The UK government's support for the Life Sciences Industry Strategy (Bell Report, 2017) recognises the importance of developing new medicines to facilitate UK economic growth. Examples include new antibody therapies for the treatment of cancer, new vaccines to control the spread of infectious diseases and the emergence of cell and gene therapies to cure previously untreatable conditions such as blindness and dementia. Bioprocessing skills underpin the safe, cost-effective and environmentally friendly manufacture of this next generation of complex biological products. They facilitate the rapid translation of life science discoveries into the new medicines that will benefit the patients that need them. Recent reports, however, highlight specific skills shortages that constrain the UK's capacity to capitalise on opportunities for wealth and job creation in these areas. They emphasise the need for 'more individuals trained in advanced manufacturing' and for individuals with bioprocessing skills who can address the 'challenges with scaling-up production using biological materials'. The UCL EPSRC CDT in Bioprocess Engineering Leadership has a successful track record of equipping graduate scientists and engineers with the bioprocessing skills needed by industry. It will deliver a 'whole bioprocess' training theme based around the core fermentation and downstream processing skills underpinning medicines manufacture. The programme is designed to accelerate graduates into doctoral research and to build a multidisciplinary research cohort; this will be enhanced through a partnership with the Synthesis and Solid State Pharmaceutical Centre (SSPC) and the National Institute for Bioprocess Research and Training (NIBRT) in Ireland. Research projects will be carried out in partnership with leading UK and international companies. The continued need for the CDT is evidenced by the fact that 96% of previous graduates have progressed to relevant bioindustry careers and many are now in senior leadership positions. The next generation of molecular or cellular medicines will be increasingly complex and hence difficult to characterise. This means they will be considerably more difficult to manufacture at large scale making it harder to ensure they are not only safe but also cost-effective. This proposal will enable the CDT to train future bioindustry leaders who possess the theoretical knowledge and practical and commercial skills necessary to manufacture this next generation of complex biological medicines. This will be achieved by aligning each researcher with internationally leading research teams and developing individual training and career development programmes. In this way the CDT will contribute to the future success of the UK's bioprocess-using industries.

By 2025 targeted biological medicines, personalised and stratified, will transform the precision of healthcare prescription, improve patient care and quality of life. Novel manufacturing solutions have to be created if this is to happen. This is the unique challenge we shall tackle. The current "one-size-fits-all" approach to drug development is being challenged by the growing ability to target therapies to only those patients most likely to respond well (stratified medicines), and to even create therapies for each individual (personalised medicines). Over the last ten years our understanding of the nature of disease has been transformed by revolutionary advances in genetics and molecular biology. Increasingly, treatment with drugs that are targeted to specific biomarkers, will be given only to patient populations identified as having those biomarkers, using companion diagnostic or genetic screening tests; thus enabling stratified medicine. For some indications, engineered cell and gene therapies are offering the promise of truly personalised medicine, where the therapy itself is derived at least partly from the individual patient. In the future the need will be to supply many more drug products, each targeted to relatively small patient populations. Presently there is a lack of existing technology and infrastructure to do this, and current methods will be unsustainable. These and other emerging advanced therapies will have a critical role in a new era of precision targeted-medicines. All will have to be made economically for healthcare systems under extreme financial pressure. The implications for health and UK society well-being are profound There are already a small number of targeted therapies on the market including Herceptin for breast cancer patients with the HER2 receptor and engineered T-cell therapies for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. A much greater number of targeted therapies will be developed in the next decade, with some addressing diseases for which there is not currently a cure. To cope, the industry will need to create smarter systems for production and supply to increasingly fragmented markets, and to learn from other sectors. Concepts will need to address specific challenges presented by complex products, of processes and facilities capable of manufacture at smaller scales, and supply chains with the agility to cope with fluctuating demands and high levels of uncertainty. Innovative bioprocessing modes, not currently feasible for large-scale manufacturing, could potentially replace traditional manufacturing routes for stratified medicines, while simultaneously reducing process development time. Pressure to reduce development costs and time, to improve manufacturing efficiency, and to control the costs of supply, will be significant and will likely become the differentiating factor for commercialisation. We will create the technologies, skill-sets and trained personnel needed to enable UK manufacturers to deliver the promise of advanced medical precision and patient screening. The Future Targeted Healthcare Manufacturing Hub and its research and translational spokes will network with industrial users to create and apply the necessary novel methods of process development and manufacture. Hub tools will transform supply chain economics for targeted healthcare, and novel manufacturing, formulation and control technologies for stratified and personalised medicines. The Hub will herald a shift in manufacturing practice, provide the engineering infrastructure needed for sustainable healthcare. The UK economy and Society Wellbeing will gain from enhanced international competitiveness.