By: IPP Bureau
Last updated : August 27, 2026 8:39 am
£375,000 Innovate UK-backed partnership to use data analytics and predictive modelling to improve formulation, product development and decision-making
Centrix Pharma Solutions, a UK-based contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), has partnered with the University of Sussex on a new Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) aimed at using advanced data analytics and predictive modelling to improve pharmaceutical product development.
Supported by Innovate UK, the £375,000 project, including £250,000 in grant funding, will combine Centrix’s pharmaceutical development and manufacturing expertise with the University of Sussex’s capabilities in data science.
The partnership will focus on addressing challenges associated with the growing volume of formulation, analytical and process data generated during pharmaceutical development. Much of this information remains fragmented across projects and systems, limiting its ability to support trend identification, outcome prediction and development decisions.
Through the KTP, Centrix will initially develop data-driven capabilities for early-stage product development, with the aim of identifying development risks earlier, reducing unnecessary experimentation and improving confidence in decisions around formulation selection, dosage-form optimisation and development pathways.
The project is also expected to help accelerate the progression of promising medicines from development into clinical evaluation while reducing costly rework and delays.
As part of the partnership, Centrix will recruit a dedicated KTP Associate, who will lead the project and work across both organisations to embed new analytical approaches within the company.
The initiative will also help establish in-house data science expertise and strengthen Centrix’s R&D capabilities and service offering to pharmaceutical customers.
Chris Davison, CEO, Centrix, said the pharmaceutical industry generates significant amounts of valuable data during product development, but much of its potential remains untapped. He said the KTP would allow Centrix to combine pharmaceutical expertise with advanced data analytics while building a long-term capability for the company and its clients.
Kate Thorpe, Head of Innovation and Business Partnerships, University of Sussex, said KTPs bring together academic expertise and real-world industrial challenges, with the potential to establish new approaches that continue to deliver value beyond the project itself.
The partnership highlights the role of industry-academia-government collaboration in advancing innovation in the UK life sciences sector, developing specialist skills and helping pharmaceutical companies make development programmes more efficient.