First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited Livingston’s Valneva plant to praise staff for their hard work in producing its Covid-19 vaccine.
Last year the UK Government announced it was pulling its investment and support for the site before Scottish Ministers stepped in to award a £20million grant.
During her tour, the First Minister also visited Valneva’s new state-of-the-art large-scale vaccine manufacturing plant, which is currently being operationalized to boost existing production capacity and create critical national infrastructure.
The company announced that it had been awarded research and development funding by Scottish Enterprise, worth up to £20 million over three years, which will benefit its Livingston site including this new facility by supporting research and development connected to manufacturing processes and related clinical development.
Thomas Lingelbach, Chief Executive Officer of Valneva, said “It has been a pleasure to welcome the First Minister to our Livingston site today. Livingston is a central asset in Valneva’s manufacturing infrastructure and it has been heartwarming to hear how highly our site and our staff are regarded by the Scottish Government too – confirming Valneva’s place at the forefront of vaccine development in Scotland.
“We remain incredibly grateful to the Government and to Scottish Enterprise for their support, including the recent investment which will help safeguard jobs by supporting the manufacture of new vaccines here, such as VLA2001.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, said: “Valneva is a valued contributor to our life sciences sector and the Livingston facility is an important asset, supporting high quality jobs. The funding announced earlier this year will support the development and manufacturing of vaccines for the prevention and treatment of several infectious diseases.
“It is important to recognise the hard work of staff throughout the pandemic, and I look forward to seeing the continued development of Valneva’s operations here in Scotland.”
The First Minister visited the site on Monday alongside local MP Hannah Bardell and MSP Angela Constance and Scottish Government Minister for Trade Ivan McKee MSP.
Commenting on the visit, Hannah Bardell MP for the Livingston Constituency said: “The jobs, the work and the innovation are critical to Livingston and Scotland.
“Valneva’s whole inactivated vaccine not only has the potential to produce a broader immune response and be more effective, but unlike other Covid 19 Vaccines it can be transported at normal refrigerated temperatures, making it ideal for harder to reach parts of the world.”
Angela Constance MSP for the Almond Valley added: “It was great to see the First Minister visiting Valneva and taking the time to thank the workforce for their life improving and life saving work.
“Life science companies like Valneva bring much needed high quality jobs to the local economy and are at the vanguard of the fight against covid but also other life limiting conditions such as Lyme disease.”
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