Teesside-made Novavax Covid vaccine finally approved for UK use

The jab, which is being produced at the Fujifilm Diosynth plant in Billingham, near Stockton, had faced big delays after pushing back submissions for approval.

With 60m doses on order, the jab was initially set to be approved for use in the UK last year, prompting the recruitment of hundreds at the Fujifilm plant.

Read more: 'We've been abandoned': Those who took part in North East vaccine trial hit out

At the time, thousands of trial volunteers hit out as they claimed they had been left in "limbo" waiting for the jab to be approved, while the company said it was working towards approval.

But today, the Government confirmed Novvax had been given regulatory approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Sajid Javid, Health and Social Care Secretary, said: "It is great to see our world-renowned medicines regulator approve another COVID-19 vaccine.

Read more: Teesside made Novavax Covid-19 vaccine faces long delays

"I want the UK to be the best place in the world to conduct clinical trials. It’s a testament to the country’s first-rate research and development capabilities for vaccines – with tens of thousands of people taking part in clinical trials here in the UK, contributing to the invaluable research that shows our vaccines are safe and effective.

"The next step will be for the independent Joint Committee on Immunisation and Vaccination to consider its use as part of the UK COVID-19 vaccination programme."

June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive, said: "Our approval of Nuvaxovid today follows a rigorous review of the safety, quality and effectiveness of this vaccine, and expert advice from the government’s independent scientific advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines.

"I am pleased to confirm today that this authorisation has been granted, providing access to a fifth vaccine that can be used to help protect us from COVID-19.

"We are continuing our vital safety work in monitoring the use of all COVID-19 vaccines, to ensure that their benefits in protecting people against COVID-19 disease continue to outweigh any risks.

"We also carry out independent batch testing on all the approved COVID-19 vaccines to ensure that every batch meets the expected quality standards."

Reaction on Teesside

On Teesside, Labour MP for Stockton North, Alex Cunningham said the approval is "great news" and that he hoped to see it rolled out to the population "as quickly as possible."

He said: “I’m delighted to hear that after a long period of uncertainty the Novavax vaccine, which is being manufactured in Billingham in my Stockton North constituency, has finally been approved by the MHRA.

"This announcement is great news: it gives us an extra layer of protection against Coronavirus and creates jobs for the local area.

“I’ve been in regular contact with Novavax about the status of the vaccine and only yesterday was told they were hopeful the MHRA would approve it soon, so it’s great this has now happened.

“I understand that Fujifilm at Billingham is gearing up to manufacture the vaccine, with the early stages of production already in motion, and I hope to see it rolled out and protecting people as quickly as possible.”

'Taken a bit longer to get to this point that we would have liked'

The Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, who previously described Novavax as "another weapon" in the UK's fight against Covid, said the area had played a "major role."

He said: “Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool have played a major role in the development of this vaccine; thousands of local people from across the region took part in the jabs stage three clinical trials run from the University Hospital of Hartlepool and all 60million doses of the vaccine will be manufactured by Fujifilm Diosynth at their world-class manufacturing facility in Billingham.

“It has taken a bit longer to get to this point than we would have liked, but we now have another weapon in our armoury in the fight against the coronavirus.

“Since the start of the pandemic our scientists and engineers have been at the forefront of the global response.

"CPI in Darlington has worked tirelessly with the Vaccine Taskforce on scaling up the manufacturing processes for the lifesaving vaccines that have now gone into millions of arms, and Absolute Antibody in Redcar have worked on new virus testing antigens.

“As a region we have an enviable reputation the world over as a centre of excellence when it comes to engineering, chemicals and processing, but now our hugely impressive bioscience sector is getting the praise it rightly deserves.”

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