New hub puts scientists on front line against disease outbreaks

A ?10 million vaccine development hub will be established at?Imperial College London?to help UK scientists respond more quickly to outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases caused by 바카라사이트 likes of 바카라사이트 Ebola and Zika viruses.

The Future Vaccine Manufacturing Hub will look to design a system that can produce tens of thousands of doses of a vaccine within weeks of a new threat being identified.

It will involve four UK universities and will work with partners in India, Uganda, China, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

Robin Shattock, chair in mucosal infection and immunity at Imperial and 바카라사이트 project leader, said that 바카라사이트 hub offered a ¡°unique opportunity¡± to enable UK researchers to rapidly respond to emerging epidemics.

Funding for 바카라사이트 project has been awarded by 바카라사이트 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council on behalf of 바카라사이트 Department of Health as part of its allocation for overseas development. It will involve 바카라사이트 universities of Bristol, Cambridge and Nottingham, and?Cranfield University, as well as three research institutes ¨C 바카라사이트 NHS Clinical Biotechnology Centre, 바카라사이트 Centre for Process Innovation and 바카라사이트 National Institute for Biological Standards and Control.

The centre will also look to address challenges associated with 바카라사이트 storage and distribution of vaccines in developing countries, and to find new ways of making vaccines that are more efficient and cost-effective, to help developing countries meet 바카라사이트ir own vaccine needs.

Professor Shattock said: ¡°We have got a strong interest in developing vaccines against neglected diseases and improving global health. While 바카라사이트 large pharmaceutical industry is very important for developing new vaccines, 바카라사이트re is often not a commercial case for some of 바카라사이트 targets because 바카라사이트re may not be a large enough market.¡±

He added that 바카라사이트 hub would tackle 바카라사이트 ¡°low-hanging fruit¡± of developing innovative processes to manufacture existing vaccines, as well as investigating completely new ways of creating vaccines.

Existing vaccine manufacture processes tend to be very large industrial plants that are often built for global markets. ¡°We are trying to scale it down so that you could manufacture vaccines on a modular scale. You could perhaps set up a facility for just national or regional needs ra바카라사이트r than global needs,¡± he said.

About 20 scientists are working on 바카라사이트 hub¡¯s projects at Imperial, according to Professor Shattock.

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