UK RPIF Net Zero: Towards Net Zero Medicines Development and Manufacturing

Funding Announcement

CMAC are delighted to announce a £2.5M capital award jointly from Research England, UKRI and the Scottish Funding Council, to deliver a new UK research partnership investment fund (UK RPIF) Net Zero pilot: Towards Net Zero Medicines Development and Manufacturing.

This capital award will support CMAC’s 2021-26 Strategy and our commitment to developing sustainable processes and technologies for future medicines manufacturing. This exciting pilot will help transform our existing UKRPIF national facility in the Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) at the University of Strathclyde into a sustainable, digitalised ‘Lab of the Future’ for medicines manufacturing research, training and translation.

The investment will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 50% across a range of sources and enable the adoption of more sustainable approaches in our labs.

The award will allow us to work with our industrial (AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Lilly, Roche, Takeda, UCB, Chiesi), translational (CPI) and international (Universities of Copenhagen and Ghent) partners to:

  •  reduce energy consumption through energy efficient infrastructure and equipment

  • reduce chemical waste using smart, intelligent, small scale experimental platforms

  • reduce emissions from travel using the latest immersive digital tools to enhance collaboration

This multi-faceted net zero approach will establish a beacon for medicines manufacturing sustainability.

Prof Alastair Florence, CMAC Director and PI on the RPIF Net Zero Pilot said: “In the face of climate crisis it is vital that we minimise the impact of research on the environment and promote awareness and best practice across our programme and partners. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to further embed sustainable principles in our world class research infrastructure and to invest in a suite of innovative technologies to accelerate our collaborative medicines manufacturing research portfolio. This holistic approach will showcase the potential to significantly reduce our emissions in line with Strathclyde’s strategic commitment to be net zero carbon emissions by 2040.”

 

For more information and to find out how to engage with the centre, please contact Prof Alastair Florence: alastair.florence@strath.ac.uk.

AnnouncementScott HoneEPSRC, UKRPIF, Net Zero, CMAC, Medicines Manufacturing