The new biofoundry in Darlingon will act as a high-tech workshop for manufacturing RNA materials. 

The UK RNA Biofoundry, a £29.6 million facility to develop new RNA therapies to tackle cancer, heart conditions and other diseases, will be established in Darlington.

Manufacturing RNA at the clinical grade and scale needed for early trials is complicated, and the new biofoundry will be a specialised facility that will act as a high-tech workshop for manufacturing RNA materials affordably, quickly and to the necessary clinical standard. It will also be able to switch to vaccine production should circumstances require. 

“RNA therapies are a new frontier in healthcare. With their ability to reprogramme our cells, and adapt to different diseases, they could be the answer to many treatments the British public are desperately in need of, tackling cancers, infectious diseases and more,” said science minister Patrick Vallance. 

“This new biofoundry will accelerate the journey RNA therapies take from labs to the markets, to give our innovators the best opportunities to turn their great ideas into the lifesaving treatments for our NHS patients, and faster,” he continued. 

Innovation ecosystem 

The UK RNA Biofoundry will be based at CPI’s RNA Centre of Excellence in Darlington. CPI is a not-for-profit translational research and innovation organisation, and a founding member of the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult, which accelerates the growth of innovative UK companies.

This effort is enabled by design and manufacturing advances jointly supported by Wellcome Leap, a nonprofit established by Wellcome to drive breakthroughs that benefit human health, and by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a nonprofit focused on accelerating the development of new medical countermeasures to prevent epidemic threats that are accessible to all people in need.

“We’re determined to continue building a more resilient, sustainable, and investable health innovation ecosystem for UK growth and look forward to working in close collaboration with our partners to accelerate the UK’s leadership in RNA and biomanufacturing,” said CPI chief executive Frank Millar.