Centre for Process Innovation

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Centre for Process Innovation (CPI)
FounderONE NorthEast
HeadquartersWilton Centre,
Redcar
,
United Kingdom
Number of locations
10 (2024)
Key people
Frank Millar (CEO)
Revenue57,318,466 Euro (2020) Edit this on Wikidata
Number of employees
700 (2024)
Websitewww.uk-cpi.com Edit this at Wikidata

The Centre for Process Innovation Limited, trading as CPI, is a British technology and innovation social enterprise covering the agricultural and food technology, energy storage, health technology, materials, and pharmaceutical industry markets, with an emphasis on sustainable solutions and improving healthcare.[1] CPI's headquarters are in Redcar, North Yorkshire. Established in 2004 by the UK Government agency ONE NorthEast, the company was one of five centres of excellence in a long-term strategy to "reposition the North-East [of England] on the world stage for research and development".[2]

Role[edit]

CPI helps small and medium enterprises, entrepreneurs and companies to develop, prove, prototype and scale-up new products and processes by providing access to facilities, expertise and networks of public and private funders.[citation needed]

CPI is a founding partner in the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, a network of technology and innovation centres designed to transform the UK's capability for innovation in specific technology areas and markets to help drive future economic growth.[3]

A scientist in the biotherapeutics lab at CPI
A scientist in the biotherapeutics lab at CPI

Centres[edit]

The company has ten innovation facilities at three locations in North East England and one location in Scotland.[4]

Wilton, Redcar:

  • National Industrial Biotechnology Facility
  • Novel Food Innovation Centre

NETPark, Sedgefield:

Darlington:

  • National Biologics Manufacturing Centre,
  • The RNA Centre of Excellence

Glasgow:

  • The Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre

CPI has also announced plans to launch an Oligonucleotide Manufacturing Innovation Centre of Excellence in Glasgow after a multi-million-pound fund was announced in the 2023 Autumn Statement. The centre is expected to begin operations during 2024 and to be completed in late 2025.[5]

Market areas served[edit]

CPI helps companies take their products and processes from idea to commercialisation in several areas.

Agricultural and food technology[edit]

CPI's work in sustainable agricultural and food technology has included opening the Novel Food Innovation Centre based in the Tees Valley at Wilton, Redcar to support the development of alternative proteins and novel foods for human consumption.[6] CPI has been awarded FSSC 22000 food safety certification by Foundation FSSC.[7]

Energy storage[edit]

CPI is a partner in three projects awarded a share of £27.6 million in funding from UK Research and Innovation’s Faraday Battery Challenge, delivered by Innovate UK in 2023. The projects aim to improve battery performance and sustainability, reduce costs, and develop more efficient and globally competitive manufacturing processes for electric vehicle batteries.[8]

Health technology[edit]

CPI's work in health technology (HealthTech) has included partnering with telecommunications company Cellnex UK to develop a testbed for 5G networks within hospitals.[9] CPI has also advocated for UK HealthTech manufacturing by producing reports on the state of the industry and action plans for driving growrth,[10] and affirming the UK Government’s decision in 2023 to rejoin the Horizon Europe scientific research programme as an associate member.[11]

Materials[edit]

CPI has a partnership with the National Composites Centre to develop sustainable composites[12] and helped Oceanium Ltd develop compostable bio-packaging from sustainably-farmed seaweed.[13] CPI also worked with Chestnut Bio[14] to produce bio-polymers and biodegradable plastic for forestry and planting to replace single-use plastic guards and cable ties.[15]

Pharmaceuticals[edit]

CPIs work in pharmaceutical manufacturing includes digital pharmaceutical manufacturing solutions such as the Digital Design Accelerator[16] and digital bioprocess modelling.[17]

These pharmaceutical focus areas are structured around the "Grand Challenges" business model of the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre,[18] which was opened by CPI and other founding partners in 2022.[19] In addition, CPI is a partner in the Intracellular Drug Delivery Centre, which focuses on lipid nanoparticle formulation development and nanomedicine delivery systems.[20] To support therapeutic RNA and oligonucleotide production, CPI opened the RNA Centre for Excellence in 2023[21] and announced plans for the Oligonucleotide Manufacturing Innovation Centre of Excellence within the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS), near Glasgow, Scotland.[5]

COVID-19, the RNA Centre of Excellence, and RNA-based vaccines and therapeutics[edit]

