Government funding to help bring medicines to patients faster

Patients could soon receive essential medicines faster thanks to the adoption of new digital technologies within manufacturing.

A government funding boost of £4.3 million will help companies in Northumberland, Oxford and London adopt technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics to advance manufacturing methods for medicines.

It’s hoped that the technologies will help streamline the production of potentially life-saving medicines such as those used to treat blood cancers and inherited disorders. More so, investing in these types of technology sets the UK apart as a leader for the manufacture of safe and effective therapies.

In Northumberland, Arc Trinova will use new technologies to speed-up time consuming production processes of patient specific medicines.

Oxford Biomedica will look to dramatically reduce the supply time for manufacturing by using a new digital and robotics framework to increase capacity, reduce waste and cut costs.

In London, Autolus will look to avoid mix-ups of complex medicines on the supply chain by using a computer-based monitoring system.

Life sciences minister Lord Henley said: “New technology can help us live longer, healthier lives and the new projects announced today will improve the speed and accuracy with which medicines get to the people that need them. “Advances in technology can help us address the challenges that an ageing society presents and we are backing the technologies of tomorrow in our modern Industrial Strategy, with the biggest increase in public research and development investment in UK history.”

A separate investment of a further £3 million has also been awarded to support the work of Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres in rolling out new cell and gene therapies across the NHS.

Advanced therapies are touted as having the potential to treat a number of conditions including blood cancers and inherited conditions for which there are currently limited treatment options.  

The funding comes one year from the launch of the UK’s Industrial Strategy, which through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF), pledged £180 million to leading-edge medicines manufacturing.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is responsible for managing the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, which funds the winners of the Medicines Manufacturing Challenge.

Dr Ian Campbell, interim executive chair, Innovate UK for UK Research and Innovation, said: “The projects announced today will bring real benefits to patients and boost the knowledge economy as part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy. This is vital for the UK as a global leader in the development of advanced therapies and medicine manufacturing.”