The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has agreed a deal for
millions of life-saving vaccines to be produced in the UK if a
future influenza pandemic is ever declared.
The advance purchase agreement (APA) means healthcare company
CSL Seqirus will be on standby to produce over 100 million
influenza pandemic vaccines if or when they are needed.
UKHSA and its
predecessor organisations have had similar agreements in the
past, but this is the first time the manufacturing process will
be based entirely in the UK, giving better security of access if
global demand ever outweighs supply.
The vaccines will be tested, licensed, and approved and tailored
to combat the specific pandemic flu strain identified at the
time.
They will be produced at CSL Seqirus’s existing manufacturing
plant in Liverpool in the event a pandemic is declared by the
World Health Organization (WHO).
Professor Dame Jenny Harries, Chief Executive
of UKHSA,
said:
We have seen from past pandemic events, including COVID-19, that
access to effective vaccines is vital to help save lives and
minimise disruption to our lives and livelihoods.
This agreement represents a major step forward in our
preparedness against future influenza pandemics.
Manufacturing these potentially life-saving vaccines inside the
UK gives us speedier and more secure access, enabling us to roll
them out to those who need them more quickly.
Vaccines Minister, said:
This deal with CSL Seqirus places us on the front foot if we are
faced with an influenza pandemic in the future.
It will ensure vaccines are manufactured in the UK – enabling us
to get jabs into arms fast regardless of global demand and save
thousands of lives.
Marc Lacey, Global Executive Director at CSL Seqirus, said:
CSL Seqirus is a global leader in pandemic influenza
preparedness, and we’re pleased the UK government will continue
to partner with us in preparing to provide protection against the
potential of a flu pandemic.
This agreement will help to ensure the UK maintains robust
preparedness and rapid response capabilities for this potential
future threat.
Pandemic influenza is not the same as seasonal influenza or avian
influenza. Seasonal influenza circulates every year and causes
thousands of deaths, though it generally causes milder illness
among healthy adults because of existing immunity. Avian
influenza, meanwhile, cannot be passed from human to human.
A new influenza strain that was detected globally and was
transmitting from person to person, against which we would have
no immunity, could be categorised by WHO as the cause of a
global influenza pandemic.
Although influenza pandemics are highly unpredictable in terms of
their timing, duration and severity, historic events show that
they can occur at any time.
There have been 4 influenza pandemics over the past 100 years,
arising in 1918, 1957, 1968 and 2009. The 1918 pandemic was
responsible for over 50 million deaths worldwide, and pandemic
influenza continues to be a major health security concern.
