The Prime Minister established the UK Vaccine Network in June 2015 to ensure that the UK was at the forefront of the global fight against future disease outbreaks. The UK Vaccine Network has identified a range of human diseases with epidemic potential in low and middle income countries (LMICs) for which the development of Vaccine Products is a priority. The UKVN also advised that research to improve vaccine manufacturing should be a priority. The Department of Health and Social Care collaborated with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (a non-departmental public body principally funded through the Science Budget by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) to run the Future Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub competition. The competition was open to all eligible research organisations that could demonstrate that their work would contribute towards Vaccine Manufacturing Research specifically for the benefit of LMICs. £17million of funding was made available to EPSRC to fund two successful projects. This funding was provided under the provisions of the International Development Act 2002.

This funding supports two projects which seek to: develop tools and technologies that allow for easier and quicker manufacturing of vaccines in emergencies, redesign existing vaccines to make them cheaper and easier to manufacture and easier to deliver in low and middle income countries (LMIC) settings and to provide bespoke support for researchers developing vaccines for diseases with epidemic potential, so that the vaccines they are developing are as rapid and cost-effective to manufacture as possible. The projects are expected to collaborate with LMIC researchers and industry to support this work.

Populations of the low and middle income countries where outbreaks of the UK Vaccine Network 12 priority pathogens occur.