A £7m grant will support the creation of a facility which will develop the next generation of livestock vaccines and cell therapies.
The Veterinary Vaccinology & Cell Therapy Hub at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has been awarded a £7 million grant by Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
The work conducted at this facility, in Brookmans Park, will accelerate the development of next-generation vaccines and cell therapies that will fight key animal infections and ultimately protect humans.
Livestock, and in particular cattle, pigs and poultry, will be the main focus of the Hub because they are the species that provide most of the public's animal-derived dietary protein.
These animals are intensively reared to meet the global demand and as a result, they are increasingly susceptible to infections, hence the need for the development of effective vaccines.
The Hub’s facilities will support the use of large animal models in vaccine development to create species-specific immunological tools or reagents, replacing the more common use of mice to formulate vaccines for livestock.
Due to open in the summer of 2020, the Hub will contain specialist facilities, such as laboratories, housing for animals and an incubator for small businesses, and is part of a multi-million-pound redevelopment plan for the RVC’s Hawkshead campus.
Hertfordshire LEP awarded £7m from the Single Local Growth Fund for the venture.
Nitin Dahad, Chair of Enterprise and Innovation Board, Hertfordshire LEP, said: “We are very keen to facilitate greater collaboration between research institutions and business to advance next generation healthcare. The amount awarded demonstrates the importance we attach to this project and strengthens Hertfordshire’s position as a potential global leader for vaccine and cell therapy research.”
