BioNTech, a biopharmaceutical company that had a huge roll in the COVID-19 vaccine, has commitment up to £1 billion investment in the UK over the decade. As part of the agreement, the government will contribute up to £129 million in grant funding over a period of ten years.

This investment will see BioNTech create new research and development hubs, the first of which to be in Cambridge, as well as an AI hub to be based at BioNTech’s planned UK headquarters in London. This hub will enable medical research, using AI, including looking into understanding disease causes, drug target selection and predictive analytics.

Over the next ten years, these are expected to create more than 400 new highly skilled jobs, such as researchers in clinical and scientific drug development and bioinformatics.

Research by the Academy of Medical Sciences has found that every £1 spend on medical research delivers a return of 25p, every year, forever after that, meaning that there will be huge long-term economic gains to BioNTech’s investment.

This is one of the biggest investments in the history of UK life sciences, all as part of the government’s mission to boost economic growth across the country, including the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor.

Science and technology secretary Peter Kyle said: “This investment will propel the growth-dividing life sciences sector to new heights, delivering cutting-edge facilities, building careers in the future-facing jobs we want our children to have, and ultimately unlocking progress in medical science that could save lives.

“This is a clear indication of how we will deliver the government’s Plan for Change: working together with the best and brightest businesses and innovators to unlock their potential, and then reap the benefits for the economy, health and more that their drive and genius can deliver.