As a member of the UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce, CPI supported the development and production of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines.[22] In 2021, CPI was awarded £5 million to develop a new facility for rapidly producing mRNA vaccine candidates in response to new COVID variants.[23] With a further award of £10.65 million from the Vaccine Taskforce, administered by Innovate UK,[24] CPI launched the RNA Centre of Excellence to develop treatments for cancer, flu vaccines and personalised medicines including gene therapy.[25] The funding also covered the formation of an RNA Training Academy.[26]

Funding[edit]

In 2011, CPI joined the UK Government's Catapult centres network as part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.[27] It has also received funding from the European Regional Development Fund and the EU's Horizon 2020 programme.[28] Further funding through the Catapult network was announced in 2018.[29]

Investment[edit]

In 2020, CPI launched its venture capital and investor engagement arm,[30] CPI Enterprises.[31] As of July 2023, it has made twelve investments, with one exit after the company Nuformix proceeded to an initial public offering (IPO).[32]

CPI Enterprise's current portfolio includes QV Bioelectronics, which is developing an Electric Field Therapy implant to treat brain tumours such as glioblastoma,[33] and BiologIC Technologies, a company that has invented a biocomputer to process cells, DNA, and biological reagents into therapies.[34]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Markets". CPI. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Centres of excellence to take the region forward". The Northern Echo. 20 May 2003. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  3. ^ "High Value Manufacturing Catapult". CPI. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Our National Centres". CPI. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b Eckford, Catherine (23 November 2023). "Oligonucleotide manufacturing centre to open in Scotland". European Pharmaceutical Review. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  6. ^ Mike Hughes (27 September 2023). "CPI's Novel Food Innovation Centre to be based in Wilton, Redcar". The Northern Echo.
  7. ^ "CPI awarded globally recognised certificate for food safety". CPI. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Delivering the future of battery technology". UK Research and Innovation. 26 January 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Cellnex UK partners with CPI to accelerate HealthTech innovation with new 5G testbed". Cellnex UK. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  10. ^ "Barriers forcing medical technology companies to move overseas". Pathology in Practice. Step Communications Ltd. 24 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Positive reaction from medtech as UK rejoins Horizon". Med-Tech News. Rapid News Group. 7 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Sustainable Composites". National Composites Centre. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Developing premium sustainable bio-packaging". High Value Manufacturing Catapult. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Chestnut Natural Capital (Chestnut Bio) uses plant-based polymers to create biodegradable 3D printable cable ties, tree guards and weed-suppressing textile matting". Net Zero North East England. 18 October 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Chestnut Bio". CPI. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Digital Design Accelerator". CPI. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  17. ^ "CPI to develop digital bioprocess modelling techniques to help bring innovative treatments to market faster". CPI. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre officially opened". University of Strathclyde. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  19. ^ Peter A Walker (30 November 2022). "New medicine manufacturing centre brings 100 jobs to Renfrewshire". Scottish Business Insider.
  20. ^ "New UK intracellular drug delivery centre to support RNA development". Pharmaceutical Technology. Verdict Media. 7 June 2023.
  21. ^ Kevin Dunleavy (25 September 2023). "CPI opens £26.4M facility for emergency preparedness, RNA product development". Fierce Pharma. Questex.
  22. ^ "Vaccine taskforce". High Value Manufacturing Catapult. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  23. ^ "CPI receives £5m from UK govt for 'vaccine library'". Life Sciences Intellectual Property Review. Newton Media. 4 March 2021.
  24. ^ "Government injects funding boost for cutting-edge vaccine site in Darlington". Gov.UK. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  25. ^ Mike Hughes (6 October 2022). "More than £10m funding for new CPI centre in Darlington". The Northern Echo.
  26. ^ Rachel Connor-Hill (31 August 2021). "New facility at Darlington CPI to lead 'game changing' Covid vaccine research". Darlington and Stockton Times.
  27. ^ "High Value Manufacturing Catapult". Centre for Process Innovation. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012.
  28. ^ "Project Funding". CPI. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  29. ^ "Chancellor announces funding for Catapult network". UK Research and Innovation. 10 August 2018. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  30. ^ "CPI launches a new investor engagement and ventures arm". North East of England Process Industry Cluster. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  31. ^ "CPI launches a new investor engagement and ventures arm". CPI. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  32. ^ "Our CPI Enterprises value creation process". CPI. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  33. ^ Daniella McCarron (28 June 2023). "CPI Enterprises to help fund innovative medical device for brain tumours". Alderley Park. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  34. ^ "CPI invests in BiologIC Technologies to advance next-generation bioprocess innovation". CPI. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2024.

External links[edit]

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