CPI partners in £44.9 million R&D projects to transform sustainable medicines manufacturing

The Innovate UK Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme (SMMIP) has awarded funding for 8 innovative R&D projects to accelerate the development of technologies that make medicines manufacturing cleaner, smarter and more sustainable. CPI is a partner in 5 of these projects, which together have been awarded £35.3 million in government funding. 

Working at the interface between research and industry, CPI will help translate early-stage innovations into scalable, sustainable manufacturing solutions. These industry-led projects will accelerate the adoption of technologies that improve sustainability, efficiency and resilience across UK medicines manufacturing. They form part of a wider national effort to modernise medicines production and strengthen the UK’s life sciences sector. 

The funded projects span sustainable materials, digital manufacturing, automation and circular-economy innovation, all aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of medicines manufacturing while improving resilience and efficiency. They will help to ensure the sector is well-positioned to meet the growing demands of future healthcare systems and align with NHS climate targets. 

CPI is partnering in the following 5 projects: 

• Environmental Peptide Production (led by Origin Peptides Limited) – Developing a commercially ready peptide manufacturing system using novel peptide synthesis technologies to make life-saving medicines while reducing environmental impact and cost. 

• Circularity and Sustainability in Volatile Anaesthetics (led by SageTech Medical Equipment) – Optimising and scaling the capture, recovery and remanufacture of volatile anaesthetics, which are responsible for around 4 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions each year. 

• A Sustainable Future Factory (led by AstraZeneca UK Limited) – Integrating robotics, automation, AI and data-driven approaches into next-generation medicines manufacturing processes to enable sustainable, future-ready factories. 

• Beyond single-use plastics: processing innovation driving sustainable pharmaceutical packaging (SusPack; led by the National Physical Laboratory) – Advancing innovative, circular and sustainable solutions to meet low-carbon recycling and waste-reduction targets in primary and secondary pharmaceutical packaging. 

• InSPIREmed – Integrated Spectroscopy and Photonics for Increased Productivity and Resource Efficiency in Medicines Manufacture (led by Fraunhofer UK Research Limited) – Delivering and implementing advanced photonic sensing across multiple stages of medicines manufacturing to reduce waste and energy consumption, while increasing process yields. 

Frank Millar, CEO of CPI, said:

“Sustainability in medicines manufacturing is vital to maintain leadership in the UK life sciences sector, enabling it to decarbonise and utilise more sustainable technologies. 

“These collaborations bring together the expertise, scale-up capability and cross-sector partnerships needed to reduce waste and emissions while supporting UK exports and economic growth. We’re proud to be working with partners in 5 projects at the heart of this national effort to build a more sustainable and productive future for the UK pharmaceutical sector.” 

By enabling greener production routes, smarter factory design and more circular use of materials, these collaborations will help shape a sustainable, resilient and globally competitive future for UK medicines manufacturing.

Contact us to explore how CPI can support your innovation through collaborative R&D or future funding opportunities or learn more about our work in sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing.