Manufacturing 'Grand Challenge' targets pharma to develop continuous formulation platform

A new initiative will see the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) work with the University of Strathclyde, GSK and AstraZeneca to develop a platform to accelerate the development of oral solid dosage formulations.

CPI’s Grand Challenge 1 project will take place at the new Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre, where the stakeholders will develop a continuous direct compression (CDC) platform. CDC is a continuous manufacturing process that allows much greater process control than traditional batch-type pharmaceutical manufacturing methods. Its advantages include rapid production of formulations at a range of scales and also shorter optimisation times compared to batch-type processes.

The Grand Challenge 1 project will also develop a digitally-twinned CDC platform that allows scientists to understand and optimise their formulation process in digital space. The hope is that this reduces the amount of starting materials needed for optimisation and reduce the overall cost of the technology for the end-user.

The project will first create a flexible plug-and-play development platform that will involve adapting and improving existing CDC models. Novel process analytical technology (PAT) will also be integrated into this platform.

Professor Alastair Florence, University of Strathclyde said: “The key innovation of a digital twin for the direct compression platform will radically cut down the amount of material needed to optimise formulations. It will allow companies to model their processes in digital space, providing a much deeper understanding of how APIs and excipients will perform, leading to a reduction in development times.”

UK Research and Innovation, Scottish Enterprise and the consortium’s industry partners will fund the project.

Dave Tudor, managing director of the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre at CPI said: “The strength of the open collaboration between CPI, GSK, AstraZeneca and University of Strathclyde cannot be overstated; we are happy to be providing our strategic and technical support. The flexible platform developed at the centre through Grand Challenge 1 will be a national asset, helping pharmaceutical companies to develop formulations faster and at reduced cost.”