The Prime Minister will launch the Medicines and Diagnostic Manufacturing Transformation Fund tomorrow from North Wales. Mr Johnson hopes the fund will create thousands of jobs in medicine manufacturing, as well as boost the country’s capability in handling pandemics in the future. The UK has reported 15,871 cases of coronavirus and 479 deaths yesterday, according to the Office of National Statistics. In total, Britain has seen 1,621,305 cases of the virus, and 58,342 deaths according to Johns Hopkins University.
Mr Johnson hailed the fund as essential for the UK’s capabilities against pandemics.
He said on its announcement: “This new £20 million fund will significantly increase the capacity and resilience of our medicines and diagnostics manufacturing supply chains and equip us to fight future health crises.
“Throughout the pandemic we have seen a coming together of British scientific industry and innovation and this new fund will enhance the UK’s manufacturing capabilities even further.”
Alok Sharma, Business Secretary, also added: “There are huge opportunities for innovation in medicines and diagnostics, and this new fund will put the UK head and shoulders above others, boosting the UK’s capabilities and generating significant economic opportunities across the country.”
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The fund is intended to encourage medicine manufacturers to build new British factories with state-of-the-art technology to compete on a global scale.
Eligible companies will bid for help with the costs of establishing new factories when the fund opens next year.
It comes after Oxford University and AstraZeneca announced their vaccine candidate for coronavirus has been submitted to the UK’s drug regulatory body.
The Department of Health and Social Care said the referral “marks a significant first step in getting the vaccine approved for deployment” should it meet requirements for safety, efficacy and quality.
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