Corporate report

UKHSA Advisory Board: Science and Research Committee minutes

Updated 22 May 2023

Date: Wednesday 24 May 2023

Sponsor: Jon Friedland

Recommendation

The Advisory Board is asked to note the minutes of 8 February 2023 meeting of the Science and Research Committee. The minutes were agreed on 3 May 2023.

Minutes, UKHSA Science and Research Committee, Wednesday 8 February 2023

Present at the meeting were:

• Jon Friedland - non-executive Chair
• Jennifer Dixon - non-executive member
• Graham Hart - non-executive member
• Raj Long - associate non-executive member
• Isabel Oliver - Chief Scientific Officer (interim)
• Steven Riley - Director General, Data, Analytics and Surveillance
• John Arne-Røttingen - International Impact Expert, Ambassador for Global Health at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway

In attendance were:

• Sarah Collins - Director of Commercial
• 8 names and titles redacted

Apologies:

• Susan Hopkins - Chief Medical Advisor

Welcome, apologies and declarations of interest

23/009 The Chair welcomed participants to the Science and Research Committee and noted apologies.

Minutes of previous meeting and matters arising

23/010 The minutes of the previous meetings of 1 December 2022 (enclosure SRC/23/001) and 26 January 2023 (enclosure SRC/23/002) were agreed.

23/011 The Committee noted the actions report (enclosure SRC/23/003) and the following update was raised:

23/012

• action 4 (risks relating to the science workforce). It was reported that there was a proposal to transfer staff who meet the criteria for the clinical ringfence from Civil Service to NHS terms and conditions. This had initially been delayed due to pension issues, but these had recently been resolved and it may be possible to proceed with the transfer by 1 April 2023. Further clarity was required in respect to the wider workforce and work was continuing

Pandemic preparedness - 100 Days Mission

23/013 The Chief Scientific Officer introduced the paper (enclosure SRC/22/004). which was presented by [title redacted]. An update was provided on the UK Secretariat for the 100 Days Mission (100DM) which was provided by UKHSA and an overview provided of UK100DM’s work to date.

23/014 The 100DM was aligned with UKHSA’s goals of preparing for future health threats, responding to existing threats and building capacity and capability at local, national and global levels. UKHSA had adopted three key components for its 100DM related activity:

• UKHSA’s own contribution to the goals of 100DM
• UKHSA as the user of the tools developed through the 100DM in its public health functions
• a dedicated team within UKHSA to coordinate UK 100DM related activity

23/015 A small team was established at the end of 2022 within the Centre for Pandemic Preparedness (CPP) and Science Group which acted as a secretariat for the 100DM work.

23/016 The Committee discussed how the secretariat could boost and co-ordinate existing work and act to fill gaps and incentivise activity. The UK secretariat consisted of policy specialists from the Centre for Pandemic Preparedness, together with colleagues from the Science Group.

23/017 The Committee discussed the international landscape and agreed it was positive that the UK was championing activities set out in the 100DM.

23/018 UKHSA should be mindful that other countries would approach 100DM activities differently and discussions were ongoing at the G7 and G20. However, it was thought likely that a set of principles and higher-level objectives would be agreed which could set direction and help provide mutual support. There are a number of consultative processes on establishing a future counter-measures platform. South Africa and Norway were convening a meeting in South Africa later in the month co-hosted by the G7 and G20, United States, European Commission and Africa Union to discuss this. It would focus on the upstream research and development components that needed to be in place during pandemic periods, and also on response capabilities including financing and procurement. The UKHSA would be represented at this meeting, and arrangements would be confirmed with DHSC.

23/019 It was appreciated that the 100DM was a multi-partnership approach and that UKHSA had a good opportunity to influence progress and impact through its secretariat role.

23/020 The Science and Research Committee noted that these activities were being raised on multiple international platforms and recommended UKHSA should also look further afield to Africa, which was examining its supply chain and manufacturing. There were also activities taking place outside of the World Health Organization (WHO) and it was important to engage with these too. It was recommended that UKHSA should work with Germany, WHO’s research and development arm, and partners in the G20.

23/021 It was suggested that it may be wise to bring UK expertise to bear on broader international initiatives alongside focus on the 100DM.

23/022 It was noted there had been a significant surge in vaccine manufacturing in Africa including upstream, downstream, research and development, and partnerships with biotech. This was all part of the bigger picture to provide sustainability for vaccine access during a pandemic or other public health need. Information on this could be used to inform 100DM work if applicable. It was also noted that in addition to G7 and G20 activities there were activities from EU member states funding certain activities as part of their own initiatives. The associate non-executive member would provide further information and discuss with [title redacted].

(Raj Long and name redacted)

23/023 UKHSA was considering whether to build on the NVAP network (New Variant Assessment Platform, genomic surveillance programme supporting countries across the world) to develop it into partnerships that might support clinical trials in that context.

23/024 The Committee suggested that the programme could both support 100DM-related projects globally while also achieving or enabling the appropriate activities in the UK. The activity areas should be prioritised, with diagnostics and vaccines being a higher priority. UKHSA would also need to link in with Global Equity to consider the proportion of vaccines made available to underserved populations once they had been developed and manufactured.

