Centrix Pharma Solutions and the University of Sussex are using £375,000 of Innovate UK-backed funding to develop data analytics tools for pharmaceutical product development.

Data science project targets drug development

UK CDMO Centrix Pharma Solutions has partnered with the University of Sussex on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) focused on using data analytics and predictive modelling in pharmaceutical product development.

The £375,000 project includes £250,000 in grant funding and will initially focus on early-stage product development.

The partnership aims to develop methods for analysing formulation, analytical and process data generated during pharmaceutical development programmes.

Centrix said pharmaceutical development can generate large volumes of data across different projects and systems, making it difficult to identify trends and use previous results to inform future development decisions.

The KTP will investigate how data-driven approaches can support decisions including formulation selection, dosage form optimisation and development planning.

Chris Davison, CEO of Centrix Pharma Solutions, said: “The pharmaceutical industry generates an enormous amount of valuable data throughout product development, but there is still significant untapped potential to use that information more effectively.”

Predictive modelling in pharmaceutical development

The project will develop analytical tools and methodologies intended to identify potential development risks earlier and reduce unnecessary experimentation.

The partners will also investigate whether data analysis can improve confidence in development decisions and help determine which pharmaceutical products should progress towards clinical evaluation.

Centrix will recruit a KTP Associate to lead the project and work across the company and University of Sussex. The role will support the development and implementation of new analytical approaches while connecting academic research with pharmaceutical development.

Davison said the partnership would allow Centrix to develop data science expertise within its business.

“The Knowledge Transfer Partnership gives us access to specialist academic expertise while embedding those capabilities within our business,” he said.

The project will combine Centrix’s experience in pharmaceutical product development and manufacturing with data science research at the University of Sussex.

University and industry collaboration

Kate Thorpe, head of innovation and business partnerships at the University of Sussex, said: “Knowledge Transfer Partnerships bring together academic expertise and real-world industrial challenges.”

KTPs are designed to enable organisations to work with universities on projects that apply academic knowledge to commercial or industrial challenges. The Innovate UK-supported programme also provides businesses with access to specialist research expertise.

For Centrix, the project will initially concentrate on early-stage pharmaceutical development, with the resulting analytical approaches intended to support formulation and process decisions.

The companies have not provided details of specific medicines or development programmes that will be analysed through the project.

The partnership is expected to strengthen Centrix’s internal data science capability while giving the University of Sussex a pharmaceutical development setting in which to apply its research.