UK needs RNA workforce “fit for the future”

A report produced by the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), alongside CDMO FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, has acknowledged “significant” gaps in the UK skills and workforce for RNA therapeutics. 

The future workforce could require “at least 150 future capabilities to meet RNA vaccine and treatment demand”, according to the report. 

To support the manufacturing of RNA medicines, these capabilities include development of new equipment and reagents to increase efficiencies, the report stated. It also identified the need to enhance technical and digital capabilities to scale up manufacturing. 

Industry partnerships with educational institutions were recommended to facilitate “appropriate education and training provisions” to help address the skills gap.

“In the rapidly evolving landscape of medicine manufacturing, it is imperative that we equip our workforce with the necessary skills to enable the industry to adopt and exploit innovative technologies in response to global, national, and sector challenges,” Jonathan Haigh, UK Site Head at FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies remarked.

“This report serves as a valuable tool in understanding the current skill sets within our sector. It provides the insight and recommendations required to enable the UK to adopt future skills for innovative technologies associated with the intensification of medicines manufacturing, including RNA therapeutics, to succeed in the dynamic global marketplace,” Haigh explained.

He shared that following opening of the CPI’s RNA centre (Sept 2023), the RNA Training Academy was launched “to help establish the UK’s capability in this emerging technology”.

Future of RNA medicine

CPI highlighted that worldwide, the market for RNA-based treatments is expected to value over $25 billion by the end of the decade. The future for RNA technologies seems to hold promise, the organisation noted. 

While “the UK invested heavily in RNA technologies during and following the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to do more to fully realise the potential these technologies could have,” Brendan Fish, Director of Biologics and RNA Centre of Excellence at CPI commented on the report’s findings, which found that the UK is now at risk of lagging behind other nations.

“…We also need to harness this technology to provide answers to some of the biggest challenges we face, with RNA showing potential to treat other severe conditions such as cancer,” Fish added. Overall, he urged that the country needs a workforce that is “fit for the future”.