23/025 The UK had a strong competitive advantage in clinical trials and there was a need to think about supporting clinical trial networks in a collaborative way especially in low and mid-income countries. In Europe, there was now a trial co-ordination mechanism which was being led by the International Impact Expert.

(Name redacted)

23/026 There was a need to operate on a technical level to avoid the political difficulties and maximise the added value and contribution from the UK.

23/027 The Committee suggested that when the role and objectives of 100DM were communicated these should include both accelerating development and ensuring equitable access to counter measures.

23/028 A partnership with the Medicines and Health Regulatory Authority (MHRA) could be positive and it was recommended this be investigated further with its clinical trials arm.

23/029 The pathogen landscape was being examined and some were not in the European or UK environment. The African Vaccine Regulatory Forum (AVAREF) was a continental clinical trial platform and may help establish contact to get access. Initially 1 or 2 regions could be used to establish initial contact. The associate non-executive member would provide further information to [title redacted].

(Raj Long and name redacted)

23/030 The Committee discussed how much of 100DM was supporting international efforts and the extent to which UKHSA should provide a leadership role. The biggest challenges were not always in developing vaccines quickly but in deploying them appropriately.

23/031 It was agreed that:

• the new department of Science, Innovation and Technology should be linked in and briefed on 100DM and related activities
• the Chief Scientific Officer should discuss lessons learned and ways forward with German counterparts as a first step in providing an international contribution and to help in both assessing the landscape and identifying which international developments might help in domestic areas
• the Chief Scientific Officer would lead further work to investigate how UKHSA could become a more strategic international player
• the focus going forward would be on the objectives, science and technical work rather than the branding

(Name redacted and Isabel Oliver)

23/032 The Science and Research Committee:

• noted the establishment of UK100DM in UKHSA
• endorsed the UK’s commitment to becoming a significant player in the preparedness for future pandemics and to the principles of 100DM

Accessing external scientific advice

23/033 The Chief Scientific Officer and [name redacted] introduced a paper (enclosure SRC/22/005) which outlined the mechanisms that UKHSA currently had to access external scientific advice and expertise.

23/034 It was noted that industry was not represented in the committees or partnerships referred to in the paper’s annex. However, work was underway to look at the governance arrangements for UKHSA’s work with industry. UKHSA had many links with international partners including informal networks. There were formal arrangements in some areas, for example as part of WHO collaborating centres and laboratories

23/035 Work was underway to better understand and develop existing links with industry. It was agreed that the Director of Commercial would provide the Science and Research Committee with a paper on the strands of this work. The paper would identify strategic partners, explain UKHSA’s offer to industry, and outline the proposed engagement and governance arrangements.

(Sarah Collins)

23/036 The Committee noted that the UK was a leader in having a systematic approach to scientific advice and using scientific expertise in government decision making. Guidelines on transparency, participation and minute taking should continue to be followed and any evidence-based disputes should be open and shared.

23/037 It was also noted that UKHSA can use the academic honorary contracts network to commission expert input or access additional capacity where needed; noting that UKHSA was not a research funder. However, this was reliant on academic capacity and resources to support UKHSA. A review of academic contracts was currently underway with a view to improving succession planning, incentivising younger academics and encouraging regional involvement.

23/038 The HPRUs have been funded to undertake research and provide evidence to support UKHSA’s identified public health challenges. It was noted that clarity was needed on the continued funding of HPRUs, which provided important scientific support to UKHSA.

23/039 It was suggested to clarify how UKHSA could contribute and provide input to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

23/040 The Committee suggested that UKHSA could strengthen feedback loops and formal involvement with other relevant Boards, and recognition of UKHSA branding to academic institutions. To improve the take up of honorary contracts, it was recommended the UKHSA provide further information on its activities to candidates.

(Name redacted and Isabel Oliver)

23/041 The Committee acknowledged that obtaining formal expert advice was important but that informal channels were also very important. There were benefits to documenting informal channels to ensure a structured approach for future contact.

23/042 The Committee noted the existing arrangements for formally accessing scientific advice. The Chief Scientific Officer was thanked for the paper which had provided a great deal of clarification.

23/043 The Committee recommended:

• partnering with the MHRA on UKHSA’s thinking around the broader scientific advice function to help decide what was needed
• considering how to seek feedback from industry
• greater clarity regarding the role of Health Protection Research Units (HPRUs) in provision of scientific advice
• working with international agencies (for example, the EU, WHO, sister agencies in other countries) and collaborating on scientific advice functions
• to progress the review of academic contracts to determine if the organisation’s needs were being served, whether there were any gaps, and what an academic network might look like

Forward look and topics for future meetings

23/044 The Science and Research Committee noted the topics for future meetings as listed in the paper.

23/045 It was agreed that the Committee members would write to [title redacted] to express their view on the topics that should be considered by the Committee this calendar year.

(Name redacted)

Any other business and close

23/046 There being no other business, the meeting ended at 11:37am.

[Name redacted]
[Title redacted]
February 2023