UKHSA's Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre (VDEC)
The Vaccine Development Evaluation Centre (VDEC) at Porton Down in Wiltshire facilitates the development and evaluation of new vaccines and therapeutics.
The Vaccine Development Evaluation Centre (VDEC) provides high-quality, cutting-edge science, building on over 100 years of innovative scientific research.
Working with national and international partners, VDEC’s skills and resources enable the development of the vaccines we urgently need to save lives and mitigate the harm from vaccine preventable disease. This includes threats from known and new pathogens, including viruses of pandemic potential.
Building on its pandemic legacy for research and development of new life-saving vaccines against the world’s deadliest pathogens, VDEC is a critical part of the UK’s pandemic preparedness work, securing the health and prosperity of the UK.
VDEC has 2 new state-of-the-art laboratories with over 200 highly trained scientists who run approximately 100 projects a year. The team delivered the data on COVID-19 vaccines showing their efficacy and allowing world-leading speed of COVID-19 vaccine roll-out. This continues with the ongoing evaluation of current and new vaccines against the latest variants.
VDEC’s scientific capabilities to support vaccine development and evaluation are the most extensive of their kind in the UK. We are actively seeking national and international collaborations and partnerships from all sectors.
Pre-clinical evaluation
The pre-clinical evaluation team provides animal modelling capability to VDEC to support the vaccine development pathway from early-stage research through to pivotal studies and post-licensure batch release. The activity is underpinned by 3 key capabilities:
- ability to handle a wide range of species from small rodents up to non-human primates (NHP), with the latter sourced from UKHSA-owned rhesus and cynomolgus macaque colonies
- accreditation to perform infectious disease research at containment levels 3 and 4, for both operator (ACDP) and environmental (SAPO) protection
- an enhanced quality management system suitable for good laboratory practice (GLP) and good manufacturing practice (GMP) compliance
Overall, these capabilities support generation of data from early-stage experiments through to pivotal studies, with assurance of data quality and integrity for submission to regulatory agencies where required.
Pre-clinical evaluation objectives
Prepare
The pre-clinical evaluation team supports UKHSA strategic priority to prepare by improving health outcome through vaccines. Pre-clinical evaluation supports this aim by providing capability essential to progressing candidate vaccines through the vaccine (and therapeutic) development pathway.
Current priority preparedness activities are to establish pre-clinical model and assays to assess efficacy of vaccines and antivirals against circulating strains of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1). The team will also develop assays and small animal models for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), to enable evaluation of deployed vaccines and to assess future products.
We will also continue to work closely with organisations such as CEPI to develop models and assays for priority pathogens in support of the 100 Days Mission.
Respond
The pre-clinical evaluation team supports UKHSA’s strategic priority to respond by reducing the impact of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.
Priority activities for pre-clinical evaluation are to generate vaccine and therapeutic efficacy data to support product development. VDEC works closely with academia, industry, government and non-governmental agencies such as CEPI in pursuit of this goal. The team will also establish a respiratory infection model for AMR priority pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and use this model to analyse therapeutic regimens versus standard care antibiotic therapy.
Build
The pre-clinical evaluation team is actively engaged in discussions with internal and external stakeholders to identify priorities for pandemic preparedness and tackling AMR. The team is also developing new business to achieve a sustainable funding model for VDEC delivery. In these ways, pre-clinical evaluation is contributing to the development of UKHSA as a high-performing agency.
Clinical evaluation
The clinical evaluation team works to support vaccine and therapeutic development by providing expertise in immunological and functional assays used to support clinical trials (Phase I to IV). The key capabilities underpinning the work are:
- expertise in the development and validation of analytical methods
- the ability to be able to conduct analysis at containment level 3, meaning that neutralisation assays can be conducted using live virus rather than pseudovirus or surrogates
- an enhanced quality management system which enables work to be performed to support GMP and good clinical practice (GCP) studies
These capabilities enable the clinical evaluation team to work in support of UKHSA’s science strategy and position us uniquely to support the development of vaccines and therapeutics against potential pandemic threats, and contribute towards the 100 Days Mission.
