What Centre for Process Innovation does

Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) is a UK-based technology innovation centre incorporated in 2004 as a company limited by guarantee and operating as the process manufacturing arm of the government's High Value Manufacturing Catapult. Headquartered at the Wilton Centre in Redcar with four additional sites in the North East of England (Darlington, Sedgefield, Newton Aycliffe) and a fifth in Glasgow, CPI employs over 600 scientists, engineers and innovation professionals organised into five technology teams — Biologics, Formulation, Photonics and Electronics, Biotechnology, and the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre — and operates eight national centres spanning biologics manufacturing, formulation, printed electronics, industrial biotechnology, graphene, healthcare photonics, novel foods, and pharmaceutical manufacturing, collectively representing more than £220 million in innovation assets across 14,000m² of specialist facilities.

CPI's commercial proposition is to act as a deep-tech innovation partner that helps companies develop, prove, prototype and commercialise new products and processes, offering access to GMP-capable scale-up infrastructure, digital twin modelling, high-throughput screening, and multidisciplinary expert support on fully customised engagement terms. Revenue is generated primarily through collaborative R&D projects, process development and scale-up services for clients ranging from SMEs (Calysta, Azotic Technologies, 3D Bio-Tissues, Oceanium) to large corporates (AstraZeneca, GSK, Pfizer, Novartis, Oxford Biotrans), supplemented by sustained block funding from the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and competitive grants from Innovate UK, NIHR, DSIT and other UK government bodies. The company has cumulatively unlocked approximately £3 billion in private investment through supported innovations.

CPI's strategic posture combines social-enterprise triple-bottom-line reporting with deep integration into UK science and innovation policy. Its 27+ partner ecosystem spans pharma majors (AstraZeneca, GSK, Pfizer, Novartis), leading UK universities (Strathclyde, Manchester, Oxford), and government bodies (UKRI, Innovate UK, Scottish Enterprise), anchored by the £125 million Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre in Renfrewshire (opened November 2022). The organisation is ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 13485 and FSSC 22000 certified, has extended internationally via a UK-Government-funded "living lab" in Pune, India (November 2024), and is actively broadening into AgriFoodTech, RNA medicines, AI-driven bioprocess simulation, and cold-chain-free biologics stabilisation. Frank Millar serves as Chief Executive Officer of CPI Group.

Name

Centre for Process Innovation

Legal name

Centre for Process Innovation Limited

Website

https://uk-cpi.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) is a UK-based technology innovation centre and High Value Manufacturing Catapult member that helps companies develop, scale-up and commercialise products across biologics, formulation, photonics, biotechnology, printed electronics, graphene, novel foods and pharmaceutical manufacturing via eight national centres and 600+ multidisciplinary experts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Technology Innovation Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

GMP Scale-Up, Tech Transfer & Process Validation (PPQ) (HLAGAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Science, Technology & Innovation Administration (National R&D Policy) (BPAIAAAK)

Keywords

• Process innovation
• R&D services
• Manufacturing scale-up
• Technology development
• Contract research

Headquarters

HQ city

Redcar

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Innovation Services and R&D Partnerships: CPI operates as a social enterprise providing innovation support services to companies. Revenue is generated through collaborative R&D projects, process development, and scale-up services. They help companies defer capital and workforce investments until products or processes are proven at scale.
2. Government Funding and Grants: As part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, CPI receives sustained investment from government to ensure staff and facilities remain at the cutting edge of product and process development. Additional funding comes from Innovate UK grants for specific projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) is a UK-based technology innovation centre that helps businesses develop, prove, prototype, and scale up innovative products and processes across the Healthcare and Materials sectors. It provides access to specialized facilities, technical expertise, and collaborative R&D partnerships through 8 national centres, enabling clients to bridge the gap between concept and commercialization without bearing the full capital investment of in-house capabilities.

Product overview

CPI is a UK-based technology innovation centre and part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult that provides deep tech innovation services through a network of specialised national centres and facilities. The portfolio includes seven dedicated National Centres: the Graphene Application Centre (£14m), National Healthcare Photonics Centre (£8m), Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre, Novel Food Innovation Centre, National Biologics Manufacturing Centre (£38m), National Industrial Biotechnology Facility (£24m), National Formulation Centre, and National Printable Electronics Centre. These centres support innovation across healthcare and materials sectors, offering expertise in biotechnology, photonics, printed electronics, flexible hybrid electronics, pharmaceutical processing, and formulation science. CPI also provides bioprocess development and scale-up services, including microbial strain development, high-throughput screening, and GMP-capable manufacturing capabilities, alongside the RNA Training Academy for workforce development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Process Innovation and Scale-up Services End-to-end innovation services helping clients develop, prove, prototype, and scale up novel products and processes, spanning concept through commercial production across Healthcare and Materials sectors.
• Healthcare Innovation Services Specialized services for pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies, including access to containment and cleanroom facilities, formulation development, and process scale-up for regulated Healthcare products.
• Materials Innovation Services Specialized services for advanced materials developers, including materials characterization, process prototyping, pilot-scale production, and scale-up support.
• National Innovation Centre Access Access to CPI's network of 8 national centres offering specialized facilities, equipment, and expert support for client innovation projects across the UK.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% reductions in materials used through trials using digital twin modelling methodology
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature12 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, minor and core.

