Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, If he will include immunogenicity research in his Department's pandemic preparedness plans.

An established clinical countermeasures programme, including arrangements for vaccines, is a core component of our pandemic preparedness and response capability. The programme is informed by scientific and clinical assessment of the evidence base, including the latest evidence on vaccine-induced immunogenicity, and is kept under review, building on lessons learned from previous outbreaks.

In December 2022, the Government and Moderna entered a strategic partnership to set up mRNA research and development and manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom. Under the partnership, Moderna will build a new Innovation and Technology Centre in the UK, which will create more than 150 highly skilled jobs and have the capacity to produce up to 250 million vaccines per year in the event of a pandemic.

The Department, commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Since 2018, the NIHR has allocated over £80 million in funding for a broad portfolio of immunology research that has included immunogenicity as a consideration. Whilst it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions, the NIHR welcomes funding application for research into any aspect of human health, including immunogenicity.

The Office for Life Sciences new £38 million biomanufacturing fund will incentivise investment to bolster the UK’s onshore capacity and capability across the biomanufacturing supply chain for vaccines and other medicines.