United Kingdom - November 18, 2025: The Innovate UK Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme (SMMIP) has announced funding for eight pioneering R&D initiatives designed to push forward cleaner, more intelligent, and more sustainable approaches to medicines production. CPI is contributing to five of these projects, which together have secured £35.3 million in government investment.

Positioned at the crucial intersection of science and industry, CPI will play a key role in transforming early-stage research into scalable and sustainable manufacturing solutions. These industry-led projects aim to accelerate the implementation of technologies that enhance efficiency, resilience, and environmental performance across the UK’s medicines manufacturing ecosystem. Collectively, they support the broader national mission to modernise pharmaceutical production and reinforce the strength of the UK life sciences sector.

The selected initiatives cover a wide spectrum of innovation, ranging from sustainable materials and automation to digital manufacturing and circular-economy technologies. Each project is designed to reduce the environmental impact of drug production, improve operational efficiency, and ensure the sector remains aligned with NHS climate objectives and future healthcare demands.

CPI is directly partnering in the following five government-funded projects:

  • Environmental Peptide Production (Origin Peptides Limited), creating a commercially viable peptide manufacturing platform using new synthesis technologies to reduce environmental impact and cost while supporting the production of life-saving therapeutics.
  • Circularity and Sustainability in Volatile Anaesthetics (SageTech Medical Equipment), scaling and optimising technology for capturing, recovering, and reusing volatile anaesthetics, a major source of approximately 4 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions each year.
  • A Sustainable Future Factory (AstraZeneca UK Limited), bringing together robotics, automation, AI, and data-driven systems to support the next generation of sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities.
  • Beyond Single-Use Plastics: Processing Innovation Driving Sustainable Pharmaceutical Packaging (SusPack; National Physical Laboratory), developing circular and low-carbon packaging solutions to meet recycling and waste-reduction targets across primary and secondary pharmaceutical packaging.
  • InSPIREmed – Integrated Spectroscopy and Photonics for Increased Productivity and Resource Efficiency in Medicines Manufacture (Fraunhofer

UK Research Limited), implementing advanced photonic sensing technologies to reduce energy consumption and waste while enhancing yields across various stages of drug manufacturing.

In the official press release by CPI, 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 supporting advances in greener production methods, next-generation digital factories, and circular material systems, these collaborations position the UK to lead the global transition toward a sustainable, resilient, and competitive medicines manufacturing landscape.