Industrial Strategy: Gov offers £8m funding to overhaul medicine manufacturing

The Government is offering multi-million pound funding for companies to digitise and improve the medicine manufacturing process.

Businesses can apply for a share of up to £8m to support projects that could improve the efficiency and scope of medicines manufacture.

The cash, provided by UK Research and Innovation and delivered via Innovate UK, is part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund – a £181m pot set up to transform the development of medicines and other healthcare products, including digital technologies.

The Government said projects must address one of three themes; they must either improve the UK’s capacity and capability of manufacturing small-molecule, biological or cell/gene-based medicines; significantly cut the cost of manufacturing these medicines; or significantly reduce the waste produced during the manufacturing process.

Proposals also have to demonstrate how a project will boost the productivity, competitiveness, capability or growth of at least one UK company involved. Projects must start by January 1 2019 and last from three to four months.

The competition opens on September 10 and closes to applications midday on October 3.