Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to invest up to £15 million to support the development and adoption of sustainable technologies for the manufacturing of medicines. This funding is part of the Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme.
The aim of this competition is to drive innovation in sustainable medicines manufacturing across three key pillars:
- green chemistry
- circularity
- productivity and resource efficiency
You must also consider both critical enablers:
- regulations: how to overcome any regulatory barriers to adoption of your innovation
- measurements, standards and data: approaches to capture data that support the measurement and reporting of sustainability indicators aligned with industry standards
These new manufacturing innovations are expected to support more environmentally sustainable manufacturing processes with significant and measurable improvements in at least one of the following areas:
- productivity
- waste reduction
- emissions reduction
- energy use reduction
- resource efficiency
You must also consider how to overcome any regulatory barriers to adoption of your innovation, alongside approaches to capture data that support the measurement and reporting of sustainability indicators aligned with industry standards.
Your proposal must show how your project will improve the productivity, competitiveness and growth for at least one UK micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) involved in the project.
We define sustainable medicines manufacturing as the process of producing medicines in a manner that minimises environmental impact, conserves natural resources, and ensures economic and social sustainability. This approach focuses on reducing waste, energy consumption and emissions, while enhancing efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness throughout the manufacturing lifecycle. It also includes the adoption of innovative technologies and practices that promote the long-term viability of the medicines manufacturing industry.
In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so we may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that your project scores highly but we are still unable to fund it.
This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government or third party sites will always show the correct competition information.
Funding type
Grant
Project size
Your project’s total grant funding request must be between £500,000 and £2 million.
Accessibility and Inclusion
We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.
You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.
We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.
You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