Clinical evaluation objectives
Prepare
The clinical evaluation team will support UKHSA’s strategic priority to improve health outcomes through vaccines and VDEC’s aim to develop scientific capabilities to prepare for and enable a response to emerging pathogens for pandemic preparedness by providing expertise in clinical testing essential for the development and licensure of vaccines.
Current priorities are the qualification of seasonal influenza assays (HAI, Microneutralisation and ELISA), which will also assist in preparedness to manage a potential avian influenza pandemic. A core team of staff will also maintain training and competence in relevant assay methods.
Additionally, we will qualify assays for RSV to support the testing and deployment of current and new vaccines.
We will qualify (and validate where appropriate) assays to support priority pathogen research and the 100 Days Mission.
Respond
The clinical evaluation team will support UKHSA’s strategic priority to reducing the impact of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.
We provide live virus neutralisation and other immunological assay data in support of SARS-CoV-2 GCP compliant clinical trials to inform UK government policy decisions, vaccine development and licensure. We isolate and introduce SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern into our analytical methods, enabling an assessment of the potential for these VOCs to escape vaccines currently in use in the UK.
Additionally, we will maintain a trained workforce, GxP compliant facilities and commercial income to support VDEC objectives and preparedness.
Build
The clinical evaluation team’s capabilities will help develop new business and build strategic relationships with pharma, helping to contribute to the development of UKHSA as a high-performing agency.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
Strategically, VDEC responds to AMR pathogens and new emerging threats (fungi, viruses, and bacteria), by determining the most appropriate research goals to combat these pathogens. This depends on the pathogen in question, the current urgent need, and the appropriate course of action (diagnostics, vaccines, and/or therapeutics). These activities are supported by close working with other UKHSA and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) departments that capture guidance and interventions development for antimicrobial stewardship, infection prevention and control and pharmacy. Collectively we are contributing to national and international policy development, ensuring United Nations (UN) and World Health Organization (WHO) commitments are met or exceeded.
AMR objectives
Prepare
The Porton AMR Network (PAMR) in VDEC has established and rare capabilities for the discovery, development and evaluation of new therapeutics, including novel antimicrobial agents (small molecule, antibiotic resistance breakers, bacteriophage, antimicrobial peptides, immune modulators, microbiome modulators, biofilm disruptors and vaccines for AMR) which are urgently required to address the increasing challenges of AMR, across a wide range of bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens. This supports UKHSA’s strategic priority to respond by reducing the impact of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.
Respond
Research at VDEC pursues the discovery, development and evaluation of novel antimicrobials (and vaccines for AMR) for a number of functions, including:
- to prevent resistance from arising during treatment
- to combat or reverse existing drug resistance
- to reduce drug toxicity and reduce treatment times
- for multidrug-resistant gram-negative infections
- TB and non-tuberculosis mycobacteria and high priority fungal pathogens and viruses with pandemic or AMR potential
This work aligns with the DHSC National Action Plan for AMR and UKHSA’s commitments to this plan, with a focus on pandemic preparedness and priority pathogens.
Build
To achieve our goals, we are employing a mix of approaches, to directly address the need for new antibacterials, antifungals, antivirals, host directed therapies and infection prevention and control measures, and vaccines for AMR. As there are common elements in the development of the different therapeutic approaches, we seek additional investment in cross-cutting capabilities (pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, drug formulation/dosing, ex-vivo models for the development of host-directed therapies and alternatives to antibiotics) to underpin AMR therapeutics development for a relevant spectrum of priority infectious agents. By having an integrated end-to-end pipeline of tools and know-how, we are able to support evaluation of new antimicrobial agents and novel therapeutic strategies against a wider range of infectious agents.
PAMR is actively engaged in discussions with internal and external stakeholders to identify priorities for pandemic preparedness and tackling AMR. The team is also seeking funding from a range of sources to achieve a sustainable funding model for VDEC delivery. In these ways, PAMR is contributing to the development of UKHSA as a high-performing agency.
Location
Vaccine Development Evaluation Centre
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Porton Down
Salisbury
Wiltshire
SP4 0JQ
Contact
Email: vdec@ukhsa.gov.uk
Porton Down 24-hour switchboard: 01980 612100
Last updated 16 October 2023 + show all updates
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Added information on clinical and pre-clinical evaluation, and antimicrobial resistance.
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Updated to reflect VDEC becoming operational.
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First published.