Public Health England - Vaccine Testing Facility

T-SQUARED is delighted to have been selected by Public Health England to design, construct and validate this strategically important facility at Porton Down.

Following a fully integrated in-house design phase with the end-user and PHE Facilities team, the design, construct and validate project will be delivered using a combination of fast-track construction methods and off-site manufacturing to minimise the project timescales.

It comes as the government is investing £19.7million in Public Health England (PHE) to scale up its capabilities in testing blood samples from clinical trials. The investment will fund vital equipment and a new, state-of-the-art laboratory facility at PHE Porton Down – this will accelerate essential testing to measure the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines currently in development.

These tests are an essential component in supporting the development and regulatory approval of vaccine candidates. The new investment will enable PHE Porton Down scientists to increase testing capacity, including evaluating individuals’ immune responses as part of the Human Challenge project.

Innovation Minister Lord Bethell said: “This investment into new facilities at PHE Porton Down will enable its dedicated and expert scientists to accelerate the pace and scale of specialised testing to support the critical work of the Vaccine Taskforce.”

Head of Vaccine Research Projects at PHE Porton Down, Bassam Hallis said: “This investment will accelerate the development of potentially life-saving vaccines to help get them to the public more quickly.”

We are delighted to announce the completion of this new Vaccine Testing Facility at Porton Down. This new, state-of-the-art laboratory facility will accelerate essential testing to measure the effectiveness of vaccines currently in development.

Mark Graham - Lead Project Manager - Vaccines TaskForce at Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) states:

“On behalf of the VTF, can you please pass on massive congratulations to the Porton Down and T-SQUARED teams on completing the fit-out of VTF A ahead of schedule. The programme was extremely challenging in terms of its pace and complexity, so it has been remarkable to see how everyone has risen to the challenge to construct a key asset in the UK's ability to develop Vaccines at pace. It has been a real pleasure to have witnessed first-hand the interaction between teams, and the joint focus on quality outcomes that has delivered a fantastic facility nine weeks ahead of schedule. Well done everyone.”