THE fight against some of the world’s most deadly diseases was given a boost with the opening of a new purpose-built vaccine research centre.

The Jenner Institute Laboratories will house researchers developing vaccines against some of the most important diseases worldwide, such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and bird flu.

The director, Prof Adrian Hill, said: “‘The new state-of-the-art laboratories will support world-leading vaccine research and development at Oxford University.

“With the concentration of researchers we have here, coupled with these excellent new facilities, we are well placed to take the challenge of developing vaccines against some of the world’s most devastating infectious diseases.”

The £5m facilities at the Old Road Campus Research Building in Headington were opened by Dr Tadataka Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation’s global health programme.

The Jenner Institute is a partnership between Oxford University, whose research focuses on human vaccines, and the UK Institute for Animal Health (IAH), which develops vaccines for animal and livestock diseases.

The opening was attended by funding agencies and public and private-sector vaccine developers, and marked the completion of a £20m investment at the Old Road and Churchill Hospital site since the opening of the Centre for Clinical Vaccinology and Tropical Medicine in 2003.

The new labs were built with support from the Jenner Vaccine Foundation, the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and the Wolfson Foundation.

It is one of the largest non-profit organisations engaged in vaccine research and development globally and brings scientists working in basic sciences such as immunology and genetics together with those involved in the clinical development of vaccines to the point where they are ready to be commercialised.

Prof Alastair Buchan, head of medical sciences at Oxford University, said: “Immunology and vaccine research are among Oxford’s great strengths.

“I am delighted these new laboratories are now complete.

“They highlight the leading role vaccine development plays in the division’s strategy to enable the translation of excellent basic research into life-saving medicines.”