A US vaccine firm has opened the first mRNA manufacturing plant in the UK, against a backdrop of increasing anti-jab rhetoric back home.

The new facility outside Oxford is part of a £1bn investment in the UK by Moderna, which specialises in mRNA.

The novel vaccine technology delivered some of the most effective and fastest-to-develop jabs during the COVID pandemic.

Several pharma companies, including Germany’s leading mRNA pioneer BioNTech, are now racing to develop new therapies.

Moderna says the plant will produce up to 100 million doses of its existing vaccine products each year. It has also been designed to scale-up production to 250 million doses a year in the event of a new disease outbreak.

“God-forbid, if there is another pandemic, we can switch the facility any day,” said Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel.

The UK investment deal was agreed by the previous government, but the plant’s opening is welcome relief for the current one.

In recent weeks, four major pharmaceutical companies have halted planned investments in the UK following disputes over drug pricing and profitability in the UK.

‘A great statement’

It also promises to restore domestic vaccine manufacturing capability in the UK, the lack of which was exposed when dangerous supply interruptions threatened the early COVID response.

“It’s a really fast way of getting new vaccines discovered,” said Lord Patrick Vallance, former chief scientist and now science minister.

“It’s also a great statement of confidence in the UK that [Moderna has] chosen to base themselves here.”

Moderna: UK ‘still believes’ in vaccines

The mRNA molecule is the same used by our cells to order the production of new proteins, and allows vaccines to be produced using just the genetic code of a virus or other biological target.

Moderna’s investment decision pre-dated Donald Trump’s return to the White House, but the Moderna CEO said its operation in the UK – a country that “still believes in vaccination” – may pay dividends if anti-vaccine rhetoric translates into a lack of demand for its products in the US.

“If there is less appetite by governments around the world, including in the US, to use vaccines, we might invest less in vaccines,” said Mr Bancel.

“We have to invest where there’s a demand for our products.”

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The UK presents other attractions for the company which has suffered substantial losses as demand for its COVID vaccine has fallen.

It’s betting that leading UK universities and a large patient population will make for successful clinical trials.

The company has ongoing NHS trials of new jabs against seasonal flu, a combination COVID and flu vaccine, cancer vaccines and mRNA therapies for two inherited childhood diseases.

Moderna says it is now the largest private commercial sponsor of clinical trials in the UK.

A shoplifter has been jailed and banned from every Boots store after stealing £107,000 worth of goods from the high street chain.

Liam Hutchinson, 32, of no fixed address, was sentenced to a year in prison at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

He was also issued with a criminal behaviour order, banning him from every Boots store in the UK for 10 years – and the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea for five years.

Metropolitan Police detectives trawled through hours of CCTV footage to find that Hutchinson had committed 99 shoplifting offences at Boots stores in the borough between May and August 2025.

Often stealing large quantities of razors and electrical items, his crimes cost the retailer £107,000 in revenue, Sergeant Jack Vine, of the Met’s volume crime team said.

“We recognised the impact Hutchinson’s actions were having on the retailer, and through working with staff, we built a strong case of evidence against him, which has been reflected in his sentencing,” he added.

“This result should act as a warning that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated, and that we will come down hard on those who show a complete disregard for the law, terrorise retail workers and cost businesses thousands of pounds.”

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Nicky Harrop, head of security, fraud, and contract management at Boots, said the company have been investing “significantly” in anti-theft measures to make sure stores “remain a safe and respectful environment” for customers and staff.

The Met says it is prioritising shoplifting, having solved 163% more cases in London compared to the same time last year.

It is also dedicating up to 80 additional officers across London’s West End, with 90 more in high-risk theft areas.

Sky News has reached a multi-year deal with one of the most influential US news networks, which will see it pay for use of its cross-platform coverage. 

The channel’s live broadcasts, TV packages and online journalism are to be used by MSNBC as part of a commercial agreement, the details of which were not disclosed.

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All Sky News’ British and foreign TV coverage is included in the agreement, which will begin on 1 October, further bringing the reporting to a US audience.

MSNBC will have no role in the commissioning of Sky coverage, and no MSNBC programming will be taken by Sky News, as part of the arrangement.

MSNBC is building up its operations ahead of its planned spin-off from NBC News and parent company Comcast.

The new, separated entity will be named Versant and be a public company with shares traded on a stock exchange.

Comcast is also the parent company of Sky News. Sky’s relationship with its sister news organisation NBC will be unaffected by the deal.

More than 500 journalists work for Sky News from 11 bureaus, including Moscow, Beijing, Jerusalem, and Johannesburg.

MSNBC is a major cable news network, watched by an average of 1.2 million viewers a day, so far this year, with its average viewer watching for more than eight hours a week.

Its YouTube and TikTok channels have more than 6.2 billion views combined so far this year.

“In this moment of consequential and historic news events happening around the world that are rapidly reshaping our collective future, we are honoured to bring Sky News’ premium, on-the-ground reporting and roster of top journalists to the MSNBC community,” said MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler.