Moderna Opens £1bn Vaccine Plant in Oxfordshire Amid Rising US Anti-Vax Sentiment

The facility can make up to 100 mln doses per year, rising to 250 million in a pandemic, and will create around 150 highly skilled jobs, the government said. Photo: AP

Moderna has opened its first UK manufacturing facility for mRNA vaccines, with chief executive Stephane Bancel praising Britain as «a country that still believes in vaccination.»

The £1bn investment includes the new Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre (MITC) at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. The site will be able to produce up to 100 mln doses annually, rising to 250 mln in a pandemic, and create around 150 highly skilled jobs.

Stephane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO, made the comment in an interview with Sky News. Photo: AP.

Bancel’s comments come amid growing anti-vaccine rhetoric in the United States, where President Donald Trump’s administration and health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have promoted debunked claims linking vaccines to autism. Bancel warned that falling demand in the US could shift future investments toward markets like the UK.

UK health secretary Wes Streeting hailed the new plant as a «cutting-edge facility» that will strengthen national health, innovation and pandemic preparedness.

The investment arrives at a difficult time for the UK’s pharmaceutical sector, with AstraZeneca, Merck and GSK recently scaling back or redirecting major research projects abroad.

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