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Teesside University’s National Horizons Centre (NHC) has been identified as a preferred bidder as a National Training Centre to deliver cutting-edge training in cell and gene therapy and vaccine manufacturing.

The selection of the NHC as a National Training Centre for the Advanced Therapies Skills Training Network (ATSTN) further cements the Tees Valley’s growing reputation as a global hub for the bioscience sector.

Alongside RoslinCT in Edinburgh and the University of Birmingham, the NHC is one of three preferred bidders for National Training Centres which will deliver high impact physical and digitally-delivered training courses as part of the growing ATSTN programme.

The NHC, which is based at Teesside University’s Darlington campus at Central Park, opened in 2019 to deliver research, education and collaboration to help grow the UK’s bioscience sector.

ATSTN is a nationwide skills development programme driven by industry and coordinated by the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, funded by £4.7m as part of the Government’s commitment to expand the UK’s expertise in advanced therapies and vaccine manufacturing.

A core aim of the ATSTN is to develop a coordinated network of National Training Centres to deliver specialist on-site courses, including innovative digital training utilising virtual reality, providing learners with the hands-on expertise and experience to succeed in the advanced therapies and vaccine manufacturing sector.

Dr Jen Vanderhoven, Director of the National Horizons Centre, said:

“Collaboration is the key to success, and I am delighted that the NHC has been chosen as one of the national ATSTN centres to provide the vital training of the future advanced therapies and vaccines workforce.

“The NHC, with its leading expertise and state of the art bioprocessing and virtual reality capabilities, is perfectly positioned to up-skill and cross-skill hundreds of people in the coming months.

“We will deliver the necessary technical hands-on training to create the workforce needed to manufacture vaccines and advanced therapies, to overcome COVID-19 and any future pandemics and diseases.

“We look forward to collaboratively working with the other centres and the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, to create a truly world-class offering that puts the UK at the forefront of ATMP (advanced therapy medicinal products) and vaccine manufacturing.”

Matthew Durdy, Chief Executive Officer at Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, said:

“We are looking forward to collaborating with the National Horizons Centre which will bring its expertise, industry-leading bioprocessing and virtual reality capabilities to this programme.

“This is a significant step in driving the effective development and rollout of state-of-the-art and impactful training courses which can rapidly upskill and attract talent within the advanced therapies and vaccine manufacturing industry.

“The involvement of the National Horizons Centre will enable the ATSTN to provide users with a wide variety of exciting training resources which are at the forefront of innovation. I look forward to witnessing the impact which the NHC will make as part of this valued collaboration over the years to come.”

For more information on the NHC visit the website.