• Medicines Discovery CatapultstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2026Launched a joint project to unlock faster, lower-risk development of next-generation RNA medicines.
• New Wave BiotechstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 October 2025Partnership to enhance lipid extraction techniques using an AI-powered simulation platform. Aims to reduce costs, energy consumption, and trial-and-error in downstream processing for food, cosmetics, and healthcare sectors.
• EnsiliTechstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 March 2025Awarded funding from Innovate UK to develop Ensilication technology which stabilizes antibodies at room temperature to eliminate cold-chain dependence in antibody manufacturing. Aims to improve treatment accessibility and reduce costs and environmental impact.
• Fraunhofer UKstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Leading the InSPIREmed project under the Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme to reduce waste and lower utility consumption in pharmaceutical production through advanced process analytical technology.
• National Chemistry Laboratory (NCL), Pune, IndiastrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024Collaborated to create a 'living lab' for decarbonisation in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. Supported by £16 million from UK Government, the partnership aims to reduce energy consumption and minimise waste through reducing solvent use in continuous chemical synthesis and integrating sensor technologies.
• National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2023Co-hosted PharmaTech Integrates event in September 2023 bringing together experts from pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors.
• University of StrathclydecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 November 2022Founding partner of the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The centre fosters collaboration between industry, academia, healthcare providers and regulators to revolutionise how life-changing medicines are developed.
• AstraZenecacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 November 2022Founding industry partner of the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre. AstraZeneca has renewed its strategic membership and partnered on oral solid dosage formulation (Grand Challenge 1) and oligonucleotide therapeutics (£2.7 million 3-year partnership with Novartis and University of Manchester).
• GSKcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 November 2022Founding industry partner of the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre. GSK has renewed its strategic membership for the centre's work on medicines manufacturing innovation.
• High Value Manufacturing CatapultcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCPI is the process manufacturing partner in the government's High Value Manufacturing Catapult. This awards CPI direct involvement in UK and EU science and innovation strategy alongside sustained investment to ensure staff and facilities are at the cutting edge of product and process development. Partners include Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, Nuclear AMRC, Manufacturing Technology Centre, Advanced Forming Research Centre, National Composite Centre, and Warwick Manufacturing Group.
• Innovate UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas. They fund business and research collaborations to accelerate innovation and drive business investment into R&D. CPI collaborates with Innovate UK on various funding programmes including the Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme.
• NovartisstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in £2.7 million 3-year partnership with AstraZeneca and University of Manchester for oligonucleotide therapeutics innovation.
• University of ManchesterstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in £2.7 million 3-year partnership with AstraZeneca and Novartis for oligonucleotide therapeutics innovation.
• PfizerstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative project on digital twin modelling for pharmaceutical processes as part of Grand Challenge 1 at the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre.
• University of OxfordstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to deliver sustainable catalysts to the fine chemicals industry using water-based biocatalysis process with enzymes instead of toxic metal-based catalysts.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult: UK Catapult centre advancing cell and gene therapy manufacturing and process development. Closest structural peer — operates the same Catapult model (government-backed, multidisciplinary R&D services, GMP-capable facilities), focused on a different therapeutic modality.
• Medicines Discovery Catapult: UK Catapult centre supporting drug discovery innovation. Direct structural peer operating the same Catapult funding/governance model, and already a collaboration partner of CPI on the March 2026 next-generation RNA medicines programme.
• VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland: Finland's national applied research organisation with similar multidisciplinary contract R&D and piloting capabilities spanning biotech, materials, and digital manufacturing. Same non-profit / publicly funded model and customer base of large corporates plus SMEs.
• TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research): Dutch applied research organisation with comparable mission of translating scientific knowledge into commercial applications via contract R&D, piloting facilities, and industry partnerships. Strong overlap in advanced materials, pharma/biotech, and sustainability work.
• SINTEF: Norway's largest independent research organisation operating contract R&D across biotechnology, materials, and process industries. Same non-profit, multidisciplinary, government-funded model serving both industry and public-sector clients.
• SRI International: US non-profit scientific research institute providing contract R&D across pharma/biomedical, materials, and chemistry. Directly comparable in providing multidisciplinary innovation services, piloting facilities, and technology commercialisation support to industry.
• National Physical Laboratory (NPL): UK national laboratory operated as a government-backed entity providing measurement science, materials characterisation, and standards-related R&D services. Same UK public-sector R&D model and similar mix of industry contracts and government programme funding.

Broad incumbents

• Fraunhofer Society: Europe's largest applied research organisation (~30,000 staff, ~€3bn revenue) operating contract R&D across multiple technology institutes. Comparable to CPI at a vastly greater scale; Fraunhofer UK is already a partner of CPI on the InSPIREmed project, indicating direct competitive and collaborative overlap.
• Battelle Memorial Institute: US non-profit applied science organisation managing national laboratories and providing contract R&D across pharma, materials, and national security. Same non-profit operating model with a multi-billion-dollar revenue base and similar government/industry customer mix.
• Catalent: Large global CDMO providing drug development, biologics manufacturing, and pharmaceutical process services at commercial scale. Overlaps with CPI's biologics/formulation/continuous manufacturing work but operates as a fully commercial, much larger enterprise.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ukcpi
• YouTubeyoutube.com/ukCPI
• Facebookfacebook.com/ukCPI
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-for-process-innovation-limited
• Instagraminstagram.com/ukcpi

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments8 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centre for Process Innovation