Manufacturing Biz #6 - Magazine - Page 41
Technology, infrastructure and R&D
capability development:
• UK Space Agency Space Clusters
Infrastructure Funding including £8
million provided in 2023 to Cardiffbased Space Forge, for a National
Microgravity Research Centre,
embedded within the Centre for
Integrative Semiconductor Materials in
Swansea, Wales.
• Funding in-orbit manufacturing
feasibility studies including
a £250,000 BioOrbit feasibility study for
a scalable in-orbit manufacturing
system designed to crystallise biologic
drugs. BioOrbit was also supported
through the UK Space Agency
Accelerator, a national programme
which provides tailored support to UKbased entrepreneurs in the space sector
to help accelerate their growth.
• The National Space Innovation
Programme (NSIP) has invested
around £2.2m in grants to support
innovative in-orbit manufacturing
technologies. These include funding to
support: Frontier Space Technologies,
to improve their microgravity research
SpaceLab to support development
of pharmaceuticals, drug discovery,
materials and industrial biotechnology;
Biologic Technologies, to develop their
“Space Biocomputer” to enable biomanufacturing capabilities for products
“This approach enables
innovation, providing
regulatory clarity and
confidence to innovators
exploring cutting-edge
biomanufacturing
methods.”
Access to finance:
• £13 million UKI2S Space Portfolio, an
evergreen pre-seed and seed stage fund
which is actively open to considering all
space opportunities including life
science space companies.
MHRA Collaboration
To complement these UK Space Agency
commitments, the MHRA is contributing to
the development of a supportive regulatory
environment for novel, space-enabled
manufacturing processes. This includes:
•
•
such as RNA medicines; Imperial
College London to develop cold spray
metal additive manufacturing for
applications in space; Space Forge to
develop a retractable solar array to
power their in-space manufacturing
satellite platform; University of Glasgow
to develop a Earth-based rig to test
additive manufacturing materials
under space conditions; and University
of Leicester to develop on-orbit
welding capability to enable repair and
manufacture of structures in space.
Funding UK-led international projects
supporting biotechnology research in
microgravity and astronaut healthcare,
through the UK Space Agency’s
International Bilateral Fund.
•
•
Joint case study development:
Producing collaborative case studies
with the UK Space Agency to clarify
regulatory expectations and illustrate
real-world pathways for developers.
Facilitating Scientific and Regulatory
Advice meetings: Supporting
developers through early engagement
with MHRA experts to clarify
requirements, expectations, and best
regulatory practices within existing
frameworks.
Innovation Accelerator involvement:
Continuing to develop industry
and academic engagement through
the MHRA Innovation Accelerator,
ensuring proactive thinking and
guidance for emerging space-enabled
biomanufacturing technologies.
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