Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre strategy launch

There is now, more than ever, a need to address global health challenges, equalise access to medication and streamline supply to patients. The Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre aims to contribute to this goal by rethinking current manufacturing processes and innovating new technologies that can quickly adapt to the changing needs of global populations.

Based in Renfrewshire, Scotland, the facility is a collaboration between industry, government, and academia that will develop, prove and commercialise disruptive technologies for the pharmaceutical industry. The partnership has now grown to over 20 organisations, including founding partners AstraZeneca, GSK, Scottish Enterprise, UK Research and Innovation, and the University of Strathclyde. 

Operating on a ​‘Grand Challenge’ model, the pharmaceutical industry and its supply chain will work together to identify and overcome major industry hurdles, aiming to reduce the time, resources and cost of medicines manufacturing to deliver benefits to patients. The Centre aims to become an international beacon for translating advanced technology in all areas of the pharmaceutical supply chain, across five key pillars of activity: 

1 – Commercialisation of advanced technologies

2 – Skills and capabilities

3 – Business growth

4 – Sustainable technology leadership 

5 – Collaborations and partnerships 

Through the sharing of ideas, risks and costs, pharmaceutical businesses will be able to develop, demonstrate and commercialise the next generation processes for medicines manufacturing. It will enable new advanced technologies to be proven at scale in a GMP-compliant environment accelerating the commercialisation of more agile and sustainable manufacturing processes within the medicines supply chain.

Dave Tudor, Managing Director of the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre, said: ​“We are proud of what has been achieved over the last two years. The initial technology innovations are on track, the facility design will be state of the art for pharmaceutical manufacturing and we are building a strong team. In developing this refreshed strategy, we have been driven by our ambition and commitment to help solve the challenges that the pharmaceutical industry faces now and in the future, including those that have become even more apparent and critical during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Frank Millar, CEO at CPI, said: ​“The Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre has a clear purpose to create a sustainable, competitive advantage in UK pharmaceutical manufacturing. By innovating in close partnership with industry, we will bring agile, scalable, and flexible manufacturing technologies to commercial reality. The productivity and sustainability gains we achieve will reduce the time and cost of pharmaceutical development, delivering greater benefit to patients. To enable this ambition, we have created a strong and flourishing partnership based on our shared commitment to deliver impact for society and the economy. We do this by joining up our world class research, development, and innovation capabilities and by working with our stakeholders to deliver results at pace.”