The CMAC Future Manufacturing Research Hub will address the urgent need to translate new molecules into high-value products through rapid predictive development pathways and integrated continuous manufacturing systems, enabling more personalised, responsive and flexible product provision through digitalised supply chains. Building on the significant success of the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation, and informed by extensive engagement with national and global industry, end-users, technology providers, international academic programmes and regulatory agencies, the industry-academic team has co-created an ambitious CMAC Future Manufacturing Research Hub Vision. An industry review day facilitated by PwC involved 40 representatives from pharma and other chemical sectors including SMEs and CPI, InnovateUK and KTN and cemented the Hub scope, research and impact planning.
CMAC’s leading manufacturing research programme is funded by the EPSRC Manufacturing Research Hub programme. The University of Strathclyde is the hub with delivery achieved by a multidisciplinary and collaborative academic team at the UK universities of Bath, Cambridge, Imperial, Leeds, Loughborough and Sheffield. Research with impact, has grown through new projects supported by EPSRC, InnovateUK, EU and industry. CMAC is a founding member of International Institute of Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (I2APM,) with partners C-SOPS (US) and RCPE (Austria). As part of critical regulatory agenda CMAC and MIT organise a biennial conference with the FDA.
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The £34M UK-RPIF scheme partnership established a world-class facility equipped with a comprehensive suite of continuous processing, process analysis, and characterisation equipment. The physical hub is within the new £89m Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) at Strathclyde opened by HM the Queen in July 2015. This provides an open access approach across the academic and industrial community.
In 2016, TIC received an honourable mention in the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) Facility of the Year award, and the facility was shortlisted in 2018, for CPhI's Excellence in Pharma Awards.
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CMAC has a unique Doctoral Training Centre, which operates across the partner universities. CMAC also has joint doctoral training programmes in collaboration with NTU and as part of the NPL Scottish Hub. Training the next generation of scientists and engineers is vital to accelerating the adoption of continuous manufacturing. Additionally, a Master’s programme in Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing is delivered at Strathclyde. A key deliverable is the CMAC talent pipeline of graduates moving into industry and academia.
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CMAC has always benefited from strong industry engagement and leadership. An industry led membership organisation was created in 2011 and this has grown and developed over the years. The membership organisation operates under a pre-competitive, collaborative research and development model with senior level company support. The main industry partners (AstraZeneca, GSK, Novartis, Bayer, Lilly, Takeda, Roche and Pfizer) get an individual seat on the CMAC Board and an opportunity to influence the direction of future research and Hub activity. Integral to the CMAC ecosystem are the Tier 2 technology companies. These range from large companies, Siemens and PwC, to micro SMEs. This supportive environment helps translate research into equipment and products. In addition to CMAC members the Hub organises many open events for the broader industry landscape and collaborates with a wide range of additional companies locally, nationally and globally.
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