Supporting the COVID-19 pandemic response Establishing a new manufacturing innovation centre in Braintree Developing a COVID-19 vaccine product manufacturing site and a national advanced therapies asset. Read more Read more As part of the Vaccine Taskforce coordinated response across the UK for the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has invested £127m in grant funding to the CGT Catapult to establish a flexible facility to support national requirements for manufacture, and preparedness for possible future pandemics. Establishing a new manufacturing innovation centre in Braintree The initial focus of the Braintree facility is to support the COVID-19 response and subsequently to support manufacturing innovation technologies for advanced therapies. CGT Catapult has leveraged its expertise in setting up and running MHRA licensed facilities for manufacturing at large scale, and engaged with the broader industry, to develop a flexible infrastructure and expertise that will benefit the UK in the short and long term. Building on historic capabilities already present on site including skilled workforce and specialised manufacturing space, the site is due to be fully operational by December 2021. Collaboration within the Catapult Network enables best use of equipment and rapid project set-up Shortly after the Braintree site was acquired, it was identified that some state-of-the-art equipment scheduled for removal could be utilised for a new initiative at the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), an independent organisation that translates research into successfully marketed products and a founding member of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. By identifying how the equipment could be repurposed through the strong connections in the Catapult Network, CGT Catapult and CPI were able to embark on an equipment transfer that enabled these assets to be retained and rapidly deployed for industry, adding value and minimising waste.