The projects form part of the Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme (SMMIP), delivered in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care.
SMMIP aims to transform the UK’s medicines manufacturing sector by driving innovation, adoption, investment and collaboration.
The programme will focus on developing disruptive technologies to optimise production efficiency, minimise waste and reduce emissions, aligning with global sustainability goals.
Collaboration for a sustainable future
The SMMIP is funded as part of the wider 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth Investment Programme.
It is a new joint government-industry programme to strengthen the UK’s global competitiveness in health and life sciences and drive innovation-led growth.
Enabled by up to £400 million of funding from scheme members, it is targeting investment across the UK, with initiatives in three focus areas:
- clinical trials
- health technology assessment
- manufacturing
Supporting innovation for greener medicines
Through this programme, two competitions have been delivered so far:
- the Grand Challenge: Expression of Interest (EOI)
- the Collaborative Research and Development (CR&D) competition
In total, 29 innovative projects have been awarded a combined total of over £14 million to support innovation in sustainable medicines manufacturing.
EOI competition
Innovate UK has awarded £1.3 million in seed funding to 15 projects through the EOI competition. This funding is designed to support consortium-building and the development of proposals for large-scale grand challenges in sustainable medicines manufacturing.
CR&D competition
Innovate UK has awarded £13 million to 14 transformative projects through the CR&D competition. These projects will focus on tackling environmental challenges in pharmaceutical production, including waste reduction, emissions control and energy efficiency.
Core pillars and critical enablers
Together, these projects align with the programme’s three core pillars:
- circularity: encouraging the reuse and recycling of materials within manufacturing processes
- green chemistry: developing processes that reduce the use of hazardous substances and minimise environmental impact
- productivity and resource efficiency: enhancing operational efficiency while reducing energy and resource use
As well as two critical enablers:
- regulation
- measurements, standards and data
Driving further progress
Science Minister, Lord Vallance said:
The UK’s life sciences sector has always been highly innovative, and with support like this we can help it drive further progress on sustainable manufacturing: just one of the ways in which this sector will play a valuable part in our Plan for Change. Reducing waste and increasing efficiency will also help ensure British life sciences businesses remain competitive, so this £108 billion sector continues to grow and create jobs.
Supporting our net zero goals
Health Minister, Karin Smyth said:
This £14 million investment demonstrates our commitment to ensuring the UK is at the forefront of sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Not only are we reducing the environmental impact of medicine production, but creating high-skilled jobs, driving economic growth, and strengthening Britain’s position as a life sciences powerhouse as part of our Plan for Change.
Through collaborations between industry, academia and our renowned research institutions, we are pioneering cleaner, more efficient ways to produce the medicines that millions rely on, while supporting our net zero goals.
The UK as a global leader in sustainable medicines
Dr Stella Peace, Interim Executive Chair at Innovate UK, said:
These collaborations are pivotal to improving the way we make medicines for patients and citizens.
Producing medicines more sustainably and efficiently is the right thing to do today and for the future generation.
By investing in cutting edge innovation we are continuing our commitment to maintaining the UK’s position as a global leader in sustainable medicines manufacturing, driving growth and making life better.
Building on the UK’s strengths
Joe Edwards, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry Director of UK Competitiveness and Devolved Nations, said:
In the face of fierce international competition for life science investment, the UK must work hard to stand out from the pack.
Building on the UK’s strengths in innovation and sustainable medicines manufacturing is a key part of this picture.
The projects announced today show the technological leadership the UK has, and the potential for economic growth if we can get the wider environment and incentives right.
Further information
CR&D competition winners
Bio2Amine-Fampridine: delivering sustainable small molecule API manufacturing
Led by HydRegen Ltd
Grant awarded: £617,622
The project will replace metal catalysts.
Antibodies unchained: cold-chain free and patient-friendly therapies
Led by Ensilicated Technologies Ltd
Grant awarded: £1,120,232
The project will use shells made of silica to make monoclonal antibody medicines room-temperature stable.
Solvent evaluation using a novel system for measuring thermal energy exchange: project SENSE (the LiquiSensor)
Led by Proxisense Ltd
Grant awarded: £551,638
The project will develop a robust and accurate for the in-line monitoring of solvents and reactions.
Nexus: intelligent manufacturing systems for sustainable bioprocessing
Led by Photocentric Ltd
Grant awarded: £1,403,927
The project will advance additive manufacturing of sustainable bioreactors for biopharma.
GalanCEAmine: sustainable galanthamine production from daffodils using controlled environment agriculture
Led by Grampian Growers Ltd
Grant awarded: £501,546
The project will optimise controlled environment agriculture for daffodil cultivation for Alzheimer’s treatment.
Building a sustainable platform for rAAV gene therapy manufacturing
Led by Plurify Ltd
Grant awarded: £553,831
The project will develop new technology to make gene therapy production more efficient and affordable.
The bio revolution for weight-loss drugs: enabling biomanufacturing of blockbuster GLP-1 agonists
Led by Constructive Biology Ltd
Grant awarded: £913,659
The project will transform traditional chemical therapeutic peptide synthesis.
Artificial intelligence-driven (AI) digital twin for enhancing productivity and resource efficiency in 3D-printed personalised pharmaceuticals
Led by Fabrx Ltd
Grant awarded: £588,493
The project will develop an AI-driven digital twin platform.
ZeroShotAPI: using zeroshot machine learning and an automated to derive universal chemical reaction condition parameters for active pharmaceutical ingredients
Led by Reactwise Technologies Ltd
Grant awarded: £1,180,658
The project will accelerate pharmaceutical process development.
SUMMIT: sustainable manufacture of macromolecular intracellular therapeutics
Led by Aqdot Ltd
Grant awarded: £1,455,644
The project will develop a sustainable, small-footprint facility to make RNA-based vaccines.
DigiCCAMMS: digital crystallisation control for advanced medicines manufacturing sustainability
Led by The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre
Grant awarded: £742,304
The project will create computational tools to predict drug particle shapes and properties.
Mastering the sustainability of scalable cell and gene therapy manufacturing
Led by Biologic Technologies Ltd
Grant awarded: £1,034,827
The project will deploy a smart platform for bioprocessing for end-to-end production.
Applying computer vision, machine learning and data analytics in the LumiMan system to maximise productivity and resource efficiency in sustainable medicines manufacturing
Led by Reach Industries Ltd
Grant awarded: £989,172
The project will use AI-powered visual intelligence and smart glasses to revolutionise medicine manufacturing.
Novel biocatalysts for sustainable manufacture of pharmaceuticals
Led by Erebagen Ltd
Grant awarded: £1,131,818
The project will harness bacterial enzymes to replace hazardous chemical manufacture.
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