The University of Strathclyde is a strategic partner in a new £56m UK innovation centre, which helps pharma companies to develop and adopt novel manufacturing techniques.
The world-first, industry-led Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC) will offer pharma companies, from start-ups through to multinational organisations, a service to develop and adopt novel manufacturing techniques to adapt into their own manufacturing processes.
The centre, to be located in Renfrewshire, is to be led by the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), in partnership with Strathclyde, the Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership (MMIP), and founding industry partners, AstraZeneca and GSK.
Protecting future generations by bringing new medicines to market safely and quickly is one of the biggest health challenges facing the world today. By transforming processes and technologies, the speed of bringing new drugs to market could improve dramatically.
Up to 90 jobs will be created
The new centre will be positioned next to the £65m National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland (NMIS), of which Strathclyde is the anchor university, and at the heart of an Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District.
The MMIC aims to attract over £80m of R&D investment by 2028 and will create 80 high value jobs directly by 2023. Up to 90 jobs will also be created or retained in companies involved in the design and build phase and post-construction.
The MMIC will also translate to industry the output of the EPSRC Centre for Continuous Manufacturing and Advanced Crystallisation. Led by the University of Strathclyde, this is a UK-wide consortium, which accelerates progress in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Strathclyde Principal professor Sir Jim McDonald said: “Strathclyde has earned an international reputation for research and innovation that accelerates and enhances the manufacturing of medicines and pharmaceuticals.
“As strategic partners in MMIC, we will have an enhanced role in supporting industry to deliver urgently-needed medicines both swiftly and effectively.”
Scottish government minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, Paul Wheelhouse, said: “Scottish Enterprise, on behalf of Scottish Ministers, is investing £15m in the MMIC helping to fulfil the vision of Scotland’s Life Sciences Strategy.
“This will help to make Scotland the location of choice for the life sciences community and help us grow the industry’s contribution to the Scottish Economy by 90%, to £8bn by 2025.
“As well as helping to attract further manufacturing investment to Scotland, the Centre will also be well placed to support new business start-ups and spin-outs and enable established life and chemical science companies to profit from innovation.
“Whilst the Centre will be located within the Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation District in Renfrewshire, alongside the National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland, we are taking a range of steps to ensure that the Sector across the whole of Scotland is able to benefit from the project.”
UK government minister, Lord Duncan, parliamentary under secretary of State for Scotland, said: “The UK government has provided significant backing to this project, with UK Research and Innovation investing £13m through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.”
With a global market worth £98bn, the investment will help put the UK, and Scotland, at the forefront of technology and innovation in small molecule pharmaceutical and fine chemical manufacturing, which accounts for the majority of new medicine manufacturing. The pharmaceutical sector in Scotland employs 5000 people directly and supports a further 16,500 jobs.
Supported by Scottish Enterprise (£15m), UK Research and Innovation, through Innovate UK (£13m) GSK and AstraZeneca (£7m each), the MMIC is one of the first projects across the UK to receive funding from the UK’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
The Manufacturer – Manufacturing Innovation Summit 2018
On 20 June 2018, Exhibition Centre Liverpool
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