Small test tube rack labelled ‘Rack to the Future’ from the Jenner Institute, Oxford, no maker marked, used during the early development for the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

Scientists including Professors Sarah Gilbert and Tess Lambe based at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, led the design and development of Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine. Once the genetic code of COVID-19 was released on 12 January 2020, scientists including Sarah Gilbert, Professor Vaccinology, at the University of Oxford, immediately set to work, on designing a vaccine. On the 6th of March 2020, the Production Team started small-scale manufacture of the Oxford team’s vaccine known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. After several stages of cell growth, harvesting and purification the first vials were filled on 2nd April 2020. After rigorous checks, the first volunteers were injected with the vaccine on 23 April 2020. On 30 April 2020, Oxford University signed a deal with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to mass-produce the vaccine. This included a clause that no profit would be made from providing the vaccine to low-income countries. Large scale clinical trials followed before the vaccine was approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on 30th December 2020. 5 days later, Brian Pinker was the first person to receive a dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. Over 3 billion doses have been delivered worldwide.

Founded in 2005, the Jenner Institute, named after Edward Jenner who developed a smallpox vaccine, focuses on designing, testing and manufacturing vaccines for global diseases, including those that might cause a pandemic.