A report from the Centre of Process Innovation (CPI) has highlighted the urgent need for the UK pharmaceutical sector to retrain its staff as it reveals a significant gap in the workforce’s RNA manufacturing skillset. This pre-emptive strategy, according to CPI, will allow the UK to remain a competitive player in RNA manufacturing during the predicted boom that the biopharmaceutical industry will soon see.
UK now risks falling behind to biopharma giants such as the US and China
The global RNA-based treatments market is predicted to be worth more than $25 billion by 2030, whereas RNA technologies are also showing significant promise. Despite the UK playing a crucial role in RNA vaccine and therapeutic manufacturing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the CPI’s report reveals that the UK now risks falling behind to biopharma giants such as the US and China.1
It also details the need to develop novel equipment and reagents for RNA production in the region, as well as the necessity to boost technical and digital capabilities to assist companies during scale-up. The organisation stresses that focusing on these aspects early will allow the UK to remain a powerful contributor to this global market.
Preparing for the rise of RNA therapeutics
The report places a special emphasis on the need for preparation; companies must invest in optimising equipment for both RNA drug development and production, as well as training individuals for future expert roles. The UK market can, with training and educational initiatives, shape the next innovators in the space by closing the current skills gap and allowing the UK RNA therapeutics market to thrive.
Director of Biologics and the RNA Centre of Excellence at CPI, Brendan Fish, said: “Our report highlights that although the UK placed heavy investments into RNA technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to do more in a post-pandemic world to fully realise the potential of these technologies.”
“Moving forward, we need to harness this technology to facilitate therapeutic advancements in other key disease areas. RNA has already shown potential in the treatment of cancer and I believe we shouldn’t miss the opportunity to pursue these leads.”
UK Site Head at FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, Jonathan Haigh, added: “In the rapidly evolving landscape of medicine manufacturing, it’s imperative that we equip our workforce with the necessary skills to allow the industry to adopt and successfully utilise technologies in response to global, national and sector challenges.”
“This report serves as a valuable tool to help us understand the current skillsets within the pharmaceutical sector. The insight and recommendations it features can help to guide the UK to success in the RNA therapeutic space … as well as the overall global pharmaceutical market.”
In April 2020, CPI joined the UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce to support the manufacture and formulation of novel mRNA vaccine candidates for the treatment of COVID-19. Since then, it has opened the RNA Centre of Excellence — a GMP-grade centre in Darlington, UK — as well as launching an RNA Training Academy to bolster the UK’s preparedness and capability to produce
this emerging technology.
Reference
1 https://iuk.ktn-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CPI-WF-Intensification-of-RNA-Manufacturing.pdf.
