CMAC named sustainability award winner for revolutionising digital and net-zero pharma manufacturing
Senior Modelling & Simulation Scientist Mohammad Salehian picks up the award for CMAC.
CMAC, led by the University of Strathclyde, has been named Sustainability Award Winner at the 2026 Scotland’s Life Sciences Awards, a flagship event in the Scottish life sciences calendar. Nominated alongside strong finalists - DesignHOPES, iLivestock, and Roslin Technologies, CMAC was recognised for redefining how medicines are developed and manufactured through sustainable, digitally enabled innovation.
The award celebrates organisations demonstrating long‑term environmental commitment, strong employee and community engagement, and the ability to inspire new ideas and positive change.
As a world‑leading centre for pharmaceutical manufacturing research, CMAC is driving the transition to a net‑zero medicines ecosystem. Its Self‑Driving Tableting CMC DataFactory® uses autonomous, AI‑driven processes to cut material use by 65%, reduce development time by 60%, and triple production speed. Open datasets support global replication and scale‑up.
CMAC’s sustainability leadership spans an £80M innovation portfolio, including:
“This award is a testament to the commitment of our researchers, students, and partners. Sustainability isn’t a separate workstream for us; it’s now embedded into every design choice, every experiment, and every investment we make. To be recognised amongst such strong finalists underscores the importance of the work Scotland is doing to shape a net‑zero future for life sciences.”
£11M EPSRC MediForge – embedding Industry 5.0 sustainability‑by‑design principles to reduce materials, energy and waste.
£2.5M UKRPIF Net Zero Pilot – delivering 15.5 tCO₂e savings and 25–30% laboratory waste reductions, exceeding UK LEAF benchmarks.
£1.33M EPSRC SolvIT – achieving a 60% reduction in new solvent use through digital solvent design and recycling.
The CMAC Data Lab – an £11M digital infrastructure with robotics, automation and knowledge‑graph technology, supported by £22.7M industry co‑investment and real‑time monitoring across 250+ assets.
These innovations are reinforced by a strong cultural shift toward sustainability, including LEAF accreditation, circularity schemes, energy monitoring, and in‑house Life Cycle Assessment expertise. Training programmes such as the EPSRC CEDAR CDT are preparing the next generation of sustainable manufacturing leaders.
With more than 40 global industry partners, CMAC’s work is driving sector‑wide change. By addressing the pharmaceutical industry’s 52‑million‑tonne annual CO₂ footprint, CMAC is delivering scalable, proven solutions with real‑world impact.
This award recognises CMAC as a global leader in sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing, committed to a cleaner, more resilient, and net‑zero future for medicines.