A sustainable future factory

In response to the growing need for sustainable practices in pharmaceutical manufacturing, our project aims to transform the industry by incorporating cutting-edge technology and data-driven approaches to create eco-friendly factories for the future. Our vision is to revolutionise pharmaceutical manufacturing by integrating robotics and automation, along with advanced data science and artificial intelligence (AI) approaches. This initiative seeks to develop next-generation manufacturing methods and improve downstream processing to promote circularity in the industry, ultimately reducing environmental impact and meeting the demand for innovative and sustainable practices.

The pharmaceutical industry has been slower to adopt robotics and automation compared to other sectors. Our goal is to change this by increasing the use of collaborative robots (cobots) and automation in both our research and development labs and manufacturing facilities. By integrating robotics, we will enhance precision and efficiency, leading to reduced energy consumption and waste compared to traditional methods. Additionally, we plan to develop self-optimising reactors using data-driven insights to facilitate rapid scale-up, reducing material and time requirements for process development.

In addition to robotics and automation, our project will focus on advancing next-generation pharmaceutical manufacturing techniques. Continuous processing methods offer sustainability benefits, and we aim to overcome associated challenges by developing new reactor types that can accommodate a wider range of drug substance and product processes. This will include downstream processes for continuous purification and waste management, including the exploration of advanced technologies such as membrane-based systems to minimise waste and energy consumption while ensuring the efficient extraction of high-quality pharmaceutical products from complex mixtures.

Our future factory will use data-driven approaches and AI based on comprehensive data collection through Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) and analytical science to reduce our environmental impact, improve efficiency, and increase automation in manufacturing. This means creating predictive models to optimise production planning, enhance quality control, and carry out maintenance before issues arise. Putting data at the heart of our future factory allows us to continuously monitor and improve processes, ensuring the best production results and efficient use of resources.

We are collaborating with large pharmaceutical companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, and academic institutions, all of which possess the necessary expertise to deliver groundbreaking technologies. Together, we aim to ensure that the outputs of this project are adopted across the medicines manufacturing sector, thereby reducing emissions and minimising waste.