About
MediForge will research and develop new innovations to overcome the limitations of traditional Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Control (CMC) development processes which can be costly, time consuming and inflexible. In a time when the pharmaceutical industry faces significant challenges such as an aging population, rising costs, fragile global supply chains and the impacts of climate change, there is a critical need for a transformative approach to CMC.
Drivers
Meet the demand for affordable sustainable healthcare
Accelerate patient access to new medicines
Assure the resilient supply of quality medicines
Address the climate crisis and reach net zero goals
Enable the workforce of the future
The MediForge framework
The research will be delivered through five research platforms, focusing on creating a system of cyber-physical platforms that integrate scale-down processes with various technologies like AI, robotics, and smart sensors. The programme will embed sustainability goals to address the environmental impact of medicines manufacturing and operations.
Platform 1 - Learn
MediForge will achieve a step change in understanding across the medicines manufacturing value change from synthesis to formulated drug product.
We will create an ecosystem of networked systems known as a Cyber Physical Research Infrastructure (CPRI) and data fabric that links material properties, process settings and final product attributes, and advanced system-wide models to inform a real-time digital twin of the entire manufacturing process.
Platform 2 - Model
We will develop a new system-level manufacturing knowledge model for Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) with a real-time digital twin to model, optimise, and accelerate end-to-end process selection and design.
This will drive smarter, data-driven insights that will enable the design of new manufacturing routes, optimising quality and achieving environmental targets.
Platform 3 - Make
We will develop an integrated, compact, and resource-efficient end-to-end customizable manufacturing research test bed. This platform will bridge and translate the outputs from Platforms 1 and 2, ensuring the validation of quality, sustainability, and resilience in adaptive processes and control strategies.
Platform 4 - Adapt
By integrating the Learn, Model, and Make Platforms we will establish a Living Lab environment. This open innovation ecosystem will enable collaboration among researchers, industry partners, healthcare providers, and regulatory bodies to co-create, test, validate, and scale up innovative medicine manufacturing processes, technologies, and products.
We will foster a diverse and inclusive interdisciplinary team, including postdoctoral researchers, PhD students and industry and project partners.
Platform 5 - Global hub
The MediForge programme will provide international leadership in the research, development, and innovation community for Industry 5.0 medicines manufacturing. Its core mission is to drive the adoption of digital transformation in Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) procedures within the industry.
At the heart of MediForge is a commitment to leading the digital transformation of CMC procedures to ensure sustainable medicines manufacturing.
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Funders and partners
MediForge, is a seven-year, £11m programme funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), a division of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), through their Manufacturing Hubs for a Sustainable Future Call 2.
The programme been co-created in collaboration with partners at the Glasgow School of Art, Imperial College London, University of Leeds, University of Sheffield and the University of Strathclyde. It is also supported by a global consortium of industry partners including Applied Materials, AstraZeneca, Bruker, Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC), Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), Chiesi, Clairet Scientific Ltd., DigiM, Lilly, M-Star Simulators, National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, Siemens, Takeda, Technobis, UCB, and ULab.
