A £11.7million investment to accelerate pharmaceutical innovation and help businesses bring new products to market has been announced by Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald.
The funding comes from UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF) and is the first project announced from the £30million allocation to the Belfast-Derry Innovation Corridor.
Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University will deliver iPHARMA, a new project providing businesses with specialist facilities and expertise to support the development and manufacture of innovative pharmaceutical products.
Minister Archibald said: “This £11.7million investment will strengthen our pharmaceutical sector by helping turn innovative ideas into commercially viable products.
“By giving businesses access to specialist expertise and facilities, iPHARMA will help overcome barriers to scale-up, accelerate new products towards market and unlock further opportunities for investment and growth.
“As the first project announced through the Belfast-Derry Innovation Corridor’s Local Innovation Partnerships Fund allocation, it will build on our strengths in life and health sciences, boost productivity and support the creation of more good jobs.”
UKRI Chief Executive Professor Sir Ian Chapman said: “This is an important and significant investment in Northern Ireland's innovation ecosystem. Working with key partners in each place, UKRI’s Local Innovation Partnerships Fund is supporting innovation across the UK, to advance knowledge, improve lives and drive growth, by building on local strengths and knowledge. The opportunities iPHARMA will unlock will enable research translation, collaborations with industry and drive economic growth.”
Professor Gavin Andrews, Head of the School of Pharmacy at Queen’s University Belfast and iPHARMA Lead, said: “Northern Ireland has internationally recognised strengths in pharmaceutical science, advanced manufacturing and health innovation. Our ambition must be to translate those strengths more consistently into commercial success: creating more high-value jobs, attracting investment, growing exports and improving outcomes for patients.
“iPHARMA will provide specialist facilities, expertise and translational support needed to develop, scale and manufacture innovative medicines. In doing so, it will reduce technical risk, shorten routes to market and help close the productivity gap by enabling businesses to capture more value from innovation here in Northern Ireland.
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“This investment is a clear statement of intent. It supports our ambition to build a globally competitive, innovation-led life and health sciences sector, one that is a driver of sustainable economic growth across Northern Ireland and makes a meaningful contribution to the UK’s wider life sciences ambition.”
Professor Chris McConville, Professor of Biomedical Innovation at Ulster University and Deputy Lead for iPHARMA, said: “iPHARMA brings together complementary expertise across Ulster University and Queen’s University Belfast to create an integrated pathway for pharmaceutical innovation in Northern Ireland. By combining advanced formulation and manufacturing with digital technologies, translational pharmaceutics, pharmacology and clinical translation, we can help companies de-risk manufacturing and development, make better decisions earlier and move promising medicines towards patients more efficiently.
“Ultimately, our ambition is to shorten the journey from promising pharmaceutical innovation to the clinic, while building the capability, skills and industry partnerships needed to establish Northern Ireland as a leading location for the development of innovative medicines.”
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