New Innovation Center in Scotland Aims to Revolutionize Medicines Manufacturing

A new £56-million (US$74-million) innovation center to be located in Renfrewshire, Scotland will revolutionize how medicines are manufactured. The new industry-led Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Center (MMIC) will offer a unique service to develop and implement novel manufacturing techniques. The aim is to help pharmaceutical companies from start-ups to multinational organizations transform their processes and technologies so that new drugs can be brought to market safely and quickly.

The pharmaceutical sector in Scotland employs 5000 people directly and supports a further 16,500 jobs. Supported by Scottish Enterprise (£15 million, US$20 million), UK Research and Innovation, through Innovate UK (£13 million, US$17 million), GSK and AstraZeneca (£7 million, US$9 million each), the MMIC is one of the earliest projects across the UK to receive funding from the UK’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. The new center will be positioned next to the £65-million (US$86-million) National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland (NMIS) and at the heart of an Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District. 

The MMIC aims to attract more than £80 million (US$105 million) 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. Indirect employment will be generated through start-ups, small and medium enterprises, and large companies that will grow their businesses using the transformative manufacturing technologies developed within the MMIC.

“Scottish Enterprise, on behalf of Scottish Ministers, is investing £15 million (US$20 million) 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 £8 billion (US$11 billion) by 2025,” said Paul Wheelhouse, Scottish government minister for Business, Innovation, and Energy, in a press statement. 

“We need more new medicines to tackle deadly diseases more quickly and, through our modern Industrial Strategy, we want to see more of this world-leading research and manufacture done here in the UK, bringing highly skills jobs and greater prosperity with it,” noted UK government minister, Lord Duncan. 

Linda Hanna, managing director at Scottish Enterprise, said “We are delighted to welcome the new MMIC to Scotland. Industry leadership and co-investment has been central to shaping this center and will remain at the heart of what makes it a success, providing a platform for companies right across the UK to collaborate, innovate, and develop world-leading medicine manufacturing processes and technologies.”

“This is a fantastic investment for the UK, and especially for Scotland, as we look to place cutting-edge innovation at the heart of tackling some of society’s greatest 21^stcentury challenges,” commented Ian Campbell, Innovate UK interim executive chair. “Our job at Innovate UK, working within the UK Research and Innovation family, is to help good ideas become great businesses delivering products and services which change lives for the better. The new MMIC promises to enhance Scotland’s reputation as a trusted center for high value manufacturing, while transforming the UK’s standing within the global pharmaceutical industry.”

The MMIC will be led by the Center for Process Innovation (CPI) in partnership with the University of Strathclyde’s Center for Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallization (CMAC) and the Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership (MMIP).

Source: Scottish Enterprise