Innovate UK has joined forces with the UK Government to support the UK's medicines manufacturing sector.
Together, they will help companies and institutions to develop technologies to optimise production efficiency, minimise waste and enhance process sustainability.
To achieve this, the duo chosen to allocate grants to research and manufacturing bodies focused on green chemistry, circularity, productivity and resource efficiency.
Many projects awarded grants by Innovate UK were in the biopharmaceutical category — with AAV gene therapy manufacturing, GLP-1 agonist, bioprocessing and RNA vaccine-focused initiatives receiving grants of up to GBP £1.45m.
However, there are some projects that centre around small molecule API manufacturing, AI implementation, as well as process analytical technology (PAT).
“These collaborations are pivotal to improving the way we make medicines for patients and citizens," notes Dr Stella Peace, Interim Executive Chair at Innovate UK. "Producing medicines more sustainably and efficiently is the right thing to do today and for the future generation."
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."
"By reducing waste and increasing efficiency, we can help ensure that British life science businesses remain competitive," he added.
"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," said Karin Smyth, Minister of State at DHSC.