MediForge
Driving the digital transformation of medicines manufacturing through Industry 5.0
The way medicines are developed is changing, and so must the way they are made. MediForge is bringing together world-leading expertise from academia, industry and technology to create more sustainable, resilient and human-centric approaches to medicines manufacturing, helping bridge the gap between scientific discovery and industrial application.
The Challenge
While drug discovery is becoming faster, smarter and increasingly data-driven, pharmaceutical manufacturing still faces major challenges around flexibility, scalability, efficiency, resilience and sustainability.
Traditional Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) development processes can be costly, time-consuming and fragmented. At the same time, the pharmaceutical sector is responding to growing healthcare demand, fragile global supply chains, rising costs and the urgent need to reduce environmental impact.
MediForge is addressing this challenge by creating a connected, end-to-end medicines manufacturing ecosystem — from molecule to finished product — powered by digital technologies, advanced data infrastructure, sustainable design and Industry 5.0 principles.
Why MediForge matters
The pharmaceutical sector faces growing pressures from rising healthcare demand, complex supply chains, sustainability challenges and the need to deliver innovative medicines faster than ever before.
MediForge is addressing these challenges by helping to:
Meet the demand for affordable, sustainable healthcare
Supporting more efficient and sustainable approaches to medicines development and manufacture
Accelerate patient access to new medicines
Reducing barriers between scientific discovery and industrial implementation to help bring innovations to patients faster.
Strengthen the resilient supply of quality medicines
Creating more agile, connected and adaptable manufacturing systems capable of responding to changing healthcare needs.
Support net zero ambitions
Embedding sustainability into medicines development and manufacturing through data-driven decision making and resource-efficient processes
Enable the workforce of the future
Developing the skills, tools and collaborative environments needed to support the next generation of medicines manufacturing professionals.
The MediForge framework
The research will be delivered through five research platforms, focusing on creating a system of cyber-physical platforms that integrate scale-down processes with various technologies like AI, robotics, and smart sensors. The programme will embed sustainability goals to address the environmental impact of medicines manufacturing and operations.
Platform 1
Transform how medicines are made by creating smart, connected systems that give a clearer picture of the entire process from raw materials to finished products .
Learn
MediForge will achieve a step change in understanding across the medicines manufacturing value change from synthesis to formulated drug product.
We will create an ecosystem of networked systems known as a Cyber Physical Research Infrastructure (CPRI) and data fabric that links material properties, process settings and final product attributes, and advanced system-wide models to inform a real-time digital twin of the entire manufacturing process.
Platform 2
Create a smart, real-time model of the medicine-making process to help design faster, more efficient, and more sustainable ways to produce medicines.
Model
We will develop a new system-level manufacturing knowledge model for Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) with a real-time digital twin to model, optimise, and accelerate end-to-end process selection and design.
This will drive smarter, data-driven insights that will enable the design of new manufacturing routes, optimising quality and achieving environmental targets.
Platform 3
Test systems to improve new medicine-making methods to ensure they are high-quality, sustainable, and reliable.
Make
We will develop an integrated, compact, and resource-efficient end-to-end customizable manufacturing research test bed. This platform will bridge and translate the outputs from Platforms 1 and 2, ensuring the validation of quality, sustainability, and resilience in adaptive processes and control strategies.
Platform 4
Combine and create a collaborative Living Lab to co-develop and scale innovative, sustainable medicine manufacturing with a diverse team.
Adapt
By integrating the Learn, Model, and Make Platforms we will establish a Living Lab environment. This open innovation ecosystem will enable collaboration among researchers, industry partners, healthcare providers, and regulatory bodies to co-create, test, validate, and scale up innovative medicine manufacturing processes, technologies, and products.
We will foster a diverse and inclusive interdisciplinary team, including postdoctoral researchers, PhD students and industry and project partners.
Platform 5
Lead the global shift to digital, sustainable medicines manufacturing by transforming CMC processes through Industry 5.0 innovation.
Global hub
The MediForge programme will provide international leadership in the research, development, and innovation community for Industry 5.0 medicines manufacturing. Its core mission is to drive the adoption of digital transformation in Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) procedures within the industry.
At the heart of MediForge is a commitment to leading the digital transformation of CMC procedures to ensure sustainable medicines manufacturing.
What MediForge is building
While drug discovery is becoming faster, smarter and increasingly data-driven, pharmaceutical manufacturing still faces major challenges around flexibility, scalability, efficiency, resilience and sustainability.
Traditional Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) development processes can be costly, time-consuming and fragmented. At the same time, the pharmaceutical sector is responding to growing healthcare demand, fragile global supply chains, rising costs and the urgent need to reduce environmental impact.
MediForge is addressing this challenge by creating a connected, end-to-end medicines manufacturing ecosystem — from molecule to finished product — powered by digital technologies, advanced data infrastructure, sustainable design and Industry 5.0 principles.
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Funders and partners
MediForge, is a seven-year, £11m programme funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), a division of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), through their Manufacturing Hubs for a Sustainable Future Call 2.
The programme been co-created in collaboration with partners at the Glasgow School of Art, Imperial College London, University of Leeds, University of Sheffield and the University of Strathclyde. It is also supported by a global consortium of industry partners including Applied Materials, AstraZeneca, Bruker, Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC), Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), Chiesi, Clairet Scientific Ltd., DigiM, Lilly, M-Star Simulators, National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, Siemens, Takeda, Technobis, UCB, and ULab.
