Moderna opens UK facility as drug pricing spat rumbles on

There was a moment of relief for the UK government as Moderna opened a £150 million ($202 million) vaccine facility in Oxfordshire yesterday, after a series of other drugmakers cancelled investment programmes in protest at low medicine prices.

The Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre (MITC) in Harwell is the flagship part of a 10-year, £1 billion investment in the UK by the US pharma company, with the potential to produce up to 250 million doses of mRNA vaccines per year if there is a pandemic.

Yesterday's ribbon-cutting came just a few days after MSD, AstraZeneca, and Eli Lilly said that they would abandon or pause planned UK investments collectively worth in the region of £2 billion, and as Lilly chief executive David Ricks said the UK was "probably the worst country in Europe" for drug prices in an interview with the Financial Times.

Meanwhile, UK Science Minister Patrick Vallance acknowledged to the BBC that the price paid by the NHS for some medicines will probably need to rise as part of the efforts needed to prevent an exodus of pharma companies from the UK, but also that finding the money "is a matter for the Department of Health and the Treasury to figure out."

Spending on medicines by the NHS has fallen from around 15% of the total budget a decade ago to around 9%, which the pharma industry has said is well below the level seen in other comparable countries and could mean that patients in the UK will not get access to new medicines.

Earlier this week, Bristol Myers Squibb gave advance notice that it intends to charge the same for a new schizophrenia medicine in the UK as in the US, and said that if the NHS does not "recognise the value of truly innovative therapies" it may not launch in the UK.

The Moderna opening relieves some of the pressure on the government, although it's worth noting that the vaccines made at the MITC won't fall under the categories of medicines subject to the voluntary and statutory rebates paid on NHS sales, which are currently at record levels and have incensed the industry.

Talks on amending the voluntary rate collapsed last month and have yet to restart, despite efforts by Health Secretary Wes Streeting to resume discussions.

Streeting said at the opening that the opening of the MITC is "the next pivotal moment in boosting our nation's health, innovation, and economy," adding: "Pioneering centres like these will help ensure this country remains a powerhouse in this growing industry."

The facility will support around 150 highly-skilled jobs and will produce mRNA vaccines for seasonal infections like COVID-19 and flu, as well as support R&D on the use of mRNA technologies to tackle other diseases like cancer, immunological disorders, and rare diseases.

Vallance said: "The pioneering work Moderna will be doing, here in the UK, on mRNA is a prime example of the opportunity we want to grasp. It's the chance for new treatments that save lives, and new products that drive growth and job creation, all made possible thanks to our world-class institutions, skills, and the NHS."

He added that this is the "unique mix that makes the UK a life sciences destination that punches well above its weight."

The government, meanwhile, has also announced a £50 million pilot fund that is earmarked mainly for large-scale, capital-intensive projects in the life sciences sector worth over £100 million, part of an effort to encourage inward investment.