001 inactivated vaccine that Valneva are manufacturing is one of four that the UK government are part funding.
Inactivated vaccines do not carry a version of Covid-19, like a live vaccine would, so cannot have disease producing capability and this makes them better for vulnerable people.
The Business Secretary witnessed the ground-breaking work already taking place at the Livingston facility and heard about the significant efforts being made to increase capacity at the site.
Mr Sharma said: “I’m incredibly grateful to our highly- skilled scientists and technicians in Livingston who are supporting the global effort to research, develop and manufacture a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine.
“The multi- million pound upfront investment we have agreed with Valneva today means that their vaccine can be manufactured in quantity right here in Scotland. If clinical trials are successful, millions of people in priority groups across the UK will be protected by their lifesaving vaccine.”
Valneva’s David Lawrence said: “We are delighted to receive initial funding from UK government to support the expansion of our Covid- 19 vaccine manufacturing facilities. We are thrilled that the Secretary of State has made the time to travel to Livingston and to visit our site, it’s a real sign of the government’s commitment.
“We are working as hard and as fast as possible to develop the vaccine to meet the UK’s needs and indeed to try to address the broader need for a vaccine. We look forward to completing the final supply agreement in the next few weeks.”
Chair of the Vaccine Taskforce Kate Bingham said: “The visit of the Secretary of State to Valneva’s Livingston facility today and the announcement of investment in their manufacturing capability underlines the importance of our ability to make a vaccine for Covid-19 as quickly as possible. In order to vaccinate our high-risk populations at the earliest opportunity, the government has agreed to proactively manufacture vaccines now, so we have millions of doses of vaccine ready if they are shown to be safe and effective.
“This important investment in Valneva’s Scottish manufacturing plant will not only help us with this, but also ensures we are well-placed as a country to be able to cope with any pandemics or health crises in the future.”
I’m incredibly grateful to our highly-skilled scientists and technicians in Livingston