smart, sustainable rna-lnp manufacture

This project aims to revolutionise the way RNA-based therapies are manufactured, ensuring they can reach their full potential while significantly reducing the environmental footprint of pharmaceutical production. RNA-LNP (lipid nanoparticle) technologies, already proven in vaccines like those for COVID-19, offer a unique advantage over traditional methods, with faster production times and smaller manufacturing footprints. More importantly, RNA-based medicines hold the promise of targeting diseases at the genetic level, offering new treatments for conditions like cancer, and potentially even curative therapies that will reduce the future cost burden associated with long term treatment of chronic conditions. We believe there is an opportunity to further improve these technologies by designing sustainable, efficient, and adaptable development and manufacturing processes from the ground up. Key areas of focus include rapid development, reducing waste, streamlining production, and optimising the use of raw materials. Our innovative approach will ensure that RNA-based medicines, including personalised cancer vaccines, can be manufactured more efficiently and sustainably, addressing both economic, accessibility and environmental challenges. In the initial phase, we will **_map the economic and sustainability aspects of current RNA production methods, providing a baseline to track improvements and identify the areas with the greatest potential for sustainability gains_**. Then we will focus our scope on the most impactful areas, including: \***Rapid development:** using automated systems and ML-driven models to quickly optimise processes. \***Simplifying the process**: By reducing the number of production steps and cutting down on complexity. \***Cutting waste**: by enhancing optimising processes and re-designing equipment, we can reduce waste during manufacture. \***Speeding up drug release**: Innovative and digitally enabled approaches to testing and releasing drugs will ensure patients receive their treatments faster. One of the project's key features is our flexible, distributed modular testbed, designed to test novel approaches and create a level of process understanding and control and **dramatically reduces the requirement for individual process optimisation**. By improving the adaptability and control of the manufacturing process, and simplifying it we can enable **distributed manufacturing**, allowing medicines to be produced closer to the patient. This approach **reduces the significant environmental impact of transporting temperature-sensitive RNA therapies**. We will collaborate with world-leading technology providers, expert academic researchers, and key UK regulatory and standards bodies,). Together, we aim to develop next-generation medicines in a way that is truly "Sustainable by Design," minimising environmental impact while delivering cutting-edge therapies that could transform healthcare.