Innovate UK launched the Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme (SMMIP) in 2025 to accelerate innovation, investment, collaboration, and adoption of more sustainable practices in biomanufacturing. As part of this effort, not-for-profit research and technology organisation Fraunhofer UK is leading the InSPIREmed project, which focuses on improving sustainability in pharmaceutical manufacturing through advanced process analytical technology (PAT) systems.
Fraunhofer’s InSPIREmed initiative is designed to reduce waste and lower utility consumption in biologics production. A major part of the project involves helping manufacturers move from traditional batch production to semi-continuous manufacturing through perfusion for monoclonal antibodies. To support this shift, Fraunhofer is working with industry partners to develop on-site, real-time instrumentation that can make the transition to perfusion more efficient and practical.
Beyond biologics, the project also aims to improve sustainability in other pharmaceutical operations. These include reducing waste batches during the crystallisation of small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients and cutting the carbon footprint of product distribution by replacing cold-chain logistics with freeze-drying where possible. This broader focus highlights the potential for sustainable innovation across multiple stages of medicines manufacturing.
The article also points to growing evidence that continuous bioprocessing can offer major environmental benefits. Sartorius, for example, has been collaborating with partners to develop a life-cycle assessment tool that measures environmental impacts across the full production cycle of monoclonal antibodies. Early findings suggest that continuous manufacturing can significantly reduce carbon emissions, mainly by lowering energy use in smaller facilities.
According to Sartorius, when an end-to-end continuous process is compared with intensified fed-batch monoclonal antibody production in a multiproduct facility with annual output of 2,000 kilograms, carbon footprint reductions can reach up to 51%, plastic waste can fall by up to 57%, and CO₂ emissions can decrease by as much as 54%. These figures suggest that continuous processing could become a faster and greener route for biopharmaceutical production.
Enzene, a contract development and manufacturing organisation using continuous platforms, also reports sustainability gains of 40% to 50% compared with conventional fed-batch processes. However, the article notes that the actual level of improvement depends on factors such as manufacturing scale, facility design, and the extent to which the process is intensified. In general, most of the environmental benefits come from better equipment efficiency, fewer changeovers, and reduced use of energy and raw materials.
A central message throughout the article is that collaboration is essential for making sustainable biomanufacturing a reality. Sartorius is working alongside groups such as the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals and the Bio-Process Systems Alliance, while Fraunhofer’s InSPIREmed project involves several stakeholders, including major pharmaceutical manufacturers, the Centre for Process Innovation, and Cytiva. These partnerships help bring together expertise across the value chain and create practical solutions for shared sustainability challenges.
Speakers at the Pharma Sustainability Integrates event in London also stressed that stronger partnerships are critical if the industry is to meet its environmental goals. Experts from BioPhorum, Ipsen, and the UK’s Biotechnology Innovation Organization highlighted that every part of the biopharma value chain depends on others, making shared knowledge and coordinated action increasingly important. While challenges such as technical language differences and sector-wide knowledge gaps remain, the article concludes that collaboration and consortium-led innovation are key to speeding up progress toward more sustainable medicines manufacturing.
