The construction deal is understood to be worth around £30m for the Moderna Innovation and Technology centre (MITC) at the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire.

The MITC development will encompass a research, development and manufacturing facility, providing the UK public with access to cutting-edge vaccines for a wide range of respiratory diseases.

The new facility will also include a clinical biomarker laboratory -a prefabricated modular laboratory constructed in Northumberland which will then be installed on the campus by specialist Merit.

Construction will begin this year, with the facility expected to become operational in 2025.

Eddie McGillycuddy, Glencar CEO said: “Having successfully delivered a large pharmaceutical project in the region and established an office within the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, we are absolutely delighted to now be delivering this pioneering research and development facility.

“Life science and pharmaceutical projects are complex, controlled environments that require significant design and engineering ability to ensure they delivered correctly.

“We have expanded our specialist team to push forward and make these facilities a cornerstone of our continued growth in the coming years.

“We very much look forward to working with the team at Harwell, Moderna and Merit to develop this important new facility and the further expansion of the thriving health tech cluster at Harwell”.

Darius Hughes, UK General Manager at Moderna, said: “We are delighted to reach this important milestone with Harwell and our lab build partners, Merit and building contractors Glencar.

“We look forward to joining the Harwell Campus health tech cluster and contributing to the UK’s science and innovation community through investments in R&D.

“When constructed, our facility at Harwell will harness mRNA science to develop and deliver tailored, innovative vaccines to the UK public that address particular threats from respiratory viruses facing our